The town board has oversight and responsibility for the following:

• Assessment and collection of real estate property taxes for the school district, villages and town (and appointment of the assessment appeals board).
• Funding and maintaining the town library, together with appointment of the library board, which operates the library.
• Negotiating and overseeing ambulance services throughout town.
• Funding and overseeing the town recreation department, including appointment and oversight of the town recreation commission, which operates recreation activities.
• Negotiating and performing under certain intermunicipal agreements, such as the fields agreement with the school district, 9/11 Memorial agreement with the Village of Pelham and the Spring Road field agreement with New York City.
• Funding and overseeing services for senior citizens through the appointment of the senior citizen liaison.
• Funding or contracting with respect to cultural or social programs such as the Pelham Children’s Center, Pelham Art Center and outdoor music performances.
• Funding and maintenance of the town justice court, including payment of town constables who transport prisoners and provide security on certain occasions.
• As the town is the only department of the state, it is the principal source and beneficiary of grants, which is a great way to have taxpayer money returned to the town; in this capacity, the town often works with the villages, the school district and others as a conduit for sharing funds.
• Given such, it is critical that candidates be educated and offer a cogent plan for offering better services at the town level.

I had the benefit of working with Dan McLaughlin and Blake Bell, both of whom are undoubtedly qualified and have demonstrated selfless, intelligent service to us, their neighbors.

Bill O’Connor

684 Esplanade

P.S. After writing this letter, I read some social media commentary about holiday displays on government property. Over the past four decades, the Supreme Court of the United States has rendered several decisions which permit secular displays of items such as trees, wreaths, sleds, Frosty the Snowman, etc. My reading of these and New York cases, suggests that certain other display items such as a menorah are permitted provided that public funds are not used to procure them.