To the Editor:
Guilderland’s new planning committee has begun its work but apparently without a vision for the long-term future from the town board. Lacking that, the committee begins its work without a clear destination in sight.

That is up to the citizens’ elected officials, the town board and supervisor. Section 51 of the New York State Town Law provides that the town board “shall be the legislative, appropriating, governing and policy determining body” of the town. Under Section 52 of the Town Law, the supervisor “shall be the chief executive officer of a suburban town and head of the administrative branch of town government.”

Of course, the board’s vision might be general in nature. It might change as the result of citizen reactions, as evidence is gathered as part of the planning process, as a result of the plan when it is finished, or in the course of the town board’s ongoing responsibilities for policy and legislation.

But an articulated vision would let the citizens of Guilderland know what their elected officials view as their town’s future as the planning process begins.

Bruce W. Dearstyne

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Bruce W. Dearstyne has lived in Guilderland since 1979. He is a historian and the author of several books, including the second edition of “The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State's History” and “The Crucible of Public Policy: New York Courts in the Progressive Era,” both published in 2022.