With all due respect to the Town Clerk...

...she did get a $5,000 raise to take on the additional duties of the tax collector position...

AND

...the following resolution allowing full-time hours for a part-time worker in the town clerk's office during tax season was unanimously adopted by the town board at the January 11, 2012 town board meeting:

Town Clerk’s Office – change in employee status

Supervisor Tyksinski explained the need for a temporary change in an existing Part-time Clerk status to allow the employee to work more than 17.5 hours weekly during the 2012 Town and County tax collection period. Councilman Reynolds introduced the following Resolution for adoption; seconded by Councilman Woodland:

(RESOLUTION NO. 14 OF 2012)
RESOLVED that, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Oneida County Personnel Department, the New Hartford Town Board does hereby approve the temporary title change for Shelby Bohling, a Part-time Clerk in the Town Clerk’s Office, to that of full-time Laborer retroactive to January 3, 2012 and which temporary title change would allow Ms. Bohling to work up to 35 hours per week during the 2012 Town and County tax collection period, after which Ms. Bohling’s title will revert to Part-time Clerk. No benefits will be offered during this temporary full-time Laborer designation.

The Town Board then voted upon roll call:

Councilman Miscione - Aye
Councilman Woodland - Aye
Councilman Backman - Aye
Councilman Reynolds - Aye
Supervisor Tyksinski - Aye.

The Resolution was declared unanimously carried and duly ADOPTED.

Ward 2 Councilman Paul Miscione had it right when he said in today's Observer Dispatch article, New duties taxing for town clerk:

Miscione said he wouldn’t be in favor of hiring another person, but instead upgrading the office’s software and infrastructure to allow residents to pay their taxes online. He cited other municipalities, such as Ilion, as examples of government already utilizing an electronic system.

The problem is that many of the procedures in New Hartford town offices are inefficient, outdated and done because..."it's the way we have always done them". That excuse wouldn't work in the private sector.

Visit offices in other towns and you will notice just how backwards we really are in many respects, not just in tax collections. A member of Concerned Citizens had to show staff in one office how to make double-sided copies using a copier that had that feature built in as an option.

And they can't blame the problem on our FOIL requests anymore...the Freedom of Information Law has been changed so that resolutions and other documents that are discussed at town meetings have to be made available IN ADVANCE OF or AT the meeting to give the public an opportunity to understand what is being discussed during the meeting.

You don't have to be a Philadelphia lawyer...

...to understand Town Law § 150.

February 8, 2012 town board meeting...Councilman Reynolds asked the town board to consider a resolution to reinstate the New Hartford Police Commission. If you recall in 2010, the town board voted to abolish said commission.

Councilman Reynolds suggested that the town board consider reinstating the five (5) member police commission to start by re-appointing three (3) of the five (5) commissioners whose terms were unexpired when the Police Commission was abolished in February 2010; the proposed appointments being David Butler, James Spellman, and Kevin Copeland.

Problem is...even if the town board were to vote in the affirmative to reinstate the Police Commission, under Town Law 150, the town board has no authority to appoint five (5) members to the New Hartford Police Commission.

Town Law Section 150 is very clear...Town Attorney Cully even explained it at the February 10, 2010 town board meeting prior to the adoption of the resolution to abolish the Police Commission. Those town board minutes noted:

According to Town Attorney Cully, Section 150 further explained that a town board which established a police department by resolution may also establish a board of police commissioners and appoint one (1) or three (3) police commissioners...

The town board minutes continue Attorney Cully's explanation of Town Law § 150 by saying:

...statute after that says the board of police commissioners can be amended to five (5) members, which was basically done in New Hartford in June 2000.

Really? What statute would that be Attorney Cully?

We have a copy of the June 2000 town board minutes. We could not find the passage referred to by Attorney Cully.

Not only that, but according to a 1997 NYS Attorney General opinion letter, the only way that a police commission created under Town Law § 150 can be expanded to five (5) members is through a local law under Home Rule.

So basically, that means that without a properly noticed Public Hearing, followed by the town board adoption of a Local Law in open meeting and the timely filing of said local law with the Dept. of State, there can only be one (1) member or three (3) members of a police commission that is created under Town Law § 150.

We checked the Town of New Hartford Code Book; we found no local law expanding the police commission to a five (5) member board. The town board NEVER had authority to appoint a five (5) member police commission in 1984 or any year thereafter. Oops!

According to Town Law § 150:

2. The town board of a town in which such a police department has been established at any time by resolution may establish a board of police commissioners for such town and appoint one or three police commissioners who shall at the time of their appointment and throughout their term of office be electors of such town, and who shall serve without compensation, and at the pleasure of the town board. If the town board shall appoint only one such police commissioner, it shall in addition designate two members of the town board to serve as members of such police commission. The town board may also by resolution designate the supervisor to serve as police commissioner, and when so designated, such supervisor shall have all the powers of and perform the duties of such board of police commissioners. When either of such boards of police commissioners shall have been established or supervisor designated as police commissioner, such board of police commissioners or police commissioner shall have and exercise all the powers relative to police matters conferred upon the town board pursuant to this article. The town board may by resolution at any time abolish such police commission or revoke the designation of such supervisor as police commissioner and thereupon the town board only shall exercise the powers conferred upon it by this article.

At the February 11, 2012 town board meeting, the town board voted two (2) against and (2) for reinstating the Police Commission and one (1) abstention from newly elected Paul Miscione. Therefore, the motion was defeated.

Councilman Miscione abstained from the vote because he was not there for the discussion in February 2010 when the police commission was abolished. He asked Attorney Cully for documentation to read and asked if the subject could be brought back to the table next month.

One other thing to note...under Town Law § 150, the Police Commission members "serve at the pleasure of the board" and they can be removed at any time if the board is dissatisfied with their performance.

Here is the discussion at the February 11, 2012 town board meeting regarding Councilman Reynold's motion to re-instate the New Hartford Police Commission: