The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
Eternity is a concept which has confounded philosophers, theologians, and scientists. Now the answer has been found right here in Croton: Eternity lasts four years.

Four years ago, an endowment of one million dollars was given to Croton. We were told this would last for eternity. In fact, it was supposed to grow over time: Brian Pugh proposed an interest rate arbitrage scheme whereby we would invest in risk-free Treasuries at five percent and issue tax-free bonds at two percent.

Math is not a strong suit of our Croton Board of Trustees. After spending about a quarter-million dollars on a parking lot, we are now told that the remainder of the eternal endowment is going to be used to do more paving and expand the parking lot. That will not only exhaust the endowment, but we will have to borrow more money.

We were given a million dollar endowment for the upkeep of a park, and our Board of Trustees is using it to pave over the grass. I don’t know which is worse: the magnitude of financial waste, or the idea that environmentally-sound parkland management consists of pouring a million dollars of asphalt onto a park lawn.

The million dollars lasted four years. Count ‘em. Four.

Going into debt is a strong suit of our Croton Board of Trustees. As our trustees embark on a massive expansion of office space for the DPW, Recreation Department, and Police, we can expect to set new records for municipal debt.

Eternity ain’t what it used to be. Neither is fiscal responsibility.

Paul Steinberg