Archive: Opinions

EditorialI don't know if something is in the air, if it's just the end of a long year, or what... but the final regular board meetings at both the Town and Village struck me funny.  I was laughing uncontrollably at times, trying not to disrupt the meetings.  The Village meeting is always jovial in tone, and while Town meetings tend to be more sleeves-up get-it-done they are usually friendly enough.  But there was something especially silly in the air this week.

The highlight was Village Attorney David Dubow's attempt to explain two new laws that define exceptions to the definition of a lot.  That is, a lot of land as it relates to tax parcels.  I won't go into the details -- I can't really, because it was so confusing and lost in the details that even Dubow couldn't explain what the heck those laws are talking about.  Finally he gave up and told the board to just vote for them, because they are something only the lawyers will deal with anyway!  Which precipitated sympathetic laughter.

Maybe I just don't get out enough, but I like it when our elected officials are good humored.  That doesn't mean they don't get things done, but it does mean they like being there and doing the work of the Village and Town.  And while they don't always agree, it means they don't make it personal.  They can disagree, come to a consensus, and go on to the next thing.

Knowing that I record municipal meetings so I can quote them accurately about a dozen Village officials challenged me at the Mayor's holiday party, asking if I was secretly recording them.  That's their idea of humor!  My stock answer is that I save all those recordings for future blackmail.  That's only fair, right?  Besides, I can't interview people with my mouth full.

With both municipalities doing their best to get through the end of year tasks, including passing five new laws in the Village, and passing the State mandated Illicit Discharge law in the Town, it is almost amazing that they could keep their good humor.  That extended to the town holiday lunch, where outgoing Supervisor told the town employees that he is being succeeded by a good man.  He then announced that that good man, Scott Pinney, would start them all off with a chorus of 'Jingle Bells.'  Pinney stood up and said, "Jingle..." ... thus making good on his promise to reduce spending... or reduce something...

He claims he did a good deed by not singing.

But it was those Village lot laws that really cracked me up this year.  The more they discussed them, the more confusing they seemed.  The more confusing they got, the more they tried to untangle them.  Last year I had sewer puns.  This year it's lot laws.

One thing was clear.  If a parcel of land is not a lot, it's a little!

Have a happy, safe, and warm holiday.

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