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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-12-21 Town Board MinutesRoll Call: The Town of Danby 1830 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850 danby.ny.gov Town Board Regular Meeting Wednesday 21 December 2022 at 6:OOPM Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes Town Board Joel Gagnon, Supervisor Leslie Connors Katharine Hunter Steve Weissburg Patricia Woodworth Town Bookkeeper Laura Shawley Code Enforcement Officer Steve Cortright (via videoconference) Recording Secretary Janice Adelman, Town Clerk (via videoconference in Town Hall office) Transcript and audio recording are available online. 1. Call to Order at 18:11 2. Additions/Deletions to Agenda 2.1.. Town Clerk Report 2.2. SCT Update 3. Privilege of the Floor 3.1. Ronda Roaring, resident: Commented on the CAC; she stated that we are doing something wrong and that we are not getting the people we need on the CAC. We are not running the CAC as we should be. One more comment about the Finger Lakes Land Trust having money in its accounts for defense of easements. 3.2. Ted Crane, resident: Thanked Joel for arranging people around the table so they could be seen on the zoom camera. Noted that it would be polite to start the meeting at 6:oo. Agreed about the status of applications to CAC. Suggested holding public sessions where people can ask questions about this new audit, the town clerk audit, and any other audits that come up. Thanked the Town for doing more thorough review of warrants and claims. 3.3• Theresa Klinger, Justice and Resident: Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Two quick suggestions — took a phone call in court from gentleman in West Danby who wanted to change his address in Water District. She wanted to flip the court number and the clerk number on the town website. The other suggestion was to put a sign on the town hall dropbox that it is not for court business. 4. Correspondence —none S. Announcements —none 6. Reports & Presentations 6.1. County Legislature Representative Dan Klein 6.1.1. Announced the tentative list of roads that will be paved in Danby: 6.1.1.1. Comfort Road from 96B to Gunderman 6.1.1.2. Troy Road from intersection with Nelson to Coddington 6.1.1.3. Chip Seal project for all of Coddington Road in Danby 6.1.2. County will likely eliminate the Local Board of Assessment reviews 6.1.3. County has re -instated for 2023 the County Planning Department grant opportunities for parks, trails, and open space. $Sokwill be made available for municipalities; awards on the order of $5,000. 6.2. Highway Superintendent Keith Shipman 6.2.1. Laura Shawley stood in for Keith Shipman and noted that it is now snow plowing season; everything is set up for the upcoming storms. 6.2.2. The county had some money that they dispersed for culverts and bridges and sent us $3o,000 for the Gunderman culvert 6.2.3. Shawley noted that the Town received another $S7,000 mortgage tax check from the county. 6.2.4. The selected contractor for the West Jersey Hill culvert will move forward, the question is timing. 6.3. CAC Application Interview Marie Monroe 6.3.1. Councilperson Connors asked if Marie had attended any CAC meetings. She has not. 6.3.2. Councilperson Hunter asked if she spends time outside, hiking, knowing the area. She knows the street she lives on and her neighbors and knows her area. 6.3.3. Marie also commented on her daughter's interest in the West Danby area and putting down roots here. She is passionate about keeping the land as is to the best of her ability and not having it become suburban. She is open to walking wherever is needed and is open to learning. 6.4. Youth Commission Application Interview Marnie Kirchgessner 6.4.1. Marnie described her background as the Ithaca Youth Coordinator, Page 2 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes government, and advocacy for youth. 6.4.2. Councilperson Hunter asked what Marnie would like to accomplish being on the youth commission. She wants to see it established as a premier board for building connections among youth in danby. Having a third space for meetups, which Danby doesn't have; building bridges. She wants the commission to become an inventory for that kind of stuff. 6.5. Town Clerk Oral End -of -Year Report I did want to give an oral report because I've never given an oral report before and since we're at the end of the year, it just felt important for me to do that. I want to start by acknowledging the frenzy of the fall months with budget season, followed quickly by the onslaught of the holiday season. The November and December monthly reports will be presented as usual by the January meetings. For now, I will walk through the year-to-date report for 2022. Remit to Budget Total Monies External Remit to Danby Gen Dept Line Description Qty Collected Agency Agency Fund Clerk A1255 DECALS $2,250.00 NYS DEC 2132.68 $117.32 Marriage Licenses 7 $280.00 NYS DoH 157.50 $122.50 Marriage Transcripts 4 $40.00 — 0.00 $40.00 A1550 Impoundment Fees 5 $200.00 SPCA 0.00 $200.00 A2544 Dog Licenses 203 $2,790.00 NYS A&M 250.00 $2,540.00 Games of Chance 1 $25.00 0.00 25.00 Code A2555 Building Permits 1493 $11,133.00 — 0.00 $11,133.00 Plan A2110 Zoning Appeals 9 $1,145.00 — 0.00 $1,145.00 A2115 Planning Fees 16 $2,320.00 — 0.00 $2,320.00 A2655 Subdivisions 5 $845.00 — 0.00 $845.00 Misc A2770 Misc 2 $2037.77 — 0.00 $2,037.77 Grand Totals $23,065.77 $2,540.18 $20,525.59 I also wanted to share what's been going on with the Clerk's office. The first is that, I actually enjoy serving the Danby residents in this role. It's been a pleasure getting to know so many of them as they come in either to pay their taxes or to Page 3 of is Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes license their dog. And even when troubles arise if someone is upset when they come to pay their taxes, I offer a sympathetic and understanding ear. Ditto when residents come to me to pay for traffic tickets. I offer them the various ways that I know of to get in touch with the court clerk and help them to the best of my ability. And I enjoy doing that. I am a highly -educated individual —too much traditional higher education if you ask me, and I have the graduate student loan debt to prove it —but I always envisioned that I would work for a non-profit or a government entity. And here I am. In an elected official position. This opportunity popped up surprisingly, and here I am. So I was appointed to this position. And then I ran for election and I was elected and you know, it's been an interesting and wonderful experience. I certainly didn't look for this job, knowing that it was going to pay a lot of money. I've never looked for a job because of the salary. It's not really what motivates me to to do my work. But I am motivated when I come into a situation where I see ways that I can improve systems. I am always looking to make processes smoother, more efficient, simpler. I am committed to serving the residents of Danby and making things like licensing their dog or getting a parking accessibility tag easier. I applied for this position because I knew that I could come in and do the job and do it well. And I am proud to say that I have done this job well. Of course, I've also made mistakes. As a human, I will never be perfect. But I will continue to learn and grow from every experience. And I am proud of the difference I have made in my two years here. Since it's the end of the year, it feels an appropriate time to not just convey the permits and licenses sold and money collected and turned over to the town or other agencies. So here, then, is what the clerk's office has been doing, with me leading the charge: ■ In my efforts to modernize and de -silo our various departments, boards, and committees, I worked to create a virtual workspace for us, accessible to all officials, staff, and volunteers working for the Town of Danby. This is the WorkDrive that everyone with a danby.ny.gov email address has access to. ■ I continue to modify and refine the living repository as new needs arise and better ways of filing records emerge. ■ I obtained a .ny.gov domain name for our town as a government entity ■ I built a new website from scratch after our previous webhost (Digital Towpath) refused to allow migration of our data to the new webhost. ■ I moved our webhosting needs to a more secure vendor. ■ I redirected the townofdanbyny.org to our new web host ■ I obtained authority over the old town.danby.ny.us domain and also had it redirected to the new web host, instead of it being lost in cyberspace as is what Page 4 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes happened when the town moved to digital towpath. ■ I migrated our email host from Digital Towpath and have all three domain with their associated email addresses pointing to the same destination. In other words, even when people are misguided by outdated websites, we will now receive those emails when they are sent. ■ I did all of this, which would have cost at least in the tens of thousands of dollars range for an external company, at no extra compensation to me for my time and ability, at the urging of the Town Board. ■ I created how-to guides for accessing email and creating templates. I continue to work on adding more how-to guides for other activities. ■ I priced VOIP phone systems and dealt with the phone transition from AT&T to Mitel. ■ In the process of upgrading our phone system to be connected town -wide, enabling caller ID, voicemail-to-email, transcribed emails, and more, I cut our phone bill by over $8,500 per year. ■ I have asked other questions and started conversations around our siloed spending habits wondering why, if the town is paying for all phones, do we need to have the phone bills split across multiple budget lines in each department? Or, why are two departments paying a monthly subscription for postage instead of combining the accounts and cutting costs? This has led to some changes in the way we track invoices. ■ Speaking of invoices, despite my being here the least amount of time, and without prior knowledge of our contract details with cleaners and other vendors, I determined that Casella continued to charge us for picking up non- existent trash at Town Hall. Indeed, before I called to cancel, the Town paid $269.85 in charges over 9 months in 2021. 1 still don't know how many years this goes back. I also don't know if the money has been returned to us yet. ■ I created the Town Newsletter template. ■ I assisted the newsletter committee in finalizing the output for both print and online versions until I was eventually dropped from those last-minute communications before the newsletter was sent to the printer. I also stopped being notified that newsletters had been mailed. I had been emailing the online versions, but without notification of newsletters being finalized, printed, and mailed, this delivery system ceased. ■ I have updated many of our processes to allow for online submissions, from board/committee applications, to grant applications, to dog licenses, and building permits. ■ I continue to tweak and improve our dog licensing system. Dog parents can now view their license statuses online and update and renew online. Page 5 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes ■ I moved our tax collection process to the same vendor that the county uses to simplify the collection and transition between town and county. I have done so much, and I am committed to continuing to improve, both our processes on the whole, and the way I do things as well. To that end, I'd like to offer some insights into some broken processes and what appears to be inequitable treatment. First of all, my time to present my budget lines was dismissed as inappropriately presented without sending documentation in advance. I filled out my budget worksheets from Laura and sent them back to her. I was following what I thought was the budget procedure to work with the budget officer. But now I am being told this is not the case. The code and planner were able to discuss their line items in a budget workshop. I was not. I was dismissed. I asked for more money because the clerk is the lowest paid position in Town Hall with some of the most important responsibilities. At this point, Supervisor Gagnon interrupted Clerk Adelman's report stating that he "didn't mean to give ... a bully pulpit to lecture the board for ten minutes" and that it should not "be an opportunity ... [to rehash] ... differences with the board over ... the budget process." Clerk Adelman responded that she was providing a "report about how the town works together" given that "there has been a lot of discussion" around her and that she has not been "able to discuss anything" while doing her best to offer insights while continuing "to be shut down" while receiving "inequitable treatment" as the "only one who has not been allowed to report" and the "only one who is not given due time". Supervisor Gagnon advised her to wrap it up. Clerk Adelman agreed to do so with reference to being dismissed whenever trying to talk about the budget. Returning to the point about the clerk being the lowest paid position with some of the most important responsibilities which shines a light on the gender wage gap with the following: Even the NY State Comptroller's office released a report in March 2022 (in honor of Women's History month, of course) citing US Census data for 2019 indicating that NY State ranks 11th best among all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico in terms of dollar value of the gap. What is the gender wage gap in NY? Men's median earnings in NY in 2019 full-time, year-round was $60,813. Women's median earnings in 2019 full-time, year-round was $51,992. This is a wage gap of $8,821. Or 85.5 cents of earning to every dollar a man earns. Page 6 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Side note: My salary in 2022 is $41,379, or $10,613 below the 2019 median. In 2023 it will be $44,018, or $7,974 below the 2019 median. Code enforcement earnings? 2022: $57,001 or $3812 below the 2019 median; in 2023 code salary will be $60,108, or $705 below 2019 median. Planner's earnings: In 2022, $67830, well above the median. In 2023, it will be $71,262. At this point, Councilperson Connors stated that the Town Clerk position "is not necessarily a full time position." Clerk Adelman refuted that claim. When Councilperson Woodworth stated that "we need to get the rest of the agenda done" and Councilperson Connors stated that "these are all issues that can be dealt with but not with this meeting", Clerk Adelman concluded her report with the following statement: "So I will end my report by saying that I have enjoyed a collegial and collaborative relationship with the town board up until this past fall. I am definitely open to working along with you all once again. But I want you to keep in mind that I'm also working for the residents of Danby. I'm an elected official and my end goals are to make my interactions with the residents even better than they have been. And my end goals are to lower costs and improve processes which as I outlined before I have done time and time again. I am not trying to bash anyone, I am not trying to threaten anyone. I'm not trying to take anyone else's job. I just want to be able to do mine. I want to be treated fairly and equitably. I want to be paid what I'm worth, not just what I'm worth but what the town clerk's role is worth. Which is a hell of a lot more than what it's been given." Below is the remainder of the end -of -year report prepared by Clerk Adelman that was unable to be presented in full. I wish to point out that the line between an elected official and subordinate to the town board is quite blurry. The Town Clerk is a separate position with its own responsibilities and duties to maintain fairness and equity both within board meetings and through town protocols, keeping records available and organized, and making sure that state filings are made. As the elected Town Clerk, I feel that in these last three months, many members of the Town Board have prevented me from properly executing my duties to the best of my ability. My rhetorical question for the Town Board is, why do you use my talents, skills, Page 7 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes and expertise when it's convenient for you, but shun them when it's not? In the past, the Board, requested, encouraged, and supported my attempts to improve town systems. When I continued to bring new protocols that would reduce time spent on mundane tasks among overstretched employees, some Board members claimed that I overstepped my boundaries and was not doing my actual job. To be clear, the minutes are an important part of my job, as they are the official town records of town business. Yet it is only one small aspect of my job. Particularly as I am called more and more to assist various employees and volunteers with basic IT things, such as access to their email, which takes a great deal of time away from my "town clerk duties". We all know that the Town Clerk is the official custodian of all town records, books, and papers of the Town. What is more, State Law designates the Town Clerk as RMO; as such the Town Clerk coordinates the town's records management program. This program includes digitally archiving and hosting our town records. I brought up the issue of finding a better IT company that could fill our needs during budget season 2021. 1 was shot down because we had just made too many computer upgrades and purportedly, the tax payers wouldn't be happy about it. Additionally, I was told that we were in contract with SCT through Dec 2022. Knowing that, I waited. Patiently. I worked with SCT while they refused to work with me. They refused to contact me directly and instead started submitting queries through the website's "report a concern" form. They never called to schedule their routine quarterly service with us. They initially refused to help Laura when the server they configured for our use was hacked. When Laura called me for help getting in the server, I reminded her that we were still under contract with them. After that incident, it seemed obvious that we needed a new vendor. I again contacted other computer companies to get quotes. I shared this information with Joel. I inquired about the companies presenting to the Town Board at a budget or regular meeting. I was told there wasn't enough time. Then, when it was finally my time to discuss the clerk's office budget lines AND the town -wide problems with IT and our software support, I was told I hadn't given proper notice, that it was not my job to do these things, and that the Board would handle it. Page 8 of is Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes This is, again, where I do not understand the budget process. I wrote my concerns about the 2021/2022 budget process after that budget season. The end result was to form a finance committee. The finance committee met a few times in the first quarter of 2022, and then never met again. My concerns and questions still remain to be addressed. And now I can add these concerns: Why am I being treated differently than all others during budget season even after I followed the protocols? I was still belittled, demeaned, and dismissed. So another budget was adopted without even an opportunity to discuss what the clerk's office needed, not to mention what the town needed. This is another example of the Board appreciating my skills and expertise when it is convenient for them, but dismissing me and my expertise when it conflicts with their beliefs. At a staff meeting at the end of November, Joel asked if anyone had called SCT computers. Katharine had stated at the Nov 16th board meeting that she would call SCT to coordinate the month -to -month contract and moving forward with other options. Yet, on 11/29, it appeared that no one had reached out to SCT. When I said that I would resign at that Nov 16th meeting if you chose to continue with SCT, I was not trying to make a threat or try to bluff you into action. That said, however, I don't know that anything has happened along these lines and it has now been over a month since that meeting. The SCT contract expired on Dec 4. And the point of my frustration at that meeting was that I simply cannot understand why you would (a) choose to continue with a company that has let you down over and over and over and is simply wasting your money; and (b) why you think I am trying to rush you into a decision that has been a year in the making? Moreover, (C) I cannot understand why you continue to treat me differently than anyone else in the Town. I don't pretend to know everything. But I do know computers. And I know technology. I have serviced and repaired both in former lives. I am no stranger to troubleshooting. I am no stranger to creating documents, spreadsheets, data analyses, websites, presentations, newsletters. I don't pretend to know all about New York State, the role of governance and town laws, or even all about the town of Danby. I lean on others when I need to and I am not too proud to say, "I don't know". Lately, I feel that some colleagues are not able to say that they don't know. I was told we would have a frank discussion to air our grievances. I was neither Page 9 of is Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes given any time to discuss nor to air my grievances. Joel had suggested that it might feel as if I was being ganged up on. Indeed, this is exactly what happened when all three board members were given the opportunity to first tell me everything I am doing wrong and then not give me the chance to respond. When I tried to respond, I was muted. Why am I treated differently than everyone else? From my observations as Town Clerk in Board meetings, it appears that when men in elected positions fervently and passionately argue their beliefs, in open - meeting formats, they are not characterized as being unprofessional or as having melt -downs. The double -standard with which women who stand up and point out problems and inadequacies of "solutions" is mind-blowing. I have a vast amount of knowledge, experience, and skills that I bring to this role. I don't consider myself to be more valuable than anyone else because of what I bring to the table. We all serve our functions and roles and we all bring valuable skills. I would love to continue fulfilling my role, and I would love to be able to do it to the best of my ability. I have enjoyed a collegial and collaborative relationship with the Town Board up until this past fall. I am open to working along with you all once again. I just ask you to keep in mind that I am also working for the residents of Danby. My end goals are to make my interactions with them even better than they have been. I also want to lower costs and improve processes. And I want to keep our data records secure and accessible at the same time. I am a valuable player and I want to share that expertise with you all. I am not trying to take anyone else's job in this town. I just want to do mine. 7. Consent Agenda 7.1. Meeting Minutes 7.1.1. 3 Oct 2022 Public Hearing + Board Meeting 7.1.2. 12 Oct 2022 Budget Workshop 7.1.3• 25 Oct 2022 Budget Workshop 7.1.4. 28 Oct 2022 Budget Workshop 7.1.5. 1 Nov 2022 Regular Meeting 7.1.6. 9 Nov 2022 Budget Hearing and Special Meeting Page io of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes 7.1.7. 16 Nov 2022 Regular Meeting 7.1.8. 18 Nov 2022 Special Meeting Resolution 237 of 2022 To Accept the Minutes for 3 Oct and 12 Oct Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Connors Vote: Councilperson Connors Hunter Weissburg Woodworth Gagnon Aye N ay X X Abstain X X X Resolution 237 of 2022 passed on 21 December 2022 7.2. Warrants 7.2.1. General Fund No 25 Vouchers 6-4-3.94 for $44�711•79 7.2.2. Highway Fund No 25 Vouchers 214-229 for $66,zss.12 7.2.3. Water Fund N025 Vouchers 84=90 for $3,7.3.9 53 Resolution 238 of 2022 To Approve Budget Transfers Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Connors WHEREAS: It is necessary throughout the year to make budget modifications between accounts for expenditures incurred during the year, RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the following budget transfers between accounts: GENERAL FUND —A From Line Description To Line Description Amount 132.4 Garage Contractual 1410.48 Legal Ads 40.03 1420.4o Attorney 2,943.00 Vote: Page 11 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Councilperson Aye Nay Abstain Connors X Hunter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution 238 passed on 21 December 2022 Resolution 239 of 2022 to Approve the Warrant Abstracts 25 as Outlined in 7.2 Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Gagnon Vote: Councilperson Aye Nay Abstain Connors X Hunter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution 239 passed on 21 December 2022 8. Business 8.1. SCT Update 8.1.1. Councilperson Hunter updated that we are now being serviced under a non -contracted price at $too/hour. 8.1.2. SCT can come for evaluation on Thursday January 12. Will need to confirm at the start of the year. 8.2. Consider Adopting Code Enforcement Local Law Resolution 240 of 2022 to Modify the Law By Adding The Exemption for Swings and Playground Equipment Associated with Single -Family and Multiple Single -Family (i.e., Townhouses) Dwellings Back in to the Law Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Connors Page 12 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Vote: 8.2.1. Councilperson Connors asked if the change was substantive enough that it warrants holding an additional public hearing. 8.2.2. Consensus was that a hearing should be held. Councilperson Aye Nay Abstain Connors X Hunter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution zoo passed on 21 December 2022 Resolution 241 To Hold a Public Hearing on the Revised Code Enforcement Law on 3 January 2o23 at 6:oopm Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Connors Vote: Councilperson Aye Nay Abstain Connors X H unter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution 241 passed on 21 December 2022 8.3. Year-end Budget Adjustments — see Resolution 238 of 2022 above. 8.4. Resolution 242 of 2022 To Fund and Authorize Teo Aceto to Manufacture and Install a Gate and Hinge in the Fence Surrounding the Danby Monument in Front of Town Hall Moved By: Hunter Seconded By: Connors Page 13 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Whereas Sydney Camp #41 of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War formally adopted the monument and will continue to offer services and wreath laying and monitoring and cleaning of the monument, and Whereas access for cleaning the monument is currently difficult and dangerous (cleaning the top of the monument can be done with a lift, but the lower monument must be accessed from within the fence), and Whereas conducting a service and wreath -laying inside the fence is not possible (without climbing over the fence or throwing a wreath and then not being able to retrieve it), and Whereas the current access is dangerous and unsafe as one has to use two step ladders - one outside and another inside to climb over the fence, now therefore be it Resolved that the Town Board authorizes spending an amount not to exceed $500 for the construction and installation of a gate and hinges, with the money to be drawn from the 1620.4 — Building Contractual line. Vote: Councilperson Aye Nay Absent Connors X H unter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution 242 approved on 21 December 2022 8.5. Status of OSC Audit 8.5.1. Joel noted that the report was released; the board prepared a response that had been hoped to serve as the corrective action plan; unclear whether this is an acceptable response as a corrective action plan. 8.6. Resolution 2-43 To Enter Executive Session to Update Board on Labor Negotiations Page 14 of 15 Town of Danby, New York 21 December 2022 Town Board Meeting Minutes Moved By Vote: Gagnon Seconded By: Woodworth Councilperson Aye Nay Abstain Connors X H unter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Resolution 243 passed on 21 December 2022 8.6.1. Board entered executive session at 20:15 Resolution 244 To Exit Executive Session Moved By: Woodworth Seconded By: Connors Vote: Councilperson Aye Connors X H unter X Weissburg X Woodworth X Gagnon X Nay Abstain Resolution 244 passed on 21 December 2022 8.6.2. Board exited executive session at 20:42 9. Discussion of Next Meeting Agenda —none io. Meeting adjourned at 20:43• Recorded by Janice Adelman Town Clerk Page 15 of 15