Village Reorganizes, Sets April 16 Budget Hearing

STAMFORD – Village trustees made official appointments and designations during the annual meeting on April 2. Robert Orcutt was sworn in as trustee, after being re-elected in March.

The following appointments were made by Mayor Robert Schneider; Sandra Collins, clerk/treasurer; Rich Irwin, code enforcement officer; Charlie Ferris, tax assessor; Karen Cuccinello, village historian; Monaco, Cooper, Lamme, Carr LLC, attorneys.

Members of the village planning board and zoning board of appeals, who were present, took their ceremonial oaths of office from the mayor. Members of the planning board include Bill Lander, chairman; Mary Skinner, Leeman Markee; Kevin Prior and Aree Bray. Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals include Anne Slatin, chair; Glenn Graves and Ed Stammel.

Trustee Jim Kopp will remain the auditor of the abstract by appointment

Other designations included setting the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. as the regular meeting date. The annual meeting will be held on the first Monday in April. The regular March meeting will be held on the third Wednesday at 7 p.m. in an election year. The Planning Board will hold its regular meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m.

Other designations included NBT and Wayne Bank as official depositories. Mountain Eagle, legal newspaper; WRIP Windham, official radio station and they set the surety bond at $75,000.

Items from the workshop included budget figures. Funds were transferred into the reserve and money was added to the lifeguard budget, along with funds for the gutters at the pool. The tax levy increase is at $22,420.57, up 2.6 percent which is very close to the state cap calculation.

The budget hearing is set for April 16 at 6:45 p.m. and copies of the proposed budget are available at Stamford Village Hall.

Discussed during the workshop portion of the meeting was the water budget and how the village can increase revenue. The attorney has recommended they continue to bill based on consumption and the treasurer will now figure out how much money is needed in the budget to divide it among all water users.

They agreed to retain legal services from Joan Bleikamp for all loan-related items, such as bridges, blighted buildings, etc., according to the minutes.  She will help with the bond anticipation notes for the water project. She will begin work on the River Street Culvert project and demolition of the building at 136 West Main Street (the former Westholm).

Trustees reviewed the quotes for the demolition at 136 West Main Street. Once the property is demolished the cost can be levied to the property owner's taxes. They approved the quote of $265,000 from LDP, plus $15,000 for backfill and SJB air monitor for $3,0000.

It was also decided to raise the finance charge penalty from 2 percent to 10 percent because the current penalty is not enough to encourage people to pay on time.