HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 Enfield-Town-Government-Newsletter-Oct-Dec-2013.pdf1
Town of Enfield
168 Enfield Main Road http://townofenfield.org
October—December 2013 Newsletter
Enfield Town Boards
Meetings are held in the
Community Building, 1st floor
Town Board: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm
Town Supervisor
Ann Rider 277-3478
daylilyann10@yahoo.com
Deputy Supervisor
Debbie Teeter 277-4547
Town Council Members
Mike Carpenter 277-4204
Chris Hern 256-5033
Vera Howe-Strait 273-1413
Debbie Teeter 277-4547
Planning Board: 1st Wednesday, 7pm
Virginia Bryant, chair 387-9376
Ann Chaffee 272-6460
Dawn George 273-1247
Steve Givin 273-7434
Calvin Rothermich 272-5930
Marie Van De Mark 277-4383
Dan Walker 387-6394
Town Offices
Town Clerk 273-8256
Alice Linton, Town Clerk
Sue Thompson, Deputy Town Clerk
Town Office/Clerk Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 3 pm - 6 pm
Highway Department 272-6490
Barry Rollins, Highway Superintendent
Town Highway Office Hours:
Monday-Friday: 6 am - 2:30 pm
Town Court 273-0363
Justice Poole: Monday, 5:00 pm
Code Enforcement Office
Community Building, 2nd floor
Code Enforcement 277-0266
Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer
Code Enforcement Office Hours:
Monday thru Thursday 8:30-11 am
Wednesday 5-7 pm
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Community Bldg, dwnstrs 882-9958
Town Historian
Sue Thompson 272-6412
Enfield Volunteer Fire Company
Art Howser, Chief 272-8757
Roger Lauper, Deputy Chief
Kirk Vandee, 1st Assistant Chief
Tucker Snyder, 2nd Assistant Chief
Andy Senno, Captain
County Legislators
Dave McKenna
Enfield/Newfield
564-7243, dmckenna@tompkins-co.org
Jim Dennis
Enfield/Ulysses
387-4058, jpd821@yahoo.com
Report from the Supervisor
What a busy, busy summer! We are pretty well recovered from our
heavy rainfall on the night of August 9. Many meetings declared a State of
Emergency, many meetings but the roads seem to be quite passable.
Complete shoulder work is still in progress and some damage is going to take
multi-jurisdictional cooperation and considerable money.
Earlier this year, I was advised that a Town our size is only required to
have one Justice of the Peace. I researched this with the Association of Towns
and our Town Attorney, Guy Krough. A municipality can only eliminate a
position at the end of a term. Turns out that one of the Justice terms ends
December 31, 2013. Seemed the perfect timing since one Justice position was
already vacant due to the untimely death of Jim Varrichio in December, 2012
so, reducing a Justice would not put anyone out of a job. In July the Town
Board agreed to do this. Immediately, a resident started a petition for a
Permissive Referendum on the question. This petition containing 96 signatures
was filed with the Town Clerk. 52 signatures were required. Our Town Attorney
looked at the petition and felt that he could challenge the presented petition for
defects and get it thrown out. This would have required a considerable outlay
of money to pay for attorney time and file an appeal in Supreme Court. It would
also cost about $2-3,000 to run the permissive referendum because it would
not have been able to be put off to the General Election in November. I
decided that the Town Board should rescind the original Resolution that was
passed in July and pass a Resolution that would allow a Referendum in the
November General Election, since apparently so many residents felt strongly
that Town residents should be able to vote on this matter. This matter was
again voted on at the August Town Board meeting requiring a referendum on
the question to be on the November ballot. That will require no extra outlay of
Town money. I want to urge the residents of the Town to carefully consider this
question before voting in November:
· This is an opportunity to reduce government but not throw anyone out of a
job
· One Justice has done 80% of the work load for the last 20 years
· This is an opportunity to save the Town a little bit of money, maybe $5,000,
but in our Town that allows enough $ for Clean-Up Days, it allows enough
$ to increase to salary of the Clerk to a living wage, it allows enough $ to
compensate the sitting Justice the salary that is commensurate with the
workload
· Arraignments can be done by any Justice in the County
· Once a case is assigned to a Justice that Justice has to see it through. If
he/she is sick or on vacation, the matter is adjourned, not assigned to the
other Justice to “fill in”
· If the sitting Justice is seriously sick or, God forbid, our recent scenario
happens, a Justice dies, the Town Board makes an appointment until the
next election, as the Enfield Town Board did in January 2013, with no
interruption of service to Town residents
Is this the time for citizens to put a halt to increased government? Or
do citizens what business as usual? That is the question before the residents
of the Town of Enfield on November 5.
Continued, page 2
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Important Notice for those receiving the
STAR Exemption
From New York State: All homeowners
receiving a Basic STAR property tax
exemption must register with the New York
State Tax Department in order to receive the
exemption in the year 2014 and after. The
registration requirement is not satisfied by
your original application to your local
assessor.
Senior Citizens receiving the Enhanced
STAR property tax exemption are not affected
by this new requirement and do not need to
register.
This can be done online at http://
www.tax.ny.gov/ or by calling 518 457 2036
and needs to be done by December 31,2013
News from Code Enforcement
With the fall upon us once again, and at the beginning of the heating season, I would like to remind everyone to
change batteries in their smoke detectors and check them for proper operation. If your home doesn't have one i urge
you to install at least one on every level of your home. They are fairly inexpensive and they do save lives.
Also, a relatively new requirement is to have CO detectors. “Amanda’s Law” was passed in August 2009
requiring CO detectors/alarms in all homes new and existing with a carbon monoxide source. This would mean for all
homes new and existing with the exception of homes that are entirely electric, such as a home with electric heat and
without an attached garage. The law states for buildings constructed prior to January 1, 2008, a CO alarm shall be
provided on the lowest story containing a sleeping area, within 15’ of the sleeping area. More than one CO alarm shall
be provided where necessary to assure no sleeping area on such a story is more than 15 feet from the alarm. These
alarms can be battery operated or plug in models and can be purchased at most department or hardware stores. These
alarms are a worthwhile investment since CO is odorless and can only be detected with a CO detector. Please feel free
to call me with any questions about requirements and proper location.
One last reminder for all of us who heat with wood is to have your chimney checked/cleaned at the beginning of
the heating season and as needed throughout the year. Stay safe and warm this winter.
Alan Teeter
Code Enforcement Office
From the Highway Department
Wow, lots to talk about for sure. Thursday August 8, 2013,
Authorities were calling it “a hundred year storm”, Ithaca Journal
reported “Enfield hardest hit” which is amazing since people had to be
rescued, by boat from the Cortland Wal-Mart parking lot! Weather
channel report 6 inches of rain, which is equal to 5 feet of snow in 4
hours!
It was frustrating having to wait even the little bit of time that
we had to, (15-30 minutes) until the stormed calmed enough for us to
go out, (as to not end up causalities ourselves). But as any trained
emergency person knows, it is safety first.
We were out by 9:00 pm that Thursday night, we worked until
3:00 am to get Harvey Hill open, checked all the other roads for
safety, and then went home slept until 5:00 am Friday, and got right
back out there. I was very proud of the guys, they were right on tops
of things. With the help of Ulysses and Newfield we got much of the
main work done quickly.
At the September board meeting We got the approval for
storm damage money. Now we can get Fish Rd open, Harvey Hill
completed, and some other problem areas addressed. All in all with
44.5 centerline miles of roads, I felt that our road work held up very
well, in the face of this Natural Disaster. I do feel that the residents
were hardest hit with property damage. Which is why I felt it was a
necessity to hold a emergent clean up week, which the town board
agreed to fund.
Some residents had trouble knowing who to call, as a retired
Highway worker once said, “easiest way to tell whose road it is; if it
has painted lines on it, then it is either a state road or county“. (Town
roads have no lines). I appreciate all the calls from residents letting us
know about hardest hit areas. Most were very helpful and
appreciative, (We really liked the “Thank You” sign!) and everyone
else that has expressed their appreciation and thanks, it really means
a lot to myself and the guys. As for some, well when your scared and
in the middle of a natural disaster, some people react with anger and
blame, and we at the Highway try to understand that.
As this reaches you winter will be right around the corner,
mailbox spec's are available on the web and at the Highway and
Town Hall. Please take some extra time to drive slow on winter roads
as most accidents are the direct result of speed. Be safe, and as
always, see you on the roads!
Barry (Buddy) Rollins
Enfield Highway Superintendent
Supervisor's Report, Cont.
And finally some education on municipal
financing. A municipality who chooses to bond
a municipal building project has very strict
rules that have to be followed, as set forth by
the New York State Comptroller’s Office, which
oversees and audits all municipal funds.
During construction of our new Highway
facility, all parties agreed to changes in the
original plans in the interest of saving the Town
some money. Apparently everyone did not
understand that this saved money from the
bonding could only be used for very explicit
things, the first thing being repaying the debt
(bond). Although the Town Board voted
unanimously to use the remaining money to
repay the bond, they had no other choice. The
Town was legally bound to using the money to
pay down the bond. Hard fiscal lessons in this
time of shrinking resources and increasing
demand on government.
Off to autumn, my favorite time of year.
Ann Rider,
Supervisor
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News from the
Enfield Town Clerk’s Office:
Welcome to the fall season!
We have been busy selling
hunting permits, along with
renewing dog licenses.
Remember, all dogs in the Town
of Enfield need to be licensed.
Town and county tax bills
will be mailed the end of
December and can be paid
without penalty until January 31.
We will have additional
hours during the month of
January. Our October,
November and December hours
will remain Monday through
Thursday from 3-6 p.m. We are
always glad to come in extra
hours to accommodate your
needs, if you just give us a call.
As always, you can contact
us at 273-8256. You can also
find information on the town's
website www.townofenfield.org.
Alice Linton,
Enfield Town Clerk
Enfield Historian Report
Sue Thompson
We have had an interesting
summer with all the flooding. I
remembered that we have in our
historian collection, a scrapbook
about the 1935 flooding in our
area. This scrapbook was put
together by Davis Tucker, who
was 15 years old at the time.
The pages are yellowed but you
can still read the articles. I
copied the articles and will try to
get them on the Historians web
page for you to look at. If you
have pictures of our recent
flooding you would like to have
in our historians collection, you
can send them to me at
sdt1@cornell.edu.
I will start the History Club
during the afterschool in mid
October. We will start out with
learning about broom corn and
trying our hands at making a
broom along with “discovering”
paintings of Enfield. I will have a
display of community buildings
in Enfield at the Harvest Festival
on October 5, come visit me and
share your memories of these
many buildings.
News Details - Administrator Releases 2014 Recommended Budget
Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane has delivered to the County Legislature
a 2014 Recommended County Budget that maintains (but does not expand) County services,
addresses funding challenges at several partner agencies, maintains the County’s fiscal
health, and can be supported by a tax levy increase of 3.54%--less than the 4% levy goal set
by the Legislature. County taxes would rise by $21 for the owner of an average home.
“The recommended budget ensures continuity of essential County services at a time
when the economy is improving, but dependence on County services remains high”
Administrator Mareane states in his budget message to the Legislature. “It strengthens the
County’s fiscal health by reducing our reliance on one-time revenues, keeping our reserves
safely above the County’s 10% fund balance goal.
“The budget proposes a slight increase in the County workforce to address critical
areas of need, but keeps the roster 7.5% below where it stood five years ago,” the
Administrator continues. “In accordance with our new Capital Improvement Plan, the Budget
commits $317,000 in additional funding—the equivalent of a ¾% increase in the property tax
levy—to maintain our infrastructure. Importantly, the Budget marks significant progress in
addressing large structural deficits that have been looming in several County-sponsored
agencies.”
The Recommended Budget supports total expenditures of $170.2 million (a 2.85%
increase over 2013) and local dollar spending of $81.6 million (an increase of 1.6%). The
3.54% tax levy increase, which is below the target set by the Legislature, is above the State’s
2.3% property tax cap. The property tax rate would rise by 13 cents to $6.93 per $1,000
assessed value, resulting in the $21 increase to the owner of an average $160,000 home.
(The increase for total spending in part reflects pass-through of new mortgage tax revenue
and anticipated debt expense to be offset by federal reimbursements.)
Positive influences on the budget include some pension relief—a slight decline in the
pension rate that represents the first decrease since 2009—and a more than half-million-dollar
reduction in the budgeted cost for mandated programs, much of that attributed to anticipated
Medicaid savings associated with implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. (It was
the nearly $300,000 impact of the pension rate decrease that enabled the Recommended
Budget to come in below the Legislature’s levy target.)
Allocations to stabilize sponsored or partner agencies represent one of the key goals
of the budget, and result from detailed analysis and study over the past year regarding budget
challenges for these agencies. Among the allocations are the following:
· An $81,000 (3%) increase in support for Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3).
County support has risen by only 1% over the past four years, which has required a series
of spending reductions by TC3 and a greater Student cost share.
· A 315,000 (12%) increase in support for the Tompkins County Public Library, including
$175,000 in ongoing “target” funds and $140,000 in County reserves—to begin to address
the Library’s growing imbalance between revenues and expenses, despite significant
spending cuts the Library has made.
· $680,000 in new Mortgage Recording Tax revenue to Tompkins Consolidated Area
Transit (TCAT), with $120,000 in Mortgage Tax funding retained by the County to apply
toward its partner share contribution to TCAT—the new revenue stream expected to
stabilize both partner contributions and rider fares.
· $218,000 in support to Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD)--$150,000 from local
room tax and $68,000 in target funding. The allocation reflects a workgroup’s
recommendation that the County fund approximately one-third of TCAD’s budget, in part
through room tax, through 2018.
“I wish to thank the County department heads and their staffs for their professional
approach to the challenges that mark every budget,” Mareane states. “All exercised the
restraint we requested, and continue to find ways to maintain service levels provided at high
quality to the community.” The Administrator also recognizes the Legislature for establishing
clear policy guidance and instilling a culture of fiscal discipline. “When times were the
toughest, the Legislature refused to engage in the nearsighted fiscal gimmicks so many others
employed,” he notes. “As a result, today we are able to maintain services, stabilize our
sponsored agencies, and maintain our strong fiscal health.”
Legislators reviewed the recommended budget in detail on Monday, September 23 -
the first in a series of meetings that will continue through October. At these meetings,
departments and agencies will have the opportunity to explain their budget requests and how
programs would be affected by the recommended budget.
Initiatives to inform the public about the budget and gather input while the Expanded
Budget Committee’s deliberations are in process will include the County’s annual public
information meeting on the Tentative Budget October 17, The formal public hearing on the
amended Tentative Budget will be scheduled in November, prior to the final budget adoption
vote.
Public copies of the 2014 Recommended Budget are available at the County
Administration office, 125 East Court Street, and at the Office of the County Legislature, 121
East Court Street. The document also will be posted on the County website at www.tompkins-
co.org (Click on “County Budget.”)
09-17-2013
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Town of Enfield
168 Enfield Main Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Please Make a Tax Deductible Donation to the Enfield Aquifer Study Fund
The Enfield Aquifer Study, to be done by the U.S. Geological Survey, will map the local aquifer to determine the
quantity, quality, location of our water resources and any contamination. The Town of Enfield will need to raise $90,000
for the study. We have started this fund to ensure this important project will be done. A number of Enfield residents have
pledged to match contributions made in 2013 up to $2,500. We are getting closer to this goal! Please join your neighbors
by contributing to the Aquifer Study Fund for a safe and healthy water supply in Enfield. Use the tear-off below to
Support the Enfield Aquifer Study.
We are pleased to share the news that councilwoman Vera Howe-Strait submitted a grant application to the
Tompkins County Community Foundation earlier this year and the foundation awarded the Town $5,000 to help with the
cost of the Aquifer study.
If you have ideas for other possible grants, fundraising activities or contacts with groups outside the town of
Enfield who have a stake in protecting our water resources (for example individuals who like to fish or swim in area
waterways), we would love to hear about them. The Enfield watershed feeds not only Enfield Creek (which flows through
Robert H. Treman Park into the Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake) but Taughannock Creek to Cayuga Lake and the Upper
Susquehanna River Basin which flows to the south to the Chesapeake Bay.
For questions regarding the Aquifer Study, or the Fund, or to join us in our fundraising effort, please email:
enfield.aquifer@gmail.com
To support the Enfield Aquifer Study, Contribute: ___$25 ___$50 ___$75 ___$100 Other_____
· Make checks payable to: Social Ventures (Social Ventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your
contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.)
· Enter on the memo line of the check: Enfield Aquifer Study Fund (Social Ventures will use all funds raised to
help the Town of Enfield pay for the study.)
· Mail to: Enfield Aquifer Study Fund, PO Box 571, Ithaca, NY 14851
Name: __________________________________
Address: __________________________________
__________________________________
We thank you for your generous support of this critical project, and we will send you a written acknowledgment of your donation.