Republican incumbent challenged in Ogden

In Ogden, Democrat Garry Cranker is challenging incumbent Republican Gay Lenhard for supervisor.

Gay Lenhard

Background
Gay Lenhard is a graduate of Spencerport High School and has her bachelor of science degree in psychology (summa cum laude) from SUNY Brockport, and an A.A.S. in business from RIT. She and her husband, Donald, are the parents of grown daughters, Robbie Dewey and Kristy Farrand. They have four grandchildren. Lenhard resides on Union Street in the village of Spencerport and has worked for the Town of Ogden for almost 22 years as both Personel Director and assistant to former town supervisor Donald Walzer. When Walzer retired, she was encouraged to run for his office and has held that position since 1998. She says she feels that her history with the town has given her the experience necessary to do the job she has been asked to do by the public. Ms. Lenhard received the New York State Woman of Distinction award for 2003. She is a board member for the Spencerport Chamber of Commerce, she is on the Eagle Scout Review Board, is Chairman of the Ogden Senior Center Advisory Board, former member and president of the Spencerport School Board of Education, and serves on various boards with The White Church. She says she feels she has a terrific team of people working with her. She says she keeps an open door policy for residents and anyone else who has a question or concern regarding town government.

In your opinion, what is the best thing about living in Ogden and what is the worst?
One of the best things about our community is that no matter how much it grows it still maintains that small town feel. I can walk down the street or into a local shop and people stop to chat. I personally think we have some of the warmest and friendliest people around. We also have some of the prettiest scenery of any town in the area. The rolling hills, quaint village, and the canal, all combine to make it truly picturesque. One of the drawbacks I can see right now is traffic. Traffic in the village as well as in the town of Ogden has grown considerably in the past few years. I even have problems getting out of my own driveway.

What is your vision concerning future growth - both residential and business?
Residential: This is the fastest growing community in the county followed closely by Webster, and it is tough to balance growth and still keep the area as rural as possible. Last year, a comprehensive plan was adopted to address the balance between growth and green space in Ogden. Codes have been adopted for local developers on how much green space has to be maintained when a development is planned. The Open Space Committee has inventoried Ogden land and currently there is almost 50 percent still green. We constantly strive to keep the local farmers in business and in turn keep that precious rural landscape that is so valuable to our community.

Last year we surveyed the community and asked what the residents wanted as a future for the Town of Ogden. We received an overwhelming response, and the majority want to keep things as rural and open as possible.

Business: Business growth is necessary for a variety of reasons, more jobs, etc. but it also helps bring in tax revenue. I am proud that I have been successful in both convincing some businesses to stay as well as doing whatever I can to help new businesses get started. I have worked with the village (Spencerport) in helping several new shops settle on Main Street and they all seem to be doing really well. Java John's Coffee Shop and the new J. William Jewelers, not to mention IGA, all are welcome assets to the village. I constantly try to woo businesses to Ogden. Larger businesses such as Hover Davis were convinced to stay and expand here rather than move out. I was also able to get Westover Park (on Manitou Road) to be part of the Empire Zone which made them more attractive to businesses. I live in the village and shop in the village whenever possible and encourage others to do the same.

The Budget
Taxes in Ogden have not risen in over four years. As everyone knows by now, the main reason for the budget increase was the state pension plan payment. Money was set aside to make this payment but the bill was much higher than we were told it would be. Fortunately we had a large chuck of it (in reserves). This is what enabled us to keep the tax increase low, less than 4 percent as opposed to other towns which had to go as high as 10 percent.

The budget situation wasn't only addressed suddenly this year. We've been looking at how to streamline things across the board for several years. In 2000, a Case Commission was formed of local businessmen, owners of local companies and presidents of businesses who volunteered to come in and analyze our spending, help us see where we could make changes. Some departments were able to make cuts and changes that helped save money, others were doing as much as they could already. This was done over a period of two years ending in 2002.

One of the changes we have implemented this year in response to the tax increase was to ask our employees to contribute towards their health care, myself included. Salary increases were kept below 2 percent in most cases, even while out of pocket expenses for benefits went up. The Town of Ogden is the only town that is requiring their employees to contribute towards health care. The Town of Gates is raising salaries by 3 percent this year without asking for employee health care contributions.

Several years ago, a group of disgruntled residents came in and wanted to help "fix" the budget. We put together a budget committee and worked together on addressing the issues. It was quite an eye opener to most of them to see how difficult managing a $7 million budget actually is.

I feel my staff and the people who work for the Town of Ogden do a remarkable job and I am grateful to have them with me. They work hard to carry out my belief to serve the residents to the best of our abilities and in a pleasant and friendly manner. I believe we do that.

Garry Cranker

Background
Garry Cranker has lived in Ogden for 19 years. He and his wife, Annette, of Whittier Road, have two grown sons, Thomas and William. He is retired from Valeo where he was the Employee Assistance Program Coordinator for 20 years. He attended SUNY Brockport and Cornell Industrial Labor Relations School with a focus on alcohol and substance abuse counseling.

In your opinion, what is the best thing about living in Ogden and what is the worst?
One of the best things about Ogden is we have plenty of room for growth; there is lots of open space. The worst thing is there is no development plan that I am aware of. No plan for this growth. The local government currently does not utilize one of its best resources - - its citizens.

What is your vision concerning future growth - both residential and business?
I would have a planning committee to address residential growth. This committee would be made up of folks with expertise in different areas. They would be paid for attending meetings and offering their assistance. They would be a true representation of the community. I would work with the village to explore how to develop jointly along the canal. Currently I see no partnership between the village and the town. I would also advertise if an opening came up in the government offices rather than simply appoint someone as currently is the case.

As far as business growth, we definitely need to bring in more light industry and more high tech jobs. There should be an economic development committee as well, which would work with the local and federal government. There could be work done with the small business center at SUNY Brockport, too. These committees should present status reports at every town meeting so the community knows what they are working on. There is an Open Space Committee currently in place but very few people are aware of its existence.

The Budget
The money for the pension fund bill should have been set aside in preparation of this payment. The payment wasn't excused, it was deferred and the money should have been there to make the payment.

In a year when taxes are going up, the town supervisor should not receive any salary increase. Another area where money could have been saved was the Highway Department's new building. I feel it is unnecessary to have such a large building, a lot of unnecessary space that isn't needed for the department it will hold.

Another area I would change would be in requiring a smart audit. This is an audit done by the State Comptroller who would go through the books and implement changes. The last smart audit was conducted in 1997. Another way to save money in the budget would be in offering to pay employees who do not use the town's health care benefits. It would be cheaper to pay the employees who don't need the benefits than to pay for their benefits. Also the town should be looking at ways to cut taxes for seniors and help them stay in their homes.

The supervisor should be open to complaints and available to local residents. I would have a much more open government. Each town meeting should include regular reports by each department on what they've accomplished and what they're working on.