HOLLEY – Village Board members on Wednesday evening adopted a $1.14 million budget for the general fund, which increases the tax rate increase 63 cents to $15.44 per $1,000 of assessed property. That’s an increase of 4.45 percent.

The Water Fund appropriation is $395,612 and the Sewer Fund appropriation is $157,650. The appropriation for the Department of Public Works is down 0.4 percent while the appropriation for the Village Police Department rises 17.4 percent. The employee benefit appropriation is down 36.5 percent.

The 2016/17 amount of the budget to be raised by taxes is $820,799, which is up 4.5 percent or $35,001 from $785,798 in the 2015/16 budget.

Trustees considered several options – from using $60,850 in Appropriated Fund Balance to keep the tax rate the same, to using no Fund Balance which would have raised the tax rate $1.14.

The option agreed upon added $10,000 to contingency and utilized $27,380 from Fund Balance. This option brings the anticipated Fund Balance after the new budget to $100,000. The 2016/17 budget was adopted by a unanimous vote.

Holley Mayor John Kenney, Jr., said work on the budget began last November and village leaders tried diligently to find savings wherever possible, despite the increasing costs of retirement and health insurance.

“The supervisors were good about addressing the needs of the village,” the mayor noted. “All services are maintained.”

Kenney encouraged village residents to get out and vote in the upcoming village election which will be held in June. Two trustee seats and the mayor are up for election.

Provided Photo

HOLLEY – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office acquired the STOP DWI “Courage to Serve” traveling display and it will be set up in the lobby at Holley Jr. Sr. High School for two weeks.

Chief Deputy Michael Mele and Principal Sue Cory are pictured with the display last week at the Holley school. The display will be available for each school district in Orleans County, said Sheriff Randy Bower.

The exhibit includes personal items from the DWI crash victims, such as photographs, clothes and drawings. There are also accounts from survivors, family members, friends and members of the community affected by the crash, as well as newspaper articles from DWI crashes.

For more on the traveling exhibit, click here.

CLARENDON – Town Board members on Thursday evening approved an amendment to the Town’s Zoning Ordinance Sec. 301 and adopted related Local Law No. 1 of 2016, regarding building permits for buildings or structures 64 sq. ft. or greater within the town.

The amendment to Zoning Ordinance Sec. 301 adds a new Subsection B which states: “All buildings or structures 64 sq. ft. or greater within the Town of Clarendon shall require a building permit.”

The previous Subsection B is now Subsection C and states: “No building permit shall be issued for any buildings, structures, dwellings, their customary accessory structures and common farm related structures unless a Site Plan has been submitted to and approved by the Planning Board.”

The amendment notes that the Ordinance Inspection Officer may waive the need for a site plan review for buildings or structures provided such building or structure is single width, is a single story and is not permanently attached to the soil or any other structure.

Local Law No. 1 of 2016 relates to the Zoning Ordinance changes and gives the code enforcement officer broader authority in issuing building permits for detached structures. It amends Local Law No. 1 of 2007 to change the size of structures requiring a building permit. The new law states: “No permit shall be required for…. construction or installation of one story detached structures associated with one or two family dwellings or multiple single family dwellings (townhouses) which are used for tool and storage sheds, playhouses, or similar uses, provided that the gross floor area is less than 64 sq. ft.”

Other provisions of Local Law No. 1 of 2007 remain unchanged.

Prior to the vote, Deputy Town Supervisor Allen Robinson, who sat in for Supervisor Richard Moy, noted the County Planning Board had approved the changes and commended Clarendon for consistently being proactive on zoning/building related issues.

Councilperson William Campbell was the only board member to vote no on both the amendment and the local law.

During a public hearing on the changes conducted March 15, Supervisor Moy stated the changes, which reduce the minimum size for structures and buildings requiring a building permit, will help the town assessor to keep track of structures which are part of property appraisals, as well as help prevent structures from being placed directly on property lines.

No residents spoke during the March public hearings, but Councilperson Campbell stated he could not see the benefit of decreasing the size of structures which require a building permit.

“It means more work on the Planning Board and more work on the CEO,” Campbell said. “I don’t see the benefits to the Town of Clarendon. We should be looking to make things easier for residents.”

In other business during Thursday’s meeting, Town Board members congratulated Town Historian and Ordinance Inspection Officer/CEO Melissa Ierlan (who was not present at the meeting) on being awarded the C. W. “Bill” Lattin Award for Excellence in Municipal History as part of the third class of Orleans County Heritage Heroes.

Deputy Supervisor Robinson read a letter from the Heritage Heroes Award Committee which stated the Lattin Award is new this year, making Ierlan the first recipient. The committee called Ierlan, “A great advocate of local history.”

Robinson said Ierlan always, “goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

The 2016 class of Heritage Heroes will be recognized in a ceremony at Genesee Community College in Albion on Friday, April 29, at 7 p.m.

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HOLLEY – The Cat in the Hat joined Holley Elementary School students on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate a read-a-thon that raised $280 towards the renovation of the chapel at Hillside Cemetery.

Melissa Ierlan, the cemetery caretaker, is also Clarendon’s historian and a member of the Holley Board of Education. On Tuesday, she added a new role as The Cat in the Hat.

Ierlan dressed at The Cat in the Hat to surprise students and reward them for their efforts in reading and raising money for the chapel restoration.

Members of the Holley Central School Elementary Student Council pose with The Cat in the Hat on Tuesday. The Student Council has made fundraising for the chapel restoration their civic project for this year.

Village wants to bring festival back in 2017

File photos by Tom Rivers – Members of the combined Holley-Kendall marching band participate in the parade in this photo from June 7, 2014.

HOLLEY – Mayor John Kenney says the annual June Fest community celebration has been postponed for this year, but should be back in 2017.

“We are going to start planning for next year,” he told Orleans Hub this week.

The mayor said funds will be included in the village budget and he expects a committee will be formed to help organize the event. He said he also expects to contact Town of Murray officials to see if they have an interest in being involved.

Clarendon residents Dr. Marge Krizan and John Krizan approached the Holley Village Board in February and offered to form an ad hoc committee to organize a 2016 June Fest, as the continuation of the event appeared to be in jeopardy. Dr. Krizan told Orleans Hub that she presented a scaled-back version of the event to the Village Board at its March 8 meeting, but the ad hoc committee did not receive the “blessing” of the village to continue.

In a letter to the Village Board dated March 21, Dr. Krizan wrote that the festival could not go forward this year without approval and sponsorship of the Village Board; sufficient information and materials from prior June Fest celebrations; and the credibility of a Village of Holley endorsement of their plan.

Fireworks at the soccer field capped last year’s festival, when there was a full schedule of events from the morning to the night.

“We believe it would be better to produce a quality … event for all concerned as opposed to producing an event which would not satisfy the Board based on their comments at the March 8, 2016 board meeting,” she wrote.

Additionally in her letter, Dr. Krizan offered the assistance of the ad hoc committee to bring the 2017 June Fest to fruition.

“We like to do things the right way,” she told Orleans Hub. “We had to have credibility … (A 2016 scaled-back June Fest) can’t be done the right way without the full backing of the Board. We tried. We learned another thing about local government.”

Dr. Krizan said Village Board members did not want to make a decision on moving ahead with June Fest this year without vendors and donations in place, but she explained that the ad hoc committee had difficulty accessing information on the event from previous years, which would have helped them seek out and secure vendors and donations.

“We tried, but from the start there was obstacle upon obstacle,” she said. “No one knew where the paperwork was.”

Additionally, Dr. Krizan said board members indicated they would prefer to have a full slate of events included if June Fest were held this year.

The ad hoc committee had proposed an abbreviated event.

HOLLEY – Village Board members Tuesday evening approved the tentative budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year that would raise the tax rate to $16.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The 2015-2016 village tax rate was $14.81.

Village Clerk Sarah Trowbridge says village trustees have until April 30 to approve the final budget and they will be working to bring the tax rate down. She noted it cannot go higher than the $16.00 approved in the tentative budget.

Trowbridge said no residents spoke during a public hearing on the tentative budget which was held prior to the vote.

The total General Fund appropriation totals $1.166 million; the Water Fund appropriation is $409,271; Sewer Fund appropriation is $173,587; and the Electric Department appropriation is $2.16 million.

Included in the General Fund appropriation is the clerk’s budget of $217,595, the Police Department budget of $289,831, Department of Public Works at $349,791, and Hospitalization/Retirement/Bonds, $308,852.

Additionally, trustees adopted Local Law No. 2 of 2016 during their meeting, which will allow them to override the tax levy limit, if that becomes necessary. Trowbridge said the board typically adopts the override as a precautionary measure, even if an override of the tax cap is not needed.

Town supervisor responds to resident’s questions about water districts

MURRAY – About two dozen residents attended the regular meeting of the Murray Town Board Tuesday evening.

Town attorney Jeff Martin updated residents on the status of the proposed Workplace Violence Prevention Policy local law, which includes a firearm ban for town buildings, property and vehicles. Martin said the town does need such a policy, but how the proposed law addresses weapons should be discussed at a yet to be scheduled Town Board workshop.

“We can make recommended modifications after we have had a chance to do further reviews,” Martin said.

The town had hoped that its insurance carrier – New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) – would respond to their questions regarding the ramifications of dropping the weapons ban part of the law, but Martin said he has “heard nothing official from NYMIR.” The proposed local law was drafted in light of a recommendation from NYMIR.

Resident Kerri Neale, who lead a rally last month against the weapons ban, attended Tuesday’s meeting and reminded board members that they need to keep the US Constitution in mind as they formulate local statutes.

“Everybody wants to look out for public safety,” he said, but he noted incidents with weapons have never been an issue on town property. “I don’t see any fear of the future, unless I was unable to defend myself.”

Resident Joe Sidonio also attended Tuesday’s meeting and presented town board members with a chart and detailed financial information, which show a spike in the use of fund balance for water districts in the town in 2016. Information he presented shows the amount of fund balance used from 2011-2015 in the $1,000 – $12,000 range. In 2016, nearly $66,000 is used from the fund balance.

“It’s alarming to me,” Sidonio told board members. “Look at the sales of water verses the cost of water, we aren’t making any money. I don’t understand why the numbers don’t add up.”

During his monthly “Supervisor Comments” earlier in the meeting, Town Supervisor John Morriss addressed a number of concerns and issues raised by Sidonio this year.

Supervisor Morriss stated that Highway Superintendent Ed Morgan did not retire from his post, but is “collecting retirement.” Sidonio questioned Morgan’s employment status in February.

In regards to a 2014 NYS Comptroller’s audit, which was critical of the town’s bookkeeping practices and the use of water district debt proceeds for operating and capital purposes, Morriss said the state auditor was new to the job and that he did not like the way the software utilized by the town’s bookkeeper generated financial reports.

Morriss said figures requested by the state were submitted in the preferred format and that the town has either already made changes requested by the state or is in the process of making those changes which will help to eliminate the potential for problems with bookkeeping methods.

He noted the issues found by the audit were procedural. “There was no money missing,” Morriss said. “We could account for all the money.”

Regarding overtaxing in the town’s water districts, Morriss said Rural Development as not found anything out of line and that it is normal to over-levy 10 percent of the bond principal and interest. He explained that in addition to the water it purchases, the town also incurs additional maintenance costs such as monthly meter charges, bookkeeping fees, monthly health test costs and the cost of unmetered water from leaks, fire department training and hydrant flushing. The town has offset operational costs with use of the fund balance to keep the cost down, he said.

He added that he has given figures provided by Sidonio last month to the auditor and is waiting for a response.

Sidonio thanked Supervisor Morriss for his response. Sidonio said he has no issues with the services provided by the town.

“The Comptroller’s report speaks for itself,” Sidonio said, and noted the town was not guilty of fraudulent activity. “It was loose bookkeeping and accounting practices and you said you have addressed that.”

Sidonio said he and the town are in agreement that there is a 15.5 percent increase in the tax rate and that Councilman Paul Hendel has stated the town may have to cut services or raise taxes in 2017 due to the use of the town’s fund balance.

Sidonio said he is still concerned about the “viability and financial stability of the water districts.”

HOLLEY – There wasn’t an attempted child abduction in Holley on Thursday. Instead, Police Chief Roland Nenni says the incident was a misunderstanding.

The driver of a black vehicle has been identified. After interviewing the driver and female passenger of the vehicle involved, police determined the incident was not an attempted abduction, Nenni said.

The driver of the vehicle startled the child with a horn as the child was walking near the roadway. The driver then returned to where the child was walking, stopped the vehicle and made an attempt to apologize for startling the child. The child became scared and assumed the driver was attempting to abduct him, Nenni said.

The Holley Police Department has interviewed all involved and confirmed that this incident was not an attempted abduction and was instead a misunderstanding on the child’s part, Nenni said.

Without assistance from the media, the driver of the vehicle would not have been identified and case would have remained active and open, the police chief said.

The names of those involved will not be released due to the age of the parties involved in the incident.

Image of car in attempted abduction/Holley Police Department

HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department is investigating an attempted abduction involving a 12-year-old boy that occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Public Square, Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

A white male was operating a smaller, dark-colored 4-door vehicle with a chrome grill and license plate possible containing the letters and numbers (HCS10). The driver approached a child and attempted to get the child into the vehicle. There was also a white female passenger in the vehicle, Nenni said.

The vehicle was last seen eastbound on Route 31 from the Public Square.

The driver is described as a white male with red hair in his 20s. He was wearing a black sweatshirt. The passenger is described as a white woman with black hair wearing a white T-shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Holley Police by calling 911.