TO DESCRIBE THESE PEOPLE'S WORK AS "CRAZY" IS JUST THE BEGINNING

The never-ending nonsense I hear coming from the mouths of council members during council and committee meetings appalls me to the core.  I think these people would be laughed out of any other city or town.  And the garbage is only getting worse, if only because no one is paying attention to what is going on.

Take the Parking Study Committee's meeting on February 25th, for example. Committee member Dominic Merante wanted to have a discussion about possibly raising the fee for a FIRE ZONE ticket from $75 to $100. (Actually, Dominic, Fire Zone tickets are set at $50, not $75!)  The person in charge of the meeting, Jen Belton, who might know a little more than Dominic about what Hudson's parking needs are, had to stop him.  She told Dominic, "that's not a conversation for us.  The Finance Committee is working on that.  And Rich is putting it all together in some kind of crazy spread sheet and he's going to show it to us at our informal meeting."

That's at least the third time this year I have heard Belton use the word "crazy" when no adjective was necessary.  I'm not sure what Jen was trying to get at with calling her compatriot's hard work "crazy," and I doubt Rich would know either.  It turns out, though, that Jen was on to something.

One week earlier at the Finance Committee meeting, led by Rich Volo, their sole purpose was to update parking ticket fees.  (Why it would be up to them to do this I have no idea!)  "Today we're going to talk about parking fees," he began, with only Margaret Morris and Vicky Daskaloudi in attendance (the other members, my useless third ward reps, were nowhere to be found).  They did more than talk about the fees -- they were proposing increases to them.  "And what I did was I put together a comparison with the City of Hudson's fees versus the City of Kingston's fees and I tried to tie them together one by one.  This is my best effort to put comparisons."  Volo then read from his "crazy" spread sheet.  "Let's start at the top.  We have wrong side parking which we charge $25 and then after 30 days it goes up to $75.  What they have is something called Alternate Side Parking which is the same fee.  So..."

Margaret then says, "We're in line with them."

Volo continues, "In line, right?  Fine. Great." 
I can only guess that Rich Volo pulled that data for his spread sheet right straight out of his ass.  Anyone who owns a car with no option but to park it overnight on a city street knows that a Wrong Side Parking ticket issued in the early morning hours by HPD will cost you $15, not $25.  And if you don't pay it on time, it increases to $55, not $75.  Since Rich Volo owns a car, you'd think he wouldn't offer such ridiculous false information.  But the problem is that he never has to park his car on State Street where he lives because he has a driveway behind his house just long enough to fit his car.  It is entirely possible that 4th ward alderman (on his second term after a hiatus) has never parked his car overnight on any street in Hudson.  According to tax records, Volo has lived in the 300 block of State Street since 2006.  Do you suppose that he has ever once gotten a Wrong Side Parking ticket for parking overnight on the wrong side of State Street in the past twenty years?  Of course he hasn't.  He is one of the blessed entitled council members who has no clue what is going on in the real world.  He is in his own world (yes, that's him in the lead picture).

Reality!

But it gets better. 

Because Margaret Morris chimed in about the $25 fee, agreeing with her crazy cohort on the (incorrect) amount, she also had no idea what she was talking about or working on. Margaret Morris, the member who wants to lead the council next year, also had no clue that a Wrong Side Parking ticket in Hudson is set at $15, not $25.  Margaret Morris owns a car, and the large house she owns on Union Street has a garage facing 5th Street in which she parks it.  Apparently, she is also among the fortunate few car owners to never have been issued an overnight Wrong Side Parking ticket, because if she had been she would have corrected the crazy-talking guy in the seat next to her.  Hell, Margaret's probably never even seen a Wrong Side Parking ticket since moving to Hudson, let along touched one, nor does she know anyone who has been issued or had to pay one.  She probably doesn't even know when Wrong Side tickets are typically issued.  But she was certain that the fee for them is $25, and that that amount should remain as is!  Yet another entitled, semi-clueless clown. 

And what about the other Finance Committee member in the room making decisions for the future of Hudson, 5th Ward representative Vicky Daskaloudi?  She also apparently had no idea how much the commoners of Hudson must pay if they are caught parking their car on the wrong side of the street at night.  Like the other two, Vicky owns a car and a house with a driveway and, since she never has to park on the street, also has likely never had to pay even one $15 (!!!) Wrong Side Parking ticket.  Lucky her!  Never seen one, never known of one, never talked to anyone about one, never paid one.  She too was fine with the fee for the ticket "remaining at $25."  I, for one, will not miss her efforts on the council (she has announced her retirement from the council at the end of this year).

From the city code (with my markings)

$15? $25? $75 if you don't pay it on time?  What does it matter how much a ticket costs to these people who feel so proud of what they are accomplishing, particularly Crazy Rich Volo, acting as if they know what they are talking about and doing? 

But it gets worse!  For the entire meeting, all 3 members completely disregarded the city's own stated formula regarding late fees penalties for ALL parking tickets not paid within 30 days.  Here is that formula, as easily found on the Parking Bureau's webpage:

In the real world -- in which these people do not occupy -- a $15 ticket unpaid after 30 days immediately jumps to $55 ($15+$15+$25=$55). This is the overdue ticket formula which Rich Volo and the others are completely unaware of.  Most people who pay attention and who actually receive parking tickets know about this rule/formula. It's even printed on every parking ticket HPD issues, including those for meter violations! The only people who would not know this basic information are those who do not ever see, read or pay tickets, like possibly every common council member and most certainly Rich Volo and our dear mayor. (If you haven't already, please read about that jerk and his personal parking ticket amnesty program here: Our Sleazeball Mayor.)

At the end of the 35-minute 3-person Finance Committee meeting, with no one from the Parking Bureau, the Treasurer's Office or the Police Department in attendance, Crazy Rich read aloud the changes to parking ticket fees which the 3 members had agreed on (and which I believe will be presented to the council next week).  It was the summarization of the committee's work for the day.

"I'm going to run through the changes we made today.  Wrong side parking fee we're going to leave at $25 (!!!!), the penalty after 30 days is $75."  Nice try, Rich, let's see how far that gets.  But that was the only overdue ticket fee which adhered to the Parking Bureau's own formula for late fees, if only by chance.  The remaining late fees were essentially created out of thin air, with complete disregard for the late fee formula that is as plain as day to anyone paying attention and which the Parking Bureau adheres to for every goddamn parking ticket.  Here are just a few of the other ticket fees and late fees which the so-called Finance Committee proposed to change, of a total of eleven:

Snow Emergency was changed from $25 to $50, after 30 days to $75. (Off by $50!)

Double Parking remains at $75, after 30 days to $125. (Also off by $50!  Additionally, the fee for these tickets is $50, not $75!!!!! Crazy misinformation yet again!)

Fire Zone was changed from $50 to $75, after 30 days $125. (Ditto!  And Dominic Merante, who is nearly blind and does not drive, should be thrilled with this change!)

And here are two of my favorites, also missing the mark by $50:  Parking In A No Parking Zone and Parking in A Crosswalk tickets were both (suggested to be) raised from $25 to $75 (!!!), and after 30 days to $125!!!!!  If the crazies on the Finance Committee had any knowledge of how overdue parking ticket fees are computed (hello, the Parking Bureau is located in the adjacent room, and they have a webpage on the city's website!), they would have known that any $75 parking ticket is AUTOMATICALLY turned into a $175 ticket after 30 days.  

But these people have no fucking clue what they are doing, with Rich, Margaret and Vicky just making shit up as they go along.  They were literally asking each other how much they felt the late fees should raise the price of the tickets! (Are they taking after Elon Musk and his elitist, entitled MAGA crazies?)  Of course, this will only confuse the remainder of the council when Rich presents his crazy spreadsheet to Jen Belton and the rest of the loosey goosey crew next week.  Someone in the room should stand up and shout, "This was a complete waste of your time.  Why are you wasting our time, too?  Do the three of you have any idea what you are doing, especially you, Rich?"  Alas, no such words will be uttered.  Everything will be quiet and dandy, not a critical word will be spoken.  Ever.

If it hasn't happened already, I would love to listen in on the conversation between Crazy Volo and City Clerk Tracy Delaney (possibly with Kim from the Parking Bureau) when he is informed of how things in the real world are actually handled in regard to overdue ticket fees.  How would Rich respond to being told he was wrong and just mucking things up?  "Gee, Tracy, how was I supposed to know you had a computation designed for all overdue tickets?  Thanks for the info.  You guys are great!  I'll get to work on it.  We'll be sure you are invited to the next meeting when we discuss ticket fees."

The dysfunctional, obscene and embarrassing situation in City Hall which I have described clearly demonstrates the serious crisis we find ourselves in, and it really does mirror what is now going on in Washington, DC.  We are allowing people with no qualifications or wherewithal to make decisions, "improvements" and changes -- even rewriting, or just plain ignoring, the rules.  Like idiot Musk, they don't know what the hell they are doing or talking about.  It's almost as if they don't care to know how things are done and have been done for years.  "So, how much do you think the late fee on this ticket should be, Vicky and Margaret?"  YOU HAVE GOT TO BE F'N KIDDING ME!  

How in the hell did we get to the point where a group of three city residents under the guise of a Finance Committee -- and with no assistance or guidance from any city employees! -- decides to propose changes to all of our parking tickets fees?  Is it because they have nothing better to do with their time and they think they know what is best for the city, much like Elon Musk and our president are hell bent on ruining our country?  Who told the Finance Committee to change parking fees on their own?  Did they decide it needed to be done? Will the fee for parking in a No Parking Zone really cost drivers $75, or $125 if they are lucky to forget to pay up?  Really, Rich, and on what basis did you make that decision and all the others that you and your cohorts dreamed up?  Are you a finance genius?  Are you a parking ticket guru as well?  Are you crazy, or, as your 4th ward mate claimed, is it just the work you do that is "crazy"?  Does your work have any basis in reality?   

And who is watching over the people "in charge," such as Rich and Margaret, to make sure they aren't ultimately making things worse for everyone?  No one is paying attention to them, certainly not the other council members who either don't even show up or are already completely distracted and wholly uninterested, and certainly not our useless mayor -- forget about him!  And so Rich Volo is apparently steering the ship (or at least one part of the ship), as blind as a bird in the dark.  He might as well be wearing a red hat and a purple polka dot dress when attending council and committee meetings.

Jen Belton explaining to a fellow council member
how "crazy" another member's work is.  Is her work
"crazy" as well?  No, it couldn't be!  No way!  Not possible!

Jen Belton was spot on when she described Rich Volo's spreadsheet as "crazy."  She could have inserted the words "full of errors and misinformation," "a waste of time and effort," or "garbage."  Volo's unhelpful spread sheet and his committee's proposed changes to ticket fees should be ripped up and burned at the next council meeting.  Then he should be handed, likely for the first time in his life, an actual Wrong Side Parking ticket.  He should then be made to read it out loud to everyone in the room, including the dollar amount found next to the word FINE, as well as the rules for overdue ticket fine increases which is found printed further down the ticket.  Hell, Rich, Margaret and Vicky should all have to take turns reading every word on a HPD parking ticket which they are so obviously unfamiliar with.  Why not make every other goddamn common council member do the same!   "This is a parking ticket, please read every word of it out loud before you leave tonight!"

Then send them packing back to fantasy land where they can't make things worse for the people of Hudson and where they never have to deal with pesky and confusing parking tickets again.