New Town Board members plan to bring changes, orders
SATISH MOHAN Amherst Supervisor
People have spoken: Barry Weinstein, Guy Marlette and Mark Manna will be our next Town Council members. I welcome them and am looking forward to working with them. I have met them, and they all have expressed their desire to bring a sense of economy, civility and decorum to the functioning of the Town Board.

All three future council members have pledged in their election agendas and in my meetings with them that they will hold the line on property taxes, make town government more efficient, and bring civility and decorum to the Town Board meetings. They all have business experiences and are qualified professionals. With our somewhat common platform, I am hopeful of succeeding in making town government more efficient.

Barry Weinstein wrote in his election flier, "I pledge to listen to your concerns and make town government work harder for each tax dollar."

Guy Marlette wrote in his flier, "I'll focus on the long-term financial stability of Amherst and revitalization of our neighborhoods."

Mark Manna says, "I will work with elected officials to reduce spending, control sprawl and keep Amherst one of America's safest cities in which to live, work and do business."

I appreciate and want to thank Roy Wixson, Jerry Schad and Robert Foladare for their desire and efforts to join public service and Bill Kindel for his untiring zeal to continue in public service. I especially want to thank Roy Wixson, who did an excellent job as my deputy supervisor this past year. He negotiated the settlement of a six-year-old litigation against our town and cleared the way for the establishment of the 1,274-acre "forever wild" Nature View Park, located in North Amherst. Roy also expedited the legal decision from the Environmental Protection Agency, which brought $358,000 to our town.

My goals stay the same: 1 - lower taxes and a smaller efficient town government; 2 - fair and equitable assessment; 3 - development that

eliminates flooding, sinking and traffic congestion and that does not leave vacant buildings; 4 - attracting new businesses and jobs through college industry partnerships; and 5 - an honest, open and civil government.

While a town government that is composed of elected officials and employees is the key to achieving these goals, citizen volunteers play an important role. Without the citizens' involvement, any goals cannot be met. In the next month, we will be appointing citizens to participate in several committees. Some more important committees for which we are looking for volunteers are: Arts & Culture in Public Places, Board of Ethics, Salary Review Commission, Committee on Disabilities, Government Study Committee, Energy Conservation Advisory Committee, Conservation Advisory Council, Employee Suggestions Review Board, Information Technology Advisory Committee and Traffic Safety Board. Please call me or other Town Board members with your interests.

Our 2008 budget has been finalized. We will spend $115.8 million, 2 percent more than in 2007. The property tax levy will be 1.25 percent less. This is a small step in the right direction but represents a turnaround from a past trend of ever-increasing taxes. I hope to continue this trend.