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Village proposes longer library hours after budget caused cuts

    SCOTIA — Some of the hours cut at the village’s library may be restored.
    Deputy Mayor Joe Rizzo told the Board of Trustees at its meeting Wednesday that the new proposed hours would be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the library would be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The library would be closed on Wednesday, which Rizzo said is the least busy day of the week. He added that County Library Director Andrew Kulmatiski said the village may be able to get half a day back later in the year.
    Because of county budget cuts, the village’s library hours had been reduced by 10 hours. The previous hours were Monday through Thursday, noon to 5:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Rizzo said he and others expressed their displeasure with this arrangement and lobbied to get the hours back.
    “The Scotia library has more walk-ins than any other branch in the county,” he said.
    The board endorsed the proposal. Now, it must go back to the county Library Board of Trustees for implementation. Mayor Kris Kastberg said he did not know how soon that would happen.
NEW FIREFIGHTERS
    In other business, the board hired two new fi refighters — Brendan Dunfee of Scotia and Anthony Catalfamo of Latham. Kastberg said this would bring the department back to a full 12-person staffing. It also approved three new volunteer firefighters — Laura Hummer, Katie Keller and Kristofer Kinnear.
    Also on Wednesday, Kastberg announced that Capt. Thomas Wayand is retiring from the Scotia Fire Department on March 1
    The trustees also honored Nell Burrows, who is stepping down from the Parks Board after 27 years.
    In other business, the board voted to ban outdoor wood furnaces.

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Glenville to cancel bulk waste pick-up
Loose leaf collection will be halted

    GLENVILLE — Faced with a potential tripling of the cost of bulk-item pickup, the town has decided to cancel its annual spring service.
    In an e-mail from the town, officials said they were recently notified that the annual service must adhere to state prevailing wage laws for a public works job. The state determines the prevailing wages annually on a public works job by craft, classification of worker and region within the state, typically by county.
    While the town paid County Waste about $9,900 to provide bulk-item pick up last year, town officials were advised that with the prevailing wage requirements, this year’s contract could have exceeded $30,000 for the same service.
    Other options exist for the proper disposal of bulk items, town officials said. Residents can contact County Waste or any other waste hauler and make arrangements directly with them. Schenectady County residents can also bring certain items to the recycling center at 24 Hetcheltown Road after obtaining a permit.
    The permit costs $15 and is good until Dec. 31. Permit holders are limited to 12 visits for dropping off yard waste and unlimited visits for recycling, bulkitem drop-offs and disposal of household hazardous waste. Additionally, some bulk items (primarily metals) may be dropped off at no cost, while other bulk items may be disposed off at a small fee.
    The town is also planning changes to its leaf pickup program, according to Town Clerk Linda Neal. While the town plans to pick up leftover leaves from last year as soon as the weather allows, Neal said the town will no longer pick up loose leaves next fall; instead, residents will have to bag leaves for collection.

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SCOTIA
Village fire, police offer new budgets that shrink a bit
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Two of the village’s major departments — fire and police — have submitted reduced spending requests for the 2008-09 year.
    Fire Chief Richard Kasko proposes a budget of $1.06 million, which is a decrease of about $70,000 from this year’s budget. The salaries line item has decreased by about $10,000 through staff changes and retirements in the department, which has 12 full-time paid staff. Some new people are joining the department and they are at lower salaries.
    Kasko also proposes to decrease the overtime line item by $38,000. He said one reason for the decrease is firefighters can also do some of their required training online while in the station and not off site. He is also asking for specific items including new portable radios, pagers and masks.
    Police Chief John Pytlovany has proposed a budget of about $1.1 million, which is $9,546 below this year’s spending. This budget will maintain the department’s current level of service and is lower because one of the department’s officers will be overseas for military service and will not receive a paycheck for four months, he said.
    Pytlovany proposes to hire another new officer and promote an existing officer to a lieutenant and second in charge of the department. This would bring the total number of officers to 14 including himself. He also is seeking to increase the overtime budget by $30,000 to $108,000.
    Village Justice Jason Frement is seeking $58,810 including $5,000 for a part-time security officer for court nights.
    Meanwhile, the Parks and Recreation Department is struggling with a $6,000 cut in funding from Glenville. Parks and Recreation Supervisor Jim Marx said among the options are to reduce hours at the beach, the number of counselors or hours of operations or eliminate programs such as the swimming lessons.
    Mayor Kris Kastberg said he spoke with Glenville Town Administrator Tony Germano, who indicated the town is willing to discuss the recreation funding issue.
    All of the village departments have already begun meeting in work sessions with the Board of Trustees to build the budget, which is usually approved in April. Kastberg said the village is looking to be relatively flat with its spending.
    The current budget is $5.57 million — not including water and sewer fees. The tax rate is $11.45 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, which translates into about $1,420 in taxes for a home with an average assessed value of $124,000.
Reach Gazette reporter
Michael Goot at 395-3105 or
mgoot@dailygazette.net

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GLENVILLE
Police eye new dispatch system
Department needs reliable communication
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Improved town coverage and better communications are all the goals of an effort by the police department to replace its more than 20-year-old communications systems.
    The department is about to solicit proposals in the next couple of weeks for a new communications center. Lt. Rick Conley, who is organizing the effort, said he does not have exact prices, but the system is guaranteed to cost several hundred thousand dollars.
    The existing system has several limitations. When it was installed in the mid-1980s, because of budget restrictions, the town only installed one tower.
    “We do not have full coverage of the town,” he said, but declined to give a specific percentage.
    There are dead spots in some of the town’s western areas and low-level locations. The town uses repeaters, which are very difficult to get parts for because of their age. Last year, the department spent eight months trying to fi nd a replacement part. “They found the part in some radio junkyard,” he said.
    A repeater completely died recently and the town had to order a new one.
    There is one repeater on a tower in Waters Road, Conley said. They also use repeaters in the cars. However, there is a drawback because if two repeaters are close to each other, there is radio interference.
    He said the department would like to add two more towers. This would give the town a coverage of almost 97 percent — which is standard in the industry.
    “You’ll never get 100 percent,” he said.
    The town does have alternative ways of communicating, whether it be switching to alternative radio frequency, but it is not the same.
    “We feel it’s a safety issue,” he said.
    They would also have what are called “self-canceling” receivers that would not interfere with each other.
    The current system does not have “computer aided dispatch,” which shows an address and a map on the screen when a call comes into the center. The county does have this system for 911 and Glenville uses that in its dispatch center.
    The new system would also have a touch screen that would allow dispatchers to toggle between different frequencies and to see calls being dispatched to other departments like Schenectady and Albany in real time.
    Conley said the new equipment would be run completely on computers — eliminating the need for bulky radio equipment. This would free up space in the center for a more efficient layout for the dispatchers, who are working 12-hour shifts.
    “They’re living here for half a day,” he said.
    Dispatcher Joanne Weaver of Scotia said she is hoping to get a more reliable system.
    “It’s frustrating when the radios fail. You can’t hear communications between the fi refighters or the officers [and] worrying about miscommunication, getting the wrong information,” he said.
    Conley said the town is going to choose from two companies that are on the state contract for communications equipment — Maxcom and Motorola.
    He hopes within a few months to award the bid.
    This project effort has been going on for a little more than two years and started under former Chief Jack Purdy. The town’s public safety board is working on the issue.
    “We’re hoping to have everything completed by the end of the year,” he said.
    Conley said the county is also looking at upgrades to its communications system, which he believes is even older than Glenville’s. The county system dispatches for Glenville fire calls.

MEREDITH L. KAISER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Dispatcher Joanne Weaver takes notes during a phone call Thursday in the dispatch center at the Glenville Police Department. The department will look at plans for a new dispatch center.

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Abandoning leaf pickup unfair to Glenville

    It’s nice when our leaders seek methods to reduce spending and save us taxes. The problem with not picking up leaves is that for those in Glenville, certainly East Glenville, the cost increases.
    I went through this a few years ago with the Tax Saving Committee — which saw the wisdom that those in Scotia (where most of the committee members resided) have few leaves, mostly maple; while those in Glenville have many leaves, mostly oak, which don’t mulch very fast. Not wanting to point out my case, but I had 40 large oak trees — each of which takes more than one bag through the season.
    My request is that town fathers reconsider, and remove the leaves from Glenville properties, spending the same [amount] of last year’s budget to keep us all happy.
    JOHN R. SOWA
    Glenville

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GLENVILLE
Police contract includes raises
Town Board to review proposed agreement for approval
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net

    A new contract for the Police Department may be in sight, which would end an impasse of more than two years.
    Police Benevolent Association President Stephen Janik said a memorandum of agreement was signed by the union and town last week and ratified by union members on Monday. The Town Board is expected to review the agreement at its next regular meeting Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
    The union has agreed in principal to retroactive cumulative 2 percent raises every six months for 2006 and 2007. For 2008 and 2009, the raise is 3 percent for the whole year. In addition, the contract calls for increases to insurance co-pays for doctors’ visits and prescription drugs.
    “If you look at national averages, it’s right around a [cost-of-living adjustment] raise,” Janik said.
    In addition, the union agreed to give up for this contract its effort to obtain health insurance for retired police officers. The existing contract states that for anyone in the union hired in 1991 or later, upon retiring from the force, will not receive health care benefits until they turn 55. The town will only pay 50 percent of a family plan. This is effective only until they qualify for Medicare. Those hired before 1991 get full health insurance benefi ts for the rest of their lives.
    The union has been working under the terms of a contract that expired at the end of 2005. Last October, it filed for arbitration after negotiations broke down.
    Janik said the union still would like to obtain that benefit, but he did not believe the arbitrator would have granted it had the matter gone to arbitration.
    “It didn’t make a lot of sense to me and other members of the union to attempt to roll the dice with an arbitrator,” he said. “It just seemed beneficial right now to save the town thousands of dollars, save the union thousands of dollars for arbitration.”
    The tentative pact came as the result of a breakfast meeting of Janik, Town Administrator Tony Germano and Town Board member Chris Koetzle.
    Koetzle said he was happy to save the town money in legal fees.
    “I’m very pleased that we were able to sit down and keep the lines of communication open and able to get a fair contract for the police officers and affordable contract for the taxpayers,” he said.
    Germano could not be reached for comment.

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SCOTIA
Sidewalk work may include tree removal
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Tree roots could be choking off efforts at sidewalk beautification.
    Mayor Kris Kastberg is looking to expand the village’s current sidewalk improvement program, which offers residents reimbursement of $10 per linear foot up to a maximum of $1,500 for sidewalk repairs in front of their property. The reimbursement cannot exceed 50 percent of the total cost. Available funding is $25,000 this year.
    Kastberg said some residents have told him they would like to take advantage of the funding, but part of their sidewalk is taken up by tree roots.
    He proposes a new component that would pay $500 or one-third of the cost of tree removal, whichever is less, if part of the sidewalk is taken up by a tree. Village Attorney Lydia Marola is just reviewing the plan.
    Kastberg said the trees would have to be in the village right of way and not on private property.
    In other business, Kastberg said he would like to spruce up Collins Lake with some new swimming docks. The village had already invested in the lake including installing of an aeration system in 2006 and eliminating weeds, Kastberg said. This seems to be the next logical step.
    He is looking to tap into the town’s parkland funds, which are funded by developers in lieu of having to create green space or a playground. He would also like to replace the slide in the Kiwanis playground at about a cost of $5,000. The current slide is rusty.
    The Board of Trustees last week approved replacing the slide. However, it asked Kastberg to hold off the docks proposal until he presents his budget. Also, the trustees last week approved the hiring of a new police officer, Mike Schermerhorn. Kastberg said he had been originally hired nine years ago, but decided to work for Glenville. Kastberg said this hire brings the department almost to full strength, although one officer is overseas in the National Guard.
Reach Gazette reporter
Michael Goot at 395-3105 or
mgoot@dailygazette.net

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GLENVILLE
Town Board approves 4-year agreement with police union Deal concludes sometimes bitter battle over employee benefits
BY ANDREA CRAMER For The Daily Gazette

    The town and the union representing police officers, at odds for nearly three years over a contract, have agreed to move forward with a new four-year pact.
    The Town Board Wednesday night unanimously approved the agreement, which concluded the sometimes bitter battle over benefits for the union employees. The contract will cover the time since the last contract expired at the end of 2005.
    The deal gives the officers cost-of-living raises for the two years already past and 3 percent for 2008 and ’09, in exchange for higher co-pays on prescriptions and doctor’s office visits.
    Members had wanted the town to provide health insurance for retirees, similar to what was in place before that benefit was eliminated in 1991.
    Police Benevolent Association President Stephen Janik said that the town would not negotiate on that point and that he didn’t want to gamble by going to arbitration.
    “If we had gone to arbitration that would have left us with only a two-year contract and we likely wouldn’t have gotten the retirement benefits we were seeking,” he said.
    He said he wouldn’t have wanted to start negotiations all over so soon.
    The agreement came after Janik contacted Town Board member Chris Koetzle, because he said Koetzle is new to the board and doesn’t have “a history.” During the board’s vote, Koetzle praised the union for being patient and professional.
    Board member Edward Rosenberg said the process was tiring, but that “both sides gave a little and lost a little.”
    After the meeting, Janik bristled at Rosenberg’s comment, saying that the town would benefit a great deal from the health care concessions. Town Manager Tony Germano told the board that he is reviewing all of Glenville’s health and insurance policies in an effort to reduce costs.
    Janik said it’s not hard to imagine what the main issue will be when the PBA begins negotiating with the town again.

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SCOTIA
Mayor proposes cutting fire chief’s job in cost-saving move
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Village Mayor Kris Kastberg proposes to eliminate the job of Fire Chief Richard Kasko.
    “The board is looking at different ways to conserve expenses,” Kastberg said on Thursday.
    The mayor revealed his 2008-09 budget proposal before the Board of Trustees Wednesday and it did not include funding for the chief’s position. The proposed spending is $5.8 million and would mean a 1 percent property tax increase.
    Kastberg pointed out that at one point the Scotia Fire Department was all volunteer. Later it had a mix of paid and volunteer staff under a volunteer chief. Now, it has a paid chief and combined paid and volunteer firefighters. “We’re just looking to see if it makes sense to go back to the old way of doing things,” he said.
    No decision has been made, Kastberg said. Village officials are studying civil service laws to see if this can be done. He added that he informed Kasko as early as he could so the chief could examine his options.
    Kastberg said this proposal is an outgrowth of the options village officials have been exploring to become more efficient. Another example is the efforts with Glenville to look at a shared municipal building to house both police forces.
    The village hired Kasko in October 2004. He came to the department from Texas, where he was chief of a volunteer fi re department and ran a fire training program, according to a news account at the time. He also was formerly a volunteer assistant chief with the Stratton Air National Guard Base department and served with Niskayuna District 1. He taught at the New York State Fire Academy.
    Kasko was hired at a salary of $69,000 a year. His salary for this year was not available.
    If the board decides to eliminate the position, the change would take effect June 1.
    Kasko said Thursday he has been out for two weeks, after breaking his left kneecap. He slipped on ice outside a supermarket. He is prepared to come back to work on Monday. He had nothing to say regarding the proposal to eliminate his job.
    “I just got a copy of the budget today so I’d prefer not to comment on that at this time,” he said.
    Ken Almy, president of the Scotia Permanent Firemen’s Association, said he was not prepared to comment, since the budget was just released.
    Trustee Armon Benny, who has been critical of the fire department in the past, said he does not know the reason why Kastberg wants to eliminate the position.
    “It’s the mayor’s budget. The trustees now have to review it and make modifi cations to it,” he said.
    Trustees have also been discussing whether the department has the proper staffing level. In October, the board voted 3-2 to hire an 11th member for the force. Benny has previously said that more fl exibility is needed in scheduling shifts and has been critical about the amount of overtime expended.
    The fire department was already going through some transition. Earlier this month, Capt. Thomas Wayand retired after a 25-year career. Almy, formerly a lieutenant, was promoted to captain to fill this position. The Board of Trustees has also hired David Wood and Anthony Catalfamo.
    Kasko said previously that once both go through their training, it would bring the department up to full strength by the fall. This would allow the department to run four 24-hour shifts with three firefighters per shift.
    Kastberg also is not going to fund nearly $42,000 Kasko had requested for items including an administrative assistant, new fire gear, volunteer uniforms, installation banquet, vehicle maintenance and hiring another firefighter this month in anticipation of another retirement.
    “The fire department had quite a long list of equipment,” Kastberg said. “You can only spend so much money.”

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Volunteer effort to rid Scotia of geese has grown too costly

    Volunteers agreed to rid Scotia’s Collins Park of the geese, and Mayor Kris Kastberg bought the idea. The volunteers were to do the effort at no cost to Scotia residents.
    All of a sudden, a cost of hiring a dog at $500 per month was thrust on Scotia taxpayers in 2007. I have been told that this cost will be levied again in 2008.
    In my thinking, whenever you volunteer to do a job, the cost is paid by the volunteers, not Scotia taxpayers. Scotia had the opportunity to rid the park of the resident geese, but the geese people thwarted the effort at the time.
    I strongly believe that the cost shouldn’t be put on Scotia taxpayers, again or in the future.
    PETE GOUTOS
    Scotia

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GLENVILLE
Three officers taken off duty
Officials mum, point to probe
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com.

Three Glenville police offi cers have been suspended within the last week, town and police offi - cials said.
Officers Edward Casey and Chris Charneu were suspended with pay on Saturday. They are the subjects of an internal investigation.
Officer Tim Smith was also suspended last week without pay in connection with an unrelated action. Casey and Charneu remain on paid leave until completion of an internal investigation and could face additional disciplinary actions if warranted, said Town Manager Tony Germano.
    There are 21 officers in the department.
    Police Benevolent Association President Stephen Janik said he had no comment.
    Germano would not divulge the reason for Casey’s and Charneu’s suspensions, but both were apparently connected with the same incident.
    “We are still putting pieces together. I want to defer to the completion of the investigation. We did move to discipline the officers. That is happening as we speak,” Germano said.
    Smith was suspended for fi ve weeks without pay. Town officials would not disclose the nature of the case.
    Police Chief Michael Ranalli said he is overseeing the internal investigation of the three officers. “My best interests are with the town residents and this department,” he said.
    Germano said in the case of Casey and Charneu, the department began its investigation several weeks ago. “We had an incident and we responded to it proactively and professionally,” he said.
    Town Supervisor Frank Quinn said he was aware of the suspensions involving Casey and Charneu but did not know anything about the one involving Smith.
    Quinn called the suspensions unusual and of concern. “Any time there is a question of the reliability of any public safety outfit, for the good of all the citizens you have to get to the bottom of it and get the facts,” he said.
    “Until I get the chief’s report, I cannot do anything. He will get to the bottom of it and will make his recommendations.”