It was most interesting to compare the propaganda the residents of Plandome Manor received prior to the village election to the village newsletter that was distributed immediately after the election.

In a letter received just prior to the election, the mayor boasted that he has made an effort to keep our taxes and expenses at a very low level. The newsletter, received just after the election, states that Plandome Manor village taxes are going up 68 percent. My, my, how quickly things change.

The newsletter also shows a picture of our mayor and one of our trustees under the newly erected village street signs, which I would imagine cost upwards of $20,000 to $25,000.

Let me connect the dots ...

* Village officials have had a reserve fund that it has been using to keep the tax rates low until after the election. I find it ironic that this information was conveyed to residents in a newsletter that was published after the election. One cannot help but believe that the village officials have been taking finance courses from Tom Gulotta. Is this village headed in the same financial direction?

* Village officials think it's perfectly fine to spend taxpayers' hard earned money on street signs and then raise the village tax rate 68 percent. I am sure there are many residents of this community on fixed or limited incomes who would have opted not to waste money on signs when the tax hike was going to be raised 68 percent. This appears to be a case of mixed-up priorities and a cavalier attitude by village officials.

* Village officials knew that the Plandome Country Club was planning a rather large structure that borders on homes on Circle Drive but felt that it was not their obligation or responsibility to notify the residents of Circle Drive who would be affected by the structure. This structure appears to be even larger than the Long Island Rail Road station.

There appears to be a conflict of interest on the part of some village officials because of their failure to notify Circle Drive residents. The reason? Some of the elected officials are members of the Plandome Country Club. Does this ethical lapse now mean that I, as a taxpayer, will have to fork over my hard-earned money to defend a lawsuit initiated by my neighbors because Plandome Manor failed to notify its residents of the plans? Why wasn't this information put in a newsletter and why weren't the residents of Circle Drive notified? It has more meaning to some of us than pretty street signs.

Too bad our residents were not informed of the problems before the election. No doubt the results would have been different.

Marion Grobe