In a recent column, I opined about the disgraceful amount of money Westchester County spent to buy thousands of yards of orange plastic netting that are used to block the entrances to the historic Bronx River Parkway whenever it floods. During hard rains, the netting is unspooled from little storage stations that stand at permanent sentry by the side of the road.

I wrote that the reported amount of $765,000 for the barriers was a waste of taxpayers’ money when simple wooden police barriers can do the trick.

Well, I’ve learned two things since that column appeared. First, it seems that the barriers cost more than The Journal News was told. According to minutes from the Sept. 7, 2008 from the county Board of Legislators, the  committee on budget & approporitions actually submitted a $2.65 million bond issue for the barriers. The board passed it 13-4.

The second thing to add is that the barriers were not only installed at the entrances, which at least makes a modicum of sense, but they also put them at the exits!

That’s even more of an egregious waste of money. This beyond the realm of ordinary stupidity.

If the idea is to keep motorists off the parkway by blocking the entry ways, why on earth would you need to prevent people from getting off?

So here’s the scenario: You’re going down the BRP and it’s raining hard. Ominous puddles are forming  on the road, and you’‘re thinking you better get off.  You get to an exit and find out to your horror that  the county has set up the net blocking you from safety.

You put your car in reverse, back down to the parkway and continue on your way until you hit a wall of water. Maybe you won’t drown, but your car will be ruined.

The following poem was sent to me anonymously by somebody who clearly is not a fan of the current regime in Westchester County government.

‘Twas a week before Christmas
On the Thursday forenoon
Mr Schwartz is in charge
Of  A&C and its’ doins

Andy Spano’s in Manhattan
To fight global warming
Ahead of a blizzard
Due that Friday morning.

But back in White Plains
From the rich and the poor
Big bucks were assembled
And pushed out the door.

Almost two hundred millions
Of taxpayers’s money
Was spent by the county
And that isn’t funny.

Forty two million dollars
To improve mental health
Via Sixty one agencies
Spreading the wealth

The Planning Department spent
Nine million bucks
Which is not the occasion for
All sorts of yucks

Thought Schwartz when he closed
The meeting with pluck
“I guess that the taxpayers
Are plumb out of luck.”

So it is Christmas
And right on the button
The county ain’t like Santa
It’s just like Willie Sutton.

I have button pinned to my office bulletin board that says, “Ask a bunch of questions.” It should be a journalist’s motto.

I remembered those words when Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone announced at well-attended press conference last week how he was going to close the city’s $16 million budget gap. Measures included 151 municipal layoffs and cut backs in services, including suspension of curbside bulk pickups—stuff like sofas and old refrigerators.

So I asked Amicone if that policy included discarded Christmas trees. He said yes, it did. That meant merry-makers would have to dispose of their trees by taking them to the city’s recycling center. Yeah, right!

I wrote in my column the next day: “The prediction is is that after Yuletide, the City of Hills will be dotted with forlorn, dried-out firs draped with strands of tinsel.”

Apparently, the city had second thoughts about this. Today, we’ve learned that they will, in fact, pick up the trees and non-metal bulk stuff.

Here’s the full statement from David Simpson, the mayor’s press aide:

“After further planning and review, DPW will continue curbside pick-up of NON-metal bulk items including Christmas trees. However, as of January 1, 2009, due to budget constraints, METAL bulk items will NOT be picked up at curbside. Accordingly, the city will no longer make appointments for this service as is our current practice. We are encouraging residents to take metal bulk items to the Recycling Center. We are also encouraging residents to put out their Christmas trees during the period Jan. 5 – 9 when they will be taken to the recycling center. If residents put Christmas trees out any other time they will still be picked up, just not recycled.”

Just a note to WVOX radio listeners…tonight I will be a guest on The Marty Rochelle show. That’s at 6 p.m.

Marty is a wonderful man and an excellent radio host. He’s held a number of political positions over the years, especially in Yonkers. But his bread and butter is Rochelle Bail Agency, Inc. for which the slogan is “When In Jail & Need Bail.”

My regular “High Noon” program will be on Thursday, as usual. Rob Astorino, a Republican and former county legislator from Mount Pleasant, will be my guest.

That’s WVOX at 1460 AM and wvox.com.

During the contretemps over the Westchester County budget, some taxpayers showed up to a legislative hearing on the eighth floor of the county office building in White Plains and were outraged to see that the 17 legislators were each supplied with a plastic bottle of water.

This smacked of hypocrisy since bottled water is anything but an expression of “green” environmentalism which is touted so much by the county’s pols. Various environmental groups, the Riverkeeper among them, have preached against bottled water which is really nothing more than selling municipal water in plastic containers. The Riverkeeper sells reusable, stainless steel water bottles and encourages people to fill them with good old tap water.

But here’s the real kicker. Every year, the county health department sponsors a municipal-water taste contest. It’s a fun little event. Employees stand outside the Michealian Office Building and hand out cups to passersby to get their opinions.

This year, the sample water came from Yonkers, Greenburgh, Peekskill and Croton.

Croton came in first.

So if the water from Croton is delicious and nothing is too good for our legislators, maybe they ought to ship them Croton water in 55-gallon drums and stop the orders of Poland Spring or Evian, or whatever it is they’re drinking these days.

Call it a  dubious achievement  award—the Golden Typos.  Every year,  we like to recognize  the  local rogues,  rascals  and  repeat  offenders who  made  news  and  made  us  laugh  or,  at  the  very  least  made us  shake  our  head  in  wonder.  The award below was designed by Matt Davies, the Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist for The Journal News. We are now accepting suggestions for worthy recipients. Feel free to post your recommendations.

Now that dust has settled with the passage of Westchester County’s $1.77 billion budget, it’s time  for a post mortem conversation with Mike Kaplowitz.

Kaplowitz is the Vice Chairman of the county Board of Legislators. He will return as my guest today on “High Noon” on WVOX radio. Tune in at 1460 AM, or log onto wvox.com.

Calls, as always, will be taken at 914-636-0110.

Who will Gov. David Paterson choose to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate? That was the topic of today’s column, which I confess contained an error.

I said that whoever takes Hillary’s seat will have three years of job security before filling out her term. Actually, the new junior Senator will have one year to get ready for a special election in 2010, and then may run in 2012 when the term expires.

At any rate, I polled my ad hoc panel of political experts to set the odds on the possible candidates for the job. The handicappers are Mike Edelman, a Republican political consultant and TV analyst; Jeffry Binder, a partner in the Strategic Political Group; and Lawrence Otis Graham, an author, TV commentator and former Democratic candidate for Congress.

Here are their picks in full:

EDELMAN

Caroline Kennedy—2 to 1 “the emotional choice…smart pick”

Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo—150 to 1 “upstater but doesn’t help Paterson in 2010 as a running mate….no star.”

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand of Hudson—150 to 1 “again, no star power…could be beat by Rudy.”

Atorney General Andrew Cuomo—Odds on “Paterson gets him ou of the way as a possible primary challenger in 2101…he has great pulling power as well as fundraising ability..”

Rep. Nita Lowey—200 to 1 ”…said she ain’t interested, plu her age works against her.”

Bronx Borough President Adlofo Carrion—250 to 1 ”…not a household name but does have one borough as a base…the hell with statewide recogntion.”

Rep. Lydia Velazquez of Queens—300 to 1 “never heard of her..neither have most new yorkers.”

Bill Clinton of Chappaqua—1000 to 1.

BINDER

Kennedy—- 2.5 to 1 “great symbolism…she is actually very competent.”

Higgins—10 to 1.

Gillibrand—25 to 1 “up and coming politician, but not ready for prime time.”

Cuomo—even money “it’s a two-fer for the Dems as the Dem-controlled legislature can back-fill that job and further strengthen its hold on NYS government at the statewide level. It also puts a potential gubernatorial rival in DC instead of Albany.”

Lowey—1000 to 1.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi—100 to 1.

Carrion—25 to 1.

Velazquez—100 to 1.

Clinton—1000 to 1 “Seems to me that the Clintons can now return to DC full time and will be saying good bye to Chappaqua and 125th Street…don’t think the former President wants to upstage his wife at this point in her career either. Would make for interesting Congressional hearings though.”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan—5 to 1  ”…the most underestimated politician of recent memory. NARAL and women’s groups love her.”

Clinton—1000 to 1.

GRAHAM

Kennedy—1 to 2 Caroline “She is smart, will be the emotional and cerebral choice, especially since her uncle is ill. When RFK jr dropped out, i think it was a sign that the Kennedy family and the establishment felt that Caroline earned this.   Paterson and many other blacks credit Caroline for going out on the limb very early with her uncle and Oprah to make a very powerful and timely endorsement in the spring when many Dems were still afraid of speaking against Hillary Clinton.”

Higgins—50 to 1.

Gillibrand—20 to 1.

Cuomo—5 to 1.

Lowey—30 to 1

Suozzi—100 to 1.

Carrion—20 to 1.

Velazquez—10 to 1.

Clinton—50 to 1.

After Sunday’s column about Deputy County Executive Larry Schwartz’s classic screeds, or “Larry-grams” as I call them, it was just a matter of time before I got a Larry-gram in response. Click here to read it.

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Larry is always telling people that he and I have never talked or even met…This is strange because I just saw him a week or so ago. We exchanged “hellos.”

Oh well. Here’s my response to his Larry-gram

Dear Larry,
On behalf of my many readers, congratulations on your wise decision to eliminate the retroactive pay raises for the commissioners and department heads.
That was a true profile in courage.
As for the Larry-gram, what can I say but thanks!!! It will be posted shortly.
Be well,
Phil Reisman

This just in from the King’s castle….”County Executive Andy Spano, working in concert with the Democratic majority of the  Board of  Legislators,  announced that there will be no raises for commissioners, directors or any non-represented management employees for 2008 and 2009. The pay plan has been completely withdrawn.”

The power of the people has been reaffirmed. Details to come.