At the annual Organizational Meeting held on Monday January 4, following the swearing in of officials, the Stephentown Town Board made the following appointments:
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Dog Control Officer – Lynne Torello-Burns
Zoning Officer – Dean Herrick
Code Enforcement Officer – Dean Herrick
Deputy Zoning Officer – Owen Cassavaugh
Deputy Code Enforcement Officer – Owen Cassavaugh
Town Constable – Henry Wagar
Court Clerk – Tammy Whitman
Clerk to the Assessor – Jennifer Van Deusen
Deputy Town Clerk – Arlene Longo
Bookkeeper to Supervisor – Maureen Seel
Deputy Tax Collector – Eileen Roder
Registrar of Vital Statistics – Stephanie Wagar
Planning Board Clerk – Laurie Gilliland
Zoning Board of Appeals Clerk – Laurie Gilliland
Transfer Station Custodians
Supervisor – Agnes Hoffman
Senior Attendant –Kenneth (Bob) Olson
Substitutes – Howard Chittenden & Edward Rogers
Youth Program Director – Stephentown Memorial Library
Youth Program Assistant Director – Stephentown Memorial Library
All appointments are for one year, expiring December 31, 2016.
There is one vacancy on the Planning Board and two vacancies on the Zoning Board of Appeals but no applications were received.
The Board also set Pay Rates for Elected and Appointed Officials as follows:
Highway Superintendent – $62,541
Supervisor – $8,000
Bookkeeper to Supervisor – $9,193.00
Town Clerk – $19,472.00
Deputy Town Clerk – $14.50 per hour (max $2,000)
Town Justice – (2@ $8,955 ea.) $17,911
Councilpersons – (4@ $4,000 ea.) $16,000
Assessor – $13,606.00
Deputy Assessor – $13,606.00
Court Clerk – $8,079.80
Tax Collector – $5,835.00 Deputy Tax Collector – $998.00
Transfer Station Supervisor – $14.50 per hour
Transfer Station Attendant – $14.07 per hour; Transfer Station Substitutes (2) – $10.94 per hour Zoning Officer – $6,463.00
Deputy Zoning Officer – $1,697.00
Code Enforcement Officer – $16,501.00
Deputy Code Enforcement Officer – $1,697.00
Dog Control Officer – $5,092.00
Registrar – $1,020
Constable – $4,991.77
Planning Board Clerk – $14.50 per hour (max $1,500)
Zoning Board of Appeals Clerk – $14.50 per hour (max $1,500)
Town Attorney(s) – per retainer letters received
The Board made other appointments, policies and pay rates, including:
Official Publications – Town Website, The Troy Record and The Eastwick Press
Depository for Town Monies – First Niagara Bank
Policy and Pay Rate for Highway Department
Highway Employees are per Union Contract. The Department has three non–elected employees, two Equipment Operators MEOH and one Mechanic MEOL. At the request of the Highway Superintendent, a fourth MEOH/MEOL position may be added with Town Board approval.
Policy & Pay Rate for Transfer Station Appointees
The Transfer Station Supervisor and Senior Attendant receive one week vacation after one year of service, for a 20 hour work week. The Transfer Station Supervisor and Senior Attendant with six or more months of service shall be entitled to a total of three paid holidays in 2016 which includes: New Year’s, Friday, January 1, 2016, Independence Day, Monday, July 4, 2016 and Veterans Day, November 11, 2016.
Pay For Election Machine Custodians and Clerk
Trip to Troy Primary & Election night – $25 Trips to town for machine drop off and pickup – $15
Mileage at $0.54 (or assigned Federal rate) for Election Trips
Pay for Assessment Board of Review
Each member shall receive $60 for the first day (chairman $65) and $35 for each additional day thereafter (chairman $40). The Board of Review will select the secretary who shall take all minutes and make copies. Minutes to be filed with the Town Clerk, copies may be retained by the Assessor. The secretary will receive one extra day pay ($35) as this is needed to copy the minutes and do reports.
Town Board Committees (Chairperson listed first)
Town Hall & Park – Gerry Robinson, Chris Demick
Machinery & Garage – PJ Roder, Bill Jennings
Transfer Station – Bill Jennings, PJ Roder
Welfare & Safety – Cyril Grant, John Meekins
Association of Towns Voting Delegate – John Meekins; Cyril Grant Alternate ($900 per person for their attendance at the February 2016 meeting.)
Mileage for Town Officers for use of personal car on official town business – $0.54 per mile (or whatever the Federal Mileage Rate should be).
Trading Highway Work – The Highway Superintendent has permission from the Town Board to continue the policy of trading work with other towns, county and states when it is of benefit to the town.
Health Department Liaison – Larry Eckhardt will act as liaison between the Town and the Rensselaer County Health Department.
Library Contract – The Town Supervisor is authorized to enter into a contract with the Stephentown Library Association and support them in the amount of $44,222.
Museum Contract – The Town Supervisor is authorized to enter into a contract with the Stephentown Museum and support them in the amount of $6,000.
Veterans Contract – The Town Supervisor is authorized to enter into a contract with the Stephentown Veterans and support them in the amount of $2,500.
Fire Department Contract – The Town Supervisor is authorized to sign a contract with the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department in the amount of $3,150 to compensate for use of Fire Department facilities by the Stephentown Veterans, the Stephentown Youth Commission and the Stephentown Seniors.
Backup Signatory – The Town Board designates Councilman William Jennings as a backup to the Town Supervisor as signatory on the town checking accounts.
Letter Of Support For Sugarbush Farm
Conservation Easement
In addition to all this Organizational housekeeping, the Board also passed a resolution authorizing a letter of support for an application by the Agricultural Stewardship Association for a farmland conservation easement. This application for a Purchase of Development Rights would apply to land belonging to Sugarbush Farm on East Road owned by Craig Chittenden.
Chittenden commented that he believes the easement would be a “win- win situation for all concerned.” The property, he said, is open land now but with over 100 houses built in recent years within a half mile of his house, that open space would be threatened. He believed he could get a lot more money by selling off the land piece by piece, but “Farming is close to my heart,” he said.
Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt noted that a conservation easement does not take the land off of the tax rolls. He lauded the protection of open space, one of the major concerns of local residents according to a survey taken recently by the Comprehensive Plan Committee, but noted that such easements, while restricting the land to agricultural compatible uses, do not guarantee that the land will be farmed or that the land when sold will be affordable to farmers. Conservation easements in fact result in increasing the value of neighboring properties because buyers see that the land with the easement will remain open space. “Hopefully they will rent it to us,” said Eckhardt, a farmer himself.[/private]