Every Penny Counts: Why Cornwall Doesn't Need to Pay Twice for Communications Work

At the March 17, 2026 Cornwall Town Board meeting, Supervisor Josh Wojehowski put forward Agenda Item #12: appoint Kristin M. Schneider as the town's communications consultant at $30 per hour, not to exceed 15 hours per week. Facing questions from board members, he pulled it back himself.

He didn't abandon the idea. He delayed it. It's coming back.

The timing, in an election year, is worth keeping in mind.

Before it does, Cornwall residents deserve a clear look at whether the town actually needs this hire at all—especially right now, when every line in the budget is under a microscope.

Cornwall residents are facing tax increases. The board has made clear that every penny in the budget must be accounted for. Department heads have been asked to justify their spending. Residents are being told that sacrifices are necessary to keep the town running responsibly.

So why, in the middle of all of that, is the town looking to add another person to the payroll for a job that is already being done?

At $30 an hour, up to 15 hours per week, this position could cost taxpayers over $23,000 a year. That's real money—money that comes directly from the residents being told their taxes need to go up. And for what? When asked what Schneider would actually do, Wojehowski described using her to "push out newsletters and do other things."

Push out newsletters. That is the justification for spending over twenty thousand dollars of taxpayer money in a budget year where every penny supposedly counts.

It's worth asking who decides what goes in those newsletters, who approves the messaging, and who benefits from a more polished public image of town government heading into fall.

The question isn't just whether this hire is worth the money. It's whether it's necessary at all.

Through the NY Forward program, Cornwall received grant funding to develop a Marketing, Branding, and Wayfinding Strategy covering social media, content creation, branding, and community outreach. In August 2025, the board passed a formal resolution to advertise the work for bid, directing compliance with the grant's own procurement provisions. A second solicitation went out in October.

Newsletters. Social media. Content creation. Community outreach. That is exactly the work the NY Forward grant was specifically designed and funded to cover. And now the town wants to hire someone with local tax dollars to do the same thing.

Cornwall may be looking at paying for the same work twice. Once with state grant dollars through a properly bid contract. And again with local taxpayer dollars—dollars that residents are being told the town cannot spare.