By Jim Tricoli
AMHERST TIMES


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Our Town Board seems to be in another world when it comes to making decisions. They should be looking into ways our town can Make or save money.

At the Town Board meeting, Monday July 9,2018, the Engineering Department wanted $600,000 for equipment. The only Board member who asked questions about these purchases was Debbie Bucki and Supervisor Kulpa. The other Board members looked like they were trying to figure out what day it was. This request for money will have to be bonded.

When it comes to important votes what the public hears from this board is yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. There wasn’t one no vote all evening. The three members who don’t question hardly anything are a disgrace to be on this Town Board. These members are: Fran Spoth, Shawn Lavin and Jackie Berger. Not one of these individuals is ready to hold office.

These people should have realized that to be on our Town Board means you have to work and keep up with what’s happening in Amherst. The  biggest disappointment is Fran Spoth who hasn’t shown any leadership to help the two new members.

If these three members decide to do the work needed to be a good Town Board representative, they should begin by working harder to help solve the real problems Amherst faces.

Fran Spoth is what developers want on the Town Board. She appointed Bob Gilmour to the Planning Board. She has a close business connection with him. The curse on the Planning Board is the holdover, Dal Giuliani, who’s term actually expired 12/31/17.

Why hasn’t the Board replaced this enemy of the people of Amherst, like every other volunteer whose term expired? The answer is that he is the darling of the developers.  He voted 97% of the time FOR them in his more than 8 years on the Planning Board. His job is to make sure the right candidates, the ones who support developers, receive donations from the developers. He is the gift that keeps giving our land in Amherst to developers. They fear replacing him. Candidates who need money will not be gifted with money from developers. It’s that simple. Corruption rules and frightens little people who give in and sell their souls to keep their seats, including volunteers like Giuliani, Gilmour and Fran Spoth among the many others who want power, and money.

Amherst, like so many other places, is being bleed to death by the weak choices we make at elections. Citizens will not get involved fighting these people because they haven’t yet noticed how hard it has hit them in their pocketbook.  They haven’t felt the sting of losing the things that brought them to Amherst, yet.

One of my favorite, personal quotations goes like this, “Hold your true friends close and your enemies under your feet.” (J. Tricoli)

James Tricoli is editor and owner of the Amhersttimes.com


Originally published on Amherst Times. Republished with permission.