Port Jervis Common Council
Monday, January 24, 2011
[note: only the first 1 hour and 48 minutes was available]
(Video by George Belcher)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
VIDEO: Common Council 1-24-2011
Port Jervis Common Council
Monday, January 24, 2011
[note: only the first 1 hour and 48 minutes was available]
(Video by George Belcher)
VIDEO: Port Jervis State of the City
Mayor Potter gives his 2011 State of the City Address
(Video by George Belcher.)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Port Jervis, N.Y.: Quiet town was a real find
"We have no regrets about the decision we made. In fact, having a place in Port Jervis has turned out to be the single best decision we've ever made"
Surfing the internet, I stumbled on this great piece from NorthJersey.com about a family who purchased a second home in the area... Read the full article!
Surfing the internet, I stumbled on this great piece from NorthJersey.com about a family who purchased a second home in the area... Read the full article!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Biting Satire from The Onion
The Onion and IFC the Independent Film Channel have teamed up to offer The Onion News Network airing Fridays at 10pm on IFC. In true Onion fashion it delivers biting social satire and scathingly ridicules the way news is delivered. Pay attention, the jokes come fast and hard.
VIDEO: Port Jervis School Board
[note: no sound for the first 3:05 minutes]
Saturday, January 15, 2011
VIDEO: Fund Balance Discussions
On January 10th, 2011 a Port Jervis Councilman mentioned, during a common council meeting of all places, that the school board has not addressed the issue of fund balance. I found that statement perplexing because the issue was discussed with the school board back in November.
Here is the 26min. presentation and discussion on fund balance from the November 16, 2010 Board of Education meeting.
With state aid cuts and the cost of remediating the bus garage hitting the school district in the same year, it is fortunate there was fund balance available to cover the costs. Lacking those funds, taxes might have skyrocketed and the program might have been devastated.
Good planning and foresight have allowed the school district to keep tax rates stable, preserve its program, and retain the needed teaching staff. With test scores and graduation rates improving but still low, cutting the program would have caused serious setbacks to the education of our children.
On the left is a 7min. clip from the March 4, 2010 meeting. It explains the dangers of using up fund balance, as evidenced by past budgets.
Here is the 26min. presentation and discussion on fund balance from the November 16, 2010 Board of Education meeting.With state aid cuts and the cost of remediating the bus garage hitting the school district in the same year, it is fortunate there was fund balance available to cover the costs. Lacking those funds, taxes might have skyrocketed and the program might have been devastated.
Good planning and foresight have allowed the school district to keep tax rates stable, preserve its program, and retain the needed teaching staff. With test scores and graduation rates improving but still low, cutting the program would have caused serious setbacks to the education of our children.
On the left is a 7min. clip from the March 4, 2010 meeting. It explains the dangers of using up fund balance, as evidenced by past budgets.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
VIDEO: Port Jervis Board of Education
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
[note: no sound for the first 41 seconds]
Sunday, January 2, 2011
School Elections Location Change
On January 18th, the Port Jervis Board of Education will decide whether or not to move the polling place locations for school elections. The planned change looks like this:
To the left is a video clip of the presentation and discussion from the December meeting of the Board of Education.
Polling in the Town of Deerpark will consolidate from their current locations to the A.S.K and H.B.E. buildings. Polling in Port Jervis will not be affected as all four wards currently vote at the Middle School.
To the left is a video clip of the presentation and discussion from the December meeting of the Board of Education.Changing the polling places reduces cost and allows us to become compliant with current laws. However, some voters in Deerpark may be very inconvenienced by the modification.
The feedback I've received to date is supportive of the proposed change. And, truthfully, unless another solution to the proposal is offered, I am leaning toward supporting the move from the current locations to school grounds.
Please, visit here to send your arguments, pro or con. I would love to have your observations, Steve
