For the past four and a half years, I have had the privilege of serving the people of Ramapo as a member of the town's Planning Board. I am proud to have taken a leadership role in improving our quality of life, promoting initiatives on behalf of children and the elderly while working to bring more openness to local government.
Legislation I have sponsored created local safety standards for day care and gave our building inspector the authority to impose sanctions against those caring for children in unsafe facilities. I am also pleased to have sponsored the Association for Retarded Citizens' Children Respite House in Spring Valley. This facility provides parents a place where their disabled child can be cared for if the parents need to leave town or decide to take a vacation.
I was also proud to support the creation of congregate-care housing for our senior citizens. Many seniors are no longer able to take care of their homes, but wish to remain here in Rockland close to family and friends. The congregate-care housing concept allows these seniors to live in their own apartments, while dining and recreating together. This kind of housing allows our seniors to remain in our community, sharing their experience and insight with the next generation.
My energies have also been directed at promoting broader public involvement in government. I have proposed a "Citizen's Bill of Rights" that articulates the rights local taxpayers have when there is proposed development in their community. All too often, citizens feel that they have no voice in the planning process or that important information is hidden or withheld. My Bill of Rights educates taxpayers about their rights under the law, while suggesting ways to use the Internet and other tools of information technology to provide important information to taxpayers. I am gratified that my efforts to promote citizen involvement in the planning process were endorsed by the New York State Committee on Open Government.
I have also worked to reduce paperwork in local government, introducing initiatives to update paperwork procedures that have not been change in over twenty years.. I am pleased the Rockland Builders Association has supported these endeavors.
Our work, however, is far from finished. Local government must work harder than ever to address the rising cost of living in our community. We need to eliminate duplicated government services and waste while protecting programs that are essential to our quality of life. I also believe we need to work to bring government closer to the people and to enact meaningful local campaign finance reform.
I welcome your involvement in these efforts. It is only through cooperation between the public and those who serve it that we can meet the challenges we face and restore the promise of Rockland's future.
Please feel free to contact me via e-mail to share your feedback and other concerns. My
address is rkarbe@law.columbia.edu.