New Lebanon Town Board Action – Tax Levy Increase Held Below 2%

by Thaddeus Flint
The Town of New Lebanon’s 2012 budget was unanimously adopted by the Town Board at the monthly Board meeting on Monday, November 14.
The total budget set forth is $2,085,885, which is $159 less than the 2011 budget. The largest appropriations go to the Town itself, $927,858, the Highway Department, $630,807, the Town’s ambulance service, $171,360, and the Town’s library, $135,000. The amount to be raised through taxes will be $1,297,763. This amount allowed the Town’s tax levy to remain below the State mandated 2% tax cap. “We can give ourselves a big pat on the back and a very small round of applause,” said Town Supervisor Margaret Robertson.
Just before passing the budget, Robertson advocated increasing Town Historian, Kevin Fuerst’s funds by $100 dollars a month, the amount to come from the Supervisor’s allocations. “We really need to do justice to our Town Historian,” said Robertson, “what we have been giving him is basically chump-change.” Fuerst had previously been expected to research the Town’s history on around $15 a week. Council Members Bruce Baldwin and Matt Larabee both wanted to see where that $15 was going. Fuerst, being a historian, said he had historical records of his receipts for the past ten years, if they wanted to see them. But Robertson explained that if he could just provide the Board with a monthly report that showed what he was currently working on it would be fine. “This way we will get to hear all the great information of history you have found lately,” said Robertson. All Council members were in favor of the allocation.
A resolution was then passed which reduced the number of members on the Town’s Recreation Commission from 7 to 5. Currently there are three members and without a quorum nothing could be accomplished. The minute it passed the Recreation Commission jumped into gear. Scott Larabee of the Commission stood up and said he had a report to make.
“Oh, this is exciting!” said Robertson.
Larabee reported that work was already under way on various projects including a sledding hill on West Street, a future ping-pong tournament and installing a skating rink in the pavilion at Shatford Park. Larabee estimates that materials for the rink will run to around $400.
“You will probably need a Zamboni, too,” said Robertson. “I always wanted to ride one!”
What does a Zamboni cost? Nobody knew for sure but probably over $50,000.
“Ok, the Zamboni is out,” sighed Robertson.
Larabee has already set up a website for the Recreation Commission which can be found at http://newlebanonrecreation.webs.com, and in order to get more of the residents of the Town involved he wanted to hold informational meetings. To make sure residents would come to the meetings, he wanted to feed them.
“Food really draws a crowd,” agreed Robertson.
“Where can I get the money to buy the food?” asked Larabee.
“Reach into your pockets!” joked his brother Matt, sitting up with the Board on his first official Board meeting since the election.
Robertson advised the Recreation Commission to get the residents to make the food themselves. “It’s always much more fun like that,” she said. Then she thanked Scott Larabee for “helping this Town pick itself up by the boot-straps, to get happy, so we can make it through the winter.”
Under Economic and Business Development, Councilman K.B. Chittenden said he had nothing new to report but advised everyone to read an article in the November 12 New York Times about a town in Saranac Lake which suffered from a lack of a general purpose store. Wal-Mart had tried to open there, but residents were smart. They knew buying Chinese made junk from a soul-less corporation that basically vacuums money out of the community was not a wise solution. Plus Wal-Mart is ugly and Saranac Lake is pretty. Wal-Mart gave up, and the townspeople opened their own department store with the slogan “Because shopping locally matters.”  Chittenden thought that the idea was worth looking into now that Hannaford was done stomping on everyone’s hopes of ever being able to shop at a supermarket here.
Finally, Robertson announced that the New Lebanon Central School District’s Superintendent, Karen McGraw, will be attending next month’s Town Board meeting on December 12. “Hopefully this will be a way to develop positive rapport between the Town and the School District,” said Robertson. Also it has been over a month since somebody brought up the doomed Union Free School so McGraw’s presence will certainly spark that back to life, if only for an evening.