Shandaken Town Board. Left to right: Town Clerk Joyce Grant (D), Councilman Doris Bartlett (D), Councilman Alfie Higley Jr. (R), Supervisor Rob Stanley (R), Councilman Jack Jordan (R), and Councilman and Deputy Supervisor Vincent Bernstein (R). Photo by Rusty Mae Moore.
The first Shandaken Town Board Meeting of the year was held on Monday evening, January 2, to fix dates and times for meetings during 2012 and to appoint the people filling the key posts in town government during the coming year.
Earlier in the day, newly elected town officials were sworn into office.
Voting Summary
A total of 49 resolutions were considered by the Town Board at the meeting. A copy of all the resolutions is available from the town clerk for those citizens interested in the positions and salaries paid to the approximately 60 key appointed and 13 elected employees of the town.
Most of the 49 resolutions passed by a unanimous vote.
Councilman Vincent Bernstein recused himself from voting on two resolutions in which he had a direct interest, and voted against the appointment of Richard Stokes as Zoning Enforcement Officer and as Building Inspector.
Newly elected Councilman Alfie Higley Jr. voted against the reappointment of two members of the Zoning Board of Appeals: Rolf Reiss as Chairman, and Tom Hickey as a member. Higley possibly should have recused himself from this vote because of his business interests related to the still pending “Farmstand” law.
Public Discussion
Kathy Nolan, who ran for supervisor against Stanley last November, asked the Board how the town government could increase the involvement of the public in bringing matters to the various boards and commissions of the Town. She suggested that more public involvement and transparency in the selection process would keep the boards of the town from becoming self-perpetuating.
"The committees should be for everyone,” Nolan said. She later suggested that “the next Museum Board meeting should be announced as open to public participants.”
A sharp exchange occurred between Councilman Jack Jordan and former Shandaken
Town Museum Director Mary Herrmann concerning the status of the Museum.
Jordan asked Herrmann the whereabouts of unsold copies of Herrmann’s book
on Shandaken which were purchased by the Museum, and whether Herrmann’s
royalties on the book should be turned over to the town.
Herrmann responded that she wrote the book on her own time, and that the royalties amounted to only $300. The location of the books is still unclear.
“The museum is being run improperly," said Herrmann. "The Museum Board is
not a legal entity, they should get a charter and set up as a legal entity.”
Town Services
The Board unanimously voted to designate Key Bank of New York and Community Bank as depositories for the town, and the Daily Freeman as the “official newspaper” for the town.
The Board unanimously authorized Supervisor Stanley to “utilize the services of [attorney] Paul Kellar as General Counsel to the Town Board, and other counsel at his discretion.”
The accounting firm of Sickler, Torchia, Allen & Churchill was reappointed as Town Auditors “at an allowance up to $20,000 as allocated in the 2012 budget.”
Board Appoints Employees
The Board appointed James McGrath as the Chief of Police, along with four full-time and 12 part-time police officers.
Heidi Clark was reappointed as the Chairman of the Board of Assessors.
Richard Muellerleile was reappointed as administrator of the Shandaken Town Ambulance Corps, along with eight part-time paramedics, one full-time EMT (Ernest Longhi) and seven part-time EMT’s, plus eleven ambulance drivers and certified first responders.
Nancy Hudler was reappointed Dog Control Officer and Enumerator, and Thomas Sharon was reappointed Dog Control Officer.
Wendy Helm was reappointed as Clerk of the Justice Court.
Richard Stokes was appointed Zoning Enforcement Officer and Floodplain Administrator. Stokes was also appointed as Building Inspector for the Town.
Eve Smith was reappointed Social Services Officer.
Councilman Vincent Bernstein was appointed to act as Deputy Supervisor in the absence of the supervisor, without compensation.
Nancy Smith was reappointed as Historian for the Town of Shandaken for the year 2012, with no compensation indicated in the reappointment resolution.
The Board also voted unanimously to “recognize” Richard Bennett, June La Marca, Nancy Smith, Marie Stutman, MaryLou Stapleton, Catherine Greenburg, and Flavia DeMola for being on the Town of Shandaken Museum Board, and resolved that Richard Bennett “is the Chairman of the Board.”
Salaries Paid By the Citizens of Shandaken
The salaries of elective town officials are set by the Town Board as required under Article 27 of the Town Law.
The Superintendent of Highways has the highest salary in town government, at $44,346 annually. The Town Supervisor earns $30,000 per year. The Clerk and Tax Collector is paid $31,954, the Town Assessor $31,954, and the two Town Justices are paid $17,187 each. Each town board member receives $9,000 per year.
Salaries were also set for appointive officials. As examples, the average hourly earnings for town employees are estimated to range from $10.00 to $14.00 for clerical jobs, while part-time police officers receive slightly over $18.00 per hour.
Key Dates For Public Hearings in January
Thursday Jan 12: Hearing on the "Pine Hill Sewer Use Law"
Tuesday Jan 24: Second hearing of the Shandaken Town Board on the Scenic
Byway "Corridor Management Plan."
Stanley stressed that public participation is encouraged at these hearings.
