The future of the area's youth programs remains unclear a month after the Journal reported on a funding dispute between the village and town boards. Mayor Jeff Kaplan has suggested that the town and village split the cost of the Ulster County YMCA's $238,913 proposal for youth services in the area for 2008.

Until now, the village budget has shouldered the bulk of costs for youth programs. Kaplan's request that both town and village pay equal shares of the YMCA's proposed budget was denied as the town board has not agreed to Kaplan's proposition. Part of why the village is looking to cut spending on youth services is because they overestimated the amount of people who would participate in last year's programs by about 75 people.

Kaplan says that the village should no longer pay�� nor should ever have paid�� more than the town for youth services, and that, in many cases, towns that include villages within them often pay for the entirety of the year's youth programs. Kaplan cited such circumstances in Ulster County's town of New Paltz and Sullivan County's town of Liberty.

"Many towns don't even ask their village to contribute�� it's a town-wide program," says Kaplan. "[Councilman John Gavaris] had indicated that, counting kids, with the 'us and them' [mentality], that there's more village kids in the program than town kids, and therefore, the village should pay more. [But] they're all town kids. What do you mean there's more village kids than town kids?"

Kaplan reiterated his feeling that the village is, "treated as an adjoining municipality rather than as part of the town," and observed that other communities deal with the village/town matter in a more inclusive manner.

At last week's town council meeting, Gavaris indicated that the board is likely to remain firm in its stance against increasing spending for youth programs, citing the disparity between children inside and outside of the village using those programs. On Monday, Gavaris elaborated on his position.

"I guess there are arguments both ways, that it should rely on the town because the village is part of the town. But since the concentration of kids are from the village, why should the people outside of it be paying for the same portion?"

In 2006, the number of Ellenville children using the village's summer recreation program was 149 to as opposed to 61 children from town areas outside the village.

As for how local taxpayers finance these programs, Gavaris pointed to the two different sections of the town's budget, referred to as the "A Line" and the "B Line."

Proposed Programs And Estimated Costs For YMCA Youth Programs 2008
Ellenville Pool	June 30, 2008 � August 30, 2008 Open Mon. � Sat. 12 p.m. � 6 p.m.	$31,743
Kerhonkson Pool	June 30, 2008 � August 30, 2008 Open Mon. � Sat. 12 p.m. � 6 p.m.	$26,933
YMCA Summer Camp Program	June 30, 2008 � August 30, 2008 Open Mon. � Sat. 8 a.m. � 5:30 p.m.	$112,237
Youth Commission	Costs For School Year	$68,000
	Total	$238,913

The funding for Wawarsing's youth program budget comes from the "B Line," consisting of taxes collected only from residents outside the village, while village residents' taxes go both to the village's budget and to the town's "A line" budget. Gavaris argues this keeps village residents from being taxed twice for local youth programs.

In a follow-up interview, Kaplan said that the town's use of the "B Line" for youth services is a recent development of which he was unaware, and that in the past this was not the case. Kaplan also pointed out another instance of inequality regarding town/village facilities.

"The village residents pay as much for the Kerhonkson pool as anyone else in the town, but the town residents don't pay as much for the other pool as village residents do."

He also disagrees with Gavaris's assessment of the participation breakdown for what he says is a town wide service.

"John [Gavaris] likes to point to the fact that there are more kids in the village using the program than in the town, and so we should pay more. But if that logic holds true, then if there's no one from Spring Glen using it, but there are ten kids from Napanoch, why doesn't Napanoch pay more?... You can't start counting heads, because if you do that, then you should do it for every area in the town."

Ellenville and Wawarsing officials will meet to discuss this and other issues at their joint meeting on January 28 at 3:30 p.m. in Wawarsing Town Hall.

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