Yes, Amherst has a problem. We have a major deficit in this year’s budget. The problem is that the Town needs two million dollars to balance this year’s budget at this point in time. There isn’t any mystery about how this huge hole appeared in our budget.
Blame must be placed at the feet of our Town Supervisor whose reckless use of the town’s money, without any regard to the economic climate, has brought us to this point. Mohan depended on a belief that the money would just come from somewhere. He had no idea where or when the money would come from but he was always assured our Town Comptroller would get the money he needed for his plans.
This blunder by the Supervisor can in part be shared by his 2 closest advisors, Shelly Schratz and Colleen Bogdan, all three knew full well the Town’s revenues didn’t meet the money the Supervisor needed for the many projects of his wishful thinking but they continue to feed him the line he could do anything he wanted.
The Supervisor and his advisors put our Town in jeopardy and now he is crying for everyone to take a cut in services. Some of the services he’s thinking about cutting will affect many needed programs especially summer programs. Mohan wants to cut all part time workers and seasonal summer workers. Perhaps he believes he can be a lifeguard at a town pool, even though he couldn’t guard the people’s money.
At the special Board meeting which was held Monday June 29, I suggested to the Town Board that THE PUBLIC SHOULD EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ON WHAT SERVICES THEY WANT TO KEEP at the next Town Board meeting on 6th.
At the July 6th meeting Supervisor Mohan will tell the people of Amherst what services he is planning to cut. The people must not let him lead them further down the path of fiscal instability with his lies.
If residents accept his ‘BS’, explaining how our Town got into such a financial mess they deserve him as their leader. He is a man who knows very little about how to run a town but a lot about taking care of his own self interest.
Supervisor Mohan will go down in Amherst’s history as someone who knew little or nothing about running a town and couldn’t admit he messed up.
It will take many years before Amherst will no longer be considered a joke.