Matt Rayo & Joe Rotondo Remind You to VOTE! from Matt Rayo on Vimeo.

UPDATE (10/18): The Common Council and the Mayor have reached an agreement to purchase the vehicles requested by the Police Department. Read the story at YNN.

Today, Sarah McIlvain, my appointment to the Syracuse Citizen Review Board, was sworn into office by City Clerk John Copanas in Council Chambers at City Hall. The Citizen Review Board is a body that is charged to investigate complaints of police misconduct and provides civilian oversight over the Syracuse Police Department.

As the elected legislative body of the city of Syracuse, the Common Council is responsible for adopting the city budget. It is a complex balancing act between projecting revenues and identifying expenses while providing services to our citizens. With that responsibility comes the obligation to reflect the values of the people of Syracuse.

The budget the council adopted for 2011-12 contains information relative to the Ida Benderson Senior Center. The budget detail shows that the services to be provided by the center are unchanged for the full fiscal year. The budget does not list any contract with the Salvation Army. Moreover, there was never any indication that the administration would close the Ida Benderson Center. In her commentary Monday, Mayor Stephanie Miner attempts to explain her administration’s decision to close the Ida Benderson Center. She talks about “long-term savings for city taxpayers,” “services we can no longer afford,” “fiscal reality” and “our fiscal future.” Meanwhile the chief of staff insisted that the decision to close Ida Benderson is “not primarily about the money.” The messages from the mayor’s office are inconsistent, and the claim that full-year funding for the center is not in the budget that was the council adopted is not true. The mayor claims that she has identified a need to provide nursing and other medical services to the Ida Benderson members. But no needs assessment or analysis has been conducted to determine what those needs truly are.

Obviously one way to determine those needs is to ask the people involved. The Common Council did just that, and listened to those who use the center. What we learned from listening to them is that they need a safe haven where they can come together and socialize as a family, where they can support each other, get a good meal and care for each other as members of the Ida Benderson community they all love. They are not asking for nursing services, but simply want to keep the center open and operating as it has for years, and as the city budget provides for.

As we anticipate further cuts in the next Community Development Block Grant budget, councilors are extremely concerned that the Cecile, Magnarelli, Westside and other community centers will be the next targeted for closing without input from those who benefit from those facilities. If we do not work to save the Ida Benderson Center today, we should not be surprised when the next community or senior center is suddenly closed tomorrow.

The mayor states: “The alternative to entering into an agreement with the Salvation Army is to close the Ida Benderson Center, provide no services to seniors and play the blame game.” That is her alternative, not ours. We councilors believe that the appropriate approach is to keep the center open and operating, providing the services the people of the community have come to expect and enjoy, and that are provided for in the budget.

As councilors, we will find meaningful solutions to real problems, but we will not participate in the closing of the Ida Benderson Center, which creates a problem and solves nothing. If not a center for seniors to gather for food and friendship, what is the plan for the 200 block of South Salina Street?

Van Robinson, president
Kathleen Joy, majority leader and councilor at large
Ryan McMahon, minority leader and 3rd District councilor
Jean Kessner, councilor-at-large
Lance Denno, councilor-at-large
Pamela Hunter, councilor-at-large
Matthew Rayo, 1st District councilor
Patrick Hogan, 2nd District councilor
Thomas Seals, 4th District councilor
Nader Maroun, 5th District councilor

In this particular instance, the Mayor has the authority to enter into a contract without the approval of the Council, so she went ahead and contracted with the RFP Committee’s selection, even though the Council voted it down. The Mayor believes it was in the best interest of the City of Syracuse. I agree. Read the story at the Post-Standard.

In preparation for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this weekend, I participated in the annual Painting of the Stripe Ceremony on North Salina St, along with several other local officials, including County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Deputy Mayor John Cowin, 2nd District Councilor Pat Hogan and the Parade’s Grand Marshal, Capt. Richard Walsh.

Read Across America Day is celebrated every year on the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss. This year, I had the opportunity to participate in the festivities at White Branch Library. I would like to thank the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County and White Branch Library for hosting such a wonderful event.