1. Financial Accountability.

As a small business owner Joe knows the value of good accounting and financial responsibility.

Joe proposes requirements that department heads report monthly their expenditures and it's relationship to the budget. This will help insure departments are getting what they need instead of spending what they have.

2. Reduce Taxes

There are several key solutions to eliminate over- taxing in a community.
Joe believes in keeping the books open.

Joint purchase in common commodities with surrounding towns and villages to provide discounts for essential goods.

Encouraging competitive bidding on large town expenditures.

Monitoring fees from development and keeping them in line with actual cost so that taxpayers are not penalized for private profit. Making sure that the fees are collected.

3. Promote responsible businesses

We all know that the prosperity of a town is critically hinged on providing jobs for the community. Joe is committed to helping Saugerties grow but not at the expense of the health of it's residents.

We can't expect responsible businesses to be interested in moving into an industrial zoned area without appropriate infra-structure. At present the Town has been unable to procure the funding for essential services such as water and sewer. Joe feels that with the pressure of the additional population and the diminishing job market this issue needs a high priority status. Because there exists a mixture of business and private homes, the project must be affordable.

Cable and internet service expansion plans need to be in synch with the Towns development plans.

Joe will encourage new responsible businesses to come to Saugerties.
As a former member and chair of the Town Planning Board Joe has seen business applications that disregard Town and State law, expecting rubber stamp approval with the promise of few, if any, jobs.

Joe wants businesses that "mitigate, not litigate". Businesses should be prepared to follow the law. The Town must enforce these laws so that people's hard earned tax dollars are not spent paying lawyers for unnecessary litigation..

4. End conflict of interest issues

All too often, conflict of interest arises and jeopardizes the public's faith in how their town is run. Joe proposes to enforce conflict of interest laws so that public faith will be restored.Additionally these conflicts are generally brought into courts at both the citizen or the town's expense and often times when the citizen is in the right, he is additionally burdened by paying, with his taxes, town attorneys to challange his case, essentially paying for both attorneys.

5. End Partisan Politics.

Over the past two years, Saugerties has seen tremendous growth but as result of partisan politics and petty bickering the town has lost substantial ground in keeping up with the timely and responsible decisions that must be made.

6. Qualified Town appointees.

With the growth of the town, the stakes are higher and the risks are much greater.
It seems as if the town goes from lawsuit to lawsuit hinged on errors made by well meaning, yet ill-informed public officials.
It's no longer enough to be just a good person.
We must have good people with specific skills in finance, law and administration to fill those positions. In addition these appointees, must make the commitment to use their skills for the betterment of the town .

Joe can talk about business because Joe "knows business."