February 3, 2009 Town Board meeting

Much discussion centered on the vote to use a line item transfer in the senior services department to fund a $7,000 contribution to Community Caregivers. At the annual budget meeting in November, Supervisor Runion and board members Pat Slavick and Paul Pastore voted down a motion by Councilman Mark Grimm. Grimm's motion hoped to restore the Caregivers' money that had been cut and which had been in previous years' budgets. With community pressure, the money was finally restored. Click for more on the issue.

For the second time, a representative for Store Away, a storage facility on Wagner Road, came before the board hoping to get approval for a sign. Dan Hershberg of Hershberg & Hershberg was asked again to come back with another proposal.

The Board unanimously approved the appointment of Carly Staubach as telecommunicator. Congratulations to Carly.

November 6th Town Board meeting

The Town Board passed the 2009 budget. Councilman Grimm voted "no" because of

1 - the double-whammy tax hike --- a 4.68 % increase in the property tax levy and a 20% increase in town fees

2 - a proposal to freeze the pay of the town elected officials and some other political appointees was voted down by Supervisor Runion and board members Paul Pastore and Pat Slavick.

3 - a Grimm proposal to restore $7,200 to the budget for Community Caregivers, a wonderful nonprofit in Guilderland, was also voted down by the same vote.

4- a Grimm proposal to fund $9,000 for park playground improvements was also voted down by Supervisor Runion and Pastore & Slavick.

There was more than three hours of public input and board discussion on the Glass Works Village project. Western Avenue traffic was a top concern among Hamilton St. residents. The debate over the library road also continued.

The Board discussed the serious ethics issue involving the town attorney. The Board's majority voted to fund outside counsel for the town's ethics committee to investigate Sherwood. Grimm and Redlich voted "no" insisting outside counsel in this case was unnecessary town spending.
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Update (2/09): Supervisor Runion claimed in a Times Union article that he planned ahead for the tough economy by budgeting for lower sales tax revenue. Video from the 11/6 meeting appears to contradict that claim. See Ken Runion, sales tax and budget.