Involved in politics since 1994 to support an effort to conserve remaining farmland in the town of Pittsford, New York, Bill Smith has been actively involved in the public sphere for more than 20 years.
After serving as a member of the town board and then later as judge, Smith successfully became the Pittsford Town Supervisor in 2013. In this role, Supervisor Smith works to provide services to the people of Pittsford at a reasonable cost. This is done in many ways, but maintaining a good credit rating is essential to the basic operations of the town.
“The town of Pittsford has a triple A credit rating” said Smith. “ not only is it the highest rating in all of New York outside of New York City, but its means that when the town issues bonds, they are able to get money at the lowest interest rates”.
Additionally, Smith has worked to improve the walk and bikeability in the town through the use of existing trails and through projects, chiefly the building of a sidewalk along East Avenue that when finished will provide a safe pathway from the village to Saint John Fisher College.
“At the conclusion of construction, one should be able to walk from the east side of Brighton through the Village of Pittsford and right into the Town of Mendon” said Smith.
Additionally, Smith launched a public effort with community participation to come to a consensus about the fate of the aged Spiegel center. The decision was made to renovate the existing center with a 10 million dollar budget, and the new center is set to open on August 25th.
Supervisor Smith is also calling for less “tribal partisanship” in an effort to bring people together. “We should all agree that improving our communities and services is essential. That is why I truly believe that if people keep open minds and hear each other out, our community will grow and prosper”.
When asked about mandates, Smith remarked that New York is the only state that requires counties to pay for medicaid. The issue that arises from this is the fact that all the benefits are dictated by Albany, and it then falls on the local counties to implement them. Additionally, Smith mentioned that increases to the minimum wage are affecting the way some benefits and other costs are handled in the Town Government.
