That was a slightly high estimate. It cost just over $16,000 for the referendum.
The printing and postal costs were the most, followed by the police overtime, paying the Inspectors, and paying the Town Attorney.
Here's the funny part. The referendum could have cost $8,480.33 without the mailing. (The referendum could have cost $5,268.61 without the mailing, and the police directing traffic/parking, but I can see where there might be a need for traffic control, so I would, personally, still include police overtime. Safety first!)
The Town was not required to do a mailing, and could have saved the taxpayers $7,653.93 - the largest expense of the referendum.
Supervisor Heyman stated herself in an article in the Irondequoit Post, from January 26th, 2009......
Heyman said town officials did meet with the Monroe County Board of Elections, adding that the single voting location was recommended “to keep costs (of the vote) manageable.”
"If there were more than one polling place," she said, "the town would be required to do a special mailing, alerting residents to the location of their polling place."
Why does she continually tell the public one thing, and then does the complete opposite?
Someone please explain this to me.
Why tell the public you are going with one polling place to avoid a mailing about the referendum to "keep costs manageable" - then go right on ahead and do a mailing that adds cost? A mailing you didn't have to do?
This is what cost $7,653.93. The taxpayers spent that much on a propaganda mailer? The "Background Information" on this mailer is completely unnecessary, all that is required is polling place information & what's on the ballot, and even that wasn't required due to it being at one location, according to the Supervisor.
(Note: I am not entirely sure on this point of not having to do a mailer about the vote. I have an e-mail in to NYS Board Of Elections asking this very question. I will let ya know what answers I receive.)
(Note deux: I have just spoken with someone from the Monroe County Board of Elections,(4/2/09 2pm), and someone from Peter M. Quinn's office to inquire as to whether or not a Town is required to send out a mailing with voter information on it if there is only one polling place. They told me it was TOTALLY up to the municipality to send out a mailer, and the Monroe County BOE had nothing to do with this vote because it was a "Town issue" regarding the special vote (permissive referendum) - the only thing Monroe County was required to do was deliver the machines - the inspectors were selected by Barbara Genier, and the mailing was totally up to the Supervisor to mail out. Monroe County BOE did not run this vote, everything was totally up to the Supervisor. For clarification, Peter Quinn's office told me that NO mailing is required for a permissive referendum at one polling location! A notice is required to be posted at Town Hall, or businesses in town, or in newspapers etc., but no mailing is required. I had originally thought I was wrong on this part....but I'm not. Supervisor Heyman DID NOT HAVE TO DO A MAILING about the vote, polling place, or "background information" - that was totally up to her. She could have saved the taxpayers over $7,000.00 - but decided against that.)
It also states blatantly false information on the mailer:
"The Town has no plans to sell the Pinegrove building."
As you can read in the 2006 Pinegrove Financial Evaluation, the Town paid a consultant thousands of taxpayer dollars for his assessment of the property with the intention to sell it.
From the evaluation:
"This analysis is presented for the purposes of finding a mutually agreeable purchase price for the sale of the Pinegrove Senior Center by the Town Of Irondequoit, New York to the West Irondequoit Central School District."
