POUGHKEEPSIE – By a 7-1 vote,
the Poughkeepsie Common Council’s final action of its current term
was a successful override of lame-duck Mayor John Tkazyik’s budget
veto. Republican Lee Klein was the lone vote to sustain the veto.
The override means that the tax levy will go up around seven percent,
instead of the 5.3 percent the mayor had proposed, but the amended budget
preserves several civilian positions from the police department, including
four dispatchers.
Police Chief Ronald Knapp, invited to address the council prior to the
vote, called the outgoing mayor’s literally last-minute veto on
Christmas eve “unprofessional”.
Several council members blasted Tkazyik, who has rarely appeared at any
council meetings for the past several months.
Democrat ShaRon McClinton, who is leaving the council, said Mayor-Elect
Robert Rolison, a Republican, will bring a “new flavor to the city.”
