The reason I hear the most is that they would not be able to listen to people complaining all the time. They think they would probably end up in a brawl. The other reason is that they don't want to take the time and whats the difference anyway. Mainly they would just get tired of hearing nothing but complaints from people. That isn't always the case and sometimes. every once in a while, someone DOES notice the good thats been done. I usually welcome complaints, they can lead to improvement. I will admit that there are some people who will just never be pleased regardless of what you do.
You hit the nail on the head Bumble. Its all about Passion. I have said it exactly like that many times. At this time in my life being the Supervisor of D'burg is my passion. I have allowed my day job to slip, because this is my passion. When I'm asked about running for county leg, my reply is usually that my heart is in D'burg, translated into it being my passion
And having your passion is what makes you an effective supervisor. HOWEVER....don't you think you may be even more effective for D'burg if you had a seat on the county legislature? (and us in Rotterdam? )
Health office to be closed Nott Terrace location being shuttered as costs rise BY JAMES SCHLETT Gazette Reporter
A primary care safety net provider will bail out of its satellite office near Ellis Hospital and the Schenectady County Jail as its uninsured patient roster and financial woes escalate. Hometown Health Centers President and Chief Executive Officer John Silva declared Thursday that his federally qualified health center is edging closer to the brink of collapse, forcing him to abandon its services at the jail and the Ellis Medical Arts Center on Nott Terrace. The service cancellations mark an aboutface for HHC, which only three years ago assumed those health care provider roles in the community. But officials for the nonprofit organization blamed HHC’s contraction on a lack of financial support from the state, county and city and politicians’ apathy for the working poor. “The cry of the poor is here today,” the Rev. Michael Hogan, HHC vice chairman, said at a news conference at the Ellis satellite offi ce. Prior to HHC’s acquisition of the primary care center from Ellis in 2004, the hospital was losing $800,000 there. HHC managed to reduce that annual loss to $150,000, but the venture has been far less lucrative than the nonprofit organization had hoped. The satellite office’s high concentration of commercially insured elderly patients is the main reason why it has yielded poor financial results. When HHC initially took over the office, it had more patients covered by Medicare, which provides higher reimbursement payments for care than private health plans. The Ellis satellite office has 3,500 federally registered patients. Its staff of 20 will be consolidated into a new senior care center at HHC’s State Street headquarters. Silva said the Nott Terrace operation’s $100,000 annual rent, taxes and utility costs are also a factor in the decision. Silva said the hospital’s support for the operation has also dried up. Since 2004, Ellis has provided HHC with $500,000 to cover transition and other expenses. Ellis spokeswoman Donna Evans said Thursday that HHC’s decision may well be the best course of action for it. She said the hospital does not know the impact the closure might have. “These decisions were not easy ones to make, but in the end, it simply comes down to economics. Hometown Health can no longer afford to maintain both of these programs,” Silva said. HHC’s annual contract at the jail expires in December. Although Silva said his organization is not losing money at the jail, providing care there is straining its resources. HHC’s costs for providing medical and dental care for inmates have risen at an annual rate of 10 percent. Yet he said the county has refused to increase funding for the 2008 contract by more than 3 percent. County Legislator Brian Gordon, D-Niskayuna, said HHC also asked the county for a $250,000 grant in addition, plus an ongoing subsidy of undetermined size. “Over the past three years, Schenectady County has worked hard with Hometown Health to deal with its persistent administrative problems. It was necessary for the county to directly pay bills incurred by Hometown Health due to its inability to pay vendors directly on a timely basis, or to segregate funds as required under the contract,” Gordon said. The county will seek alternate vendors for the jail contract, he said. When asked about HHC’s threat last week to scrap the jail contract, County Attorney Chris Gardner said the county does not plan to add more spending to its budget. But the office of the Schenectady County manager issued a statement Thursday saying that the city’s public health and finance commissioners had not been told until Thursday morning that the 3 percent annual increase in the jail contract was unacceptable. “We have a longstanding history of working collaboratively with our providers and appreciate the services Hometown Health Center provided to the county jail,” the statement said. HHC runs on a $9 million budget and treats 22,000 federally registered patients. For the first nine months of the year, it had 2,231 uninsured patient visits, up 75 percent from 1,271 for all of 2006. Although HHC receives $1 million annually from the federal government to defray the costs of charity care, that funding covers an increasingly small fraction of the total cost. The organization’s cost for charity care totaled $1.9 million in 2005 and is projected to reach $2.7 million this year. Although HHC ended 2005 with a $21,000 surplus, the increase in uninsured cases has erased that gain. The organization expects to report a deficit of up to $350,000 for 2006. “In just a few months, we’ll see whether the [uninsured] epidemic will cause the third and final symptom — closing our doors on State Street, locking up the only primary care safety net provider in the county,” Silva said.
Hometown Health Centers President and Chief Executive Officer John Silva declared Thursday that his federally qualified health center is edging closer to the brink of collapse, forcing him to abandon its services at the jail and the Ellis Medical Arts Center on Nott Terrace. The service cancellations mark an aboutface for HHC, which only three years ago assumed those health care provider roles in the community. But officials for the nonprofit organization blamed HHC’s contraction on a lack of financial support from the state, county and city and politicians’ apathy for the working poor.
So, is this what we can expect of Mr. Silva if/when he serves in an administration in Rotterdam?
Maybe they'll re-open here with some special benefit with him on the board.
Proud Rotterdam Resident Proud Patriot Proud Conservative Republican Proud Christian
Posted on: 10/24/07 Written by: Jessica Harding, Schenectady County Reporter email: hardingj@spotlightnews.com
Four Rotterdam residents are vying for two open seats on Rotterdam’s Town Board.
Both seats were vacated by Democrats. Diane Marco is retiring and Robert Godlewski is running for a seat on the Schenectady County Legislature.
Democrats Richard Leet and John Silva are running against Republican Michael Della Villa and Republican-endorsed John Denny.
Leet, 50, moved to Rotterdam in 1981, and is currently the manager of CVS Pharmacy. Leet is also active in St. Gabriel’s Church, serving on the parish council and as chairman of the pastoral planning committee, which is in charge of setting goals for the future of the parish. He also is a religious education teacher.
“I have been involved in nonprofits; that is my background,” Leet said. “I was asked to run, which is foreign to me, but there are many issues in the town. I feel like our quality of life is suffering. …We need to decide what our goal is for the town, and we should do that by bringing the community together.”
Silva is the CEO of Hometown Health Centers, which specializes in providing primary health care to low-income and uninsured patients. He moved to Rotterdam eight years ago from Boston, where he served as a town selectman. Silva said he is not used to party politics and feels it is a detriment to local governments.
“We need to stop placing blame for our problems and work together to solve them,” he said. “This is about vision and collaboration, about listening first and acting second and having the ability to say you are wrong and try it another way.”
Della Villa, a Schalmont graduate, currently serves as president of the Schalmont Board of Education. He feels the town needs to concentrate on smart economic growth and bettering the future for Rotterdam’s children.
“We have a lot of work to do, and sometimes it seems like we are pushing a large load up Mount Everest,” he said. “We need a sound economic development plan and smart growth with a focus on our children and community support.”
Denny, 62, a registered Democrat endorsed by the Republican Party, is also a Rotterdam native. He has worked for the town for more than 20 years in various departments and is retiring in January. He said he is qualified for a position in town government because he understands the inner workings of the town.
“I’m not a lawyer or doctor; I’m an everyday working, hands-on kind of guy,” Denny said. “I have been involved in a lot of things, and I know what’s going on because I’ve worked there. I have a lot of knowledge about the town and good ideas to help save the town some money.”
All four candidates feel they have what it takes to create positive change in the town, including ways to lessen the property tax burden and fix water problems within the town.
Leet said the town should create a schedule for reassessing property to prevent the shocking changes that the current reassessment project created. Lessening the burden of taxes on town residents is a large concern for each of the candidates.
Silva said the town should take a better look at the reassessment because he feels homes and properties were assessed wrong, which has caused the sharp increase in property taxes.
Denny agreed. He said the town should have used its own personnel to complete the reassessment project rather than hire a private firm.
Della Villa said the way to decrease the property tax burden is to increase the tax base by bringing in more business. Silva agreed, saying the town should develop a comprehensive business plan.
The four candidates also have plans to tackle the town’s water issues, including problems with drainage at Masullo Estates, the lack of sewers and a new water tower in Rotterdam Junction.
Leet and Silva want the whole town to address these issues, not just those who would be affected.
“Right now, the town wants everyone to pay for these things on their own,” Leet said. “We feel there might be a way to bond for these things.”
Denny said he would be useful when dealing with water issues because he has worked for the highway department and the department of public works on the town’s sewer systems and drainage systems. He doesn’t agree that the monetary burden for fixing the drainage problems should be put on the entire town; rather, the affected residents should get together with the town to solve the problems.
Della Villa said the town has been dealing with water issues for decades. He said an engineer should be looking at the drainage issues, especially at Masullo Estates. You can contact hardingj@spotlightnews.com with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Silva said the town should take a better look at the reassessment because he feels homes and properties were assessed wrong, which has caused the sharp increase in property taxes.
So is this the best Silva's got to run on? Cause ya know what? We can all, as taxpayers, as homeowners, as residents take a better look at the reassessment ourselves. And Rotterdam's taxpayers pay Mr. Majacka for this job. Go see him!
And Mr. Silva is a true democrat. He has NO vision for this town. He just bashes the reps. Typical democratic campaigning!
And he's another one who looks for government, taxpaid hand outs for his Hometown Health clinic! With Mr. Silva will do his bidding to the government for even more government programs!! Which is clearly what we, the taxpayers, need nor can afford.
And he's another one who looks for government, taxpaid hand outs for his Hometown Health clinic! With Mr. Silva will do his bidding to the government for even more government programs!! Which is clearly what we, the taxpayers, need nor can afford.
That 'pot' was stirred by someone from the Spitzer house......or made to look that way.....national heathcare national healthcare...oh what a relief it is...plop plop fizz fizz....blah blah...blah blah........we shall see.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
OK, so get this. Do you want to know how serious the Democrats are about this race?
First of all, I have signs on my lawn for Mr. Tommasone and Mr. Della Villa (Both on the same sign, I have 2, 1 facing each way).
Mr. Leet came to my door and Mr. Silva was back near the road on the footpath heading to the next door neighbors. Well, do you want to know how deep my conversation was with Mr. Leet? Yeah, his first comment was that he was running with his running mate, Mr. Silva...and his selling point? Yes, Mr. Silva wears a hat because he doesn't want people to know he's bald (or going bald, I don't remember which). I took the fliers that Mr. Leet handed to me and gave them to my son and told him to just throw them out.
I have no need for that garbage, although if I take them, at least someone else won't get that copy.
Proud Rotterdam Resident Proud Patriot Proud Conservative Republican Proud Christian
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