Town of Owasco Informer

Campaign Observations

2011-11-07T06:33:00.002-05:00

Hello Owasco, it’s that time again. Perhaps you may have wondered where the informer has been up until now. Well, watching and noting the different candidates and now is the time to make some needed observations.

Letters put out by the Democrat candidates are really quite interesting. The most interesting perhaps is Mike Wilson’s most recent letter. He apparently thinks that Owasco residents have either forgotten the headlines of this past April or he is hoping he’s forgiven. In 2009 Mr. Wilson gave his explanation of the “unfortunate situation” he found himself in and asked that residents remember that ‘a person is innocent until proven guilty in this country’. In this campaigns letter, essentially pleading for your vote Mr. Wilson closes with, “ Your vote on Tuesday Nov. 8, 2011 is crucial to assure that Owasco residents will continue in the tradition of living in a town they can be truly proud of.’ Is he serious? When he plead guilty to ‘lesser’ charges he told the people of Owasco he stole from them, and falsified our town’s records to do so. His democrat minions on the Town Board stood by him offering excuse after excuse, a clerical error culminating in political harassment. The slate of candidates he is currently running with must also support him or they would not have allowed their name to be placed along side his.

This leads to the placement of the candidate for District Attorney in the Town candidates campaign materials. While the Informer seldom comments on County candidates or issues this is one of concern. Why have the DA candidate on the propaganda? Are we to believe by being pictured with and included in campaign materials he feels Mr. Wilson is an innocent even after pleading guilty? Who can remember the last time the candidate for DA was pictured in the Towns campaign materials? How many other towns’ candidates did this? Again, just an observation, but one that deserves thought.

Mr. Lattimore, also a candidate for County office, wrote a 12-point letter that really makes the knowledgeable reader cringe. Questions on his letter of fluff are as follows; where is the fingerprint reader to manage employees? If he proposed this he must recognize that the town employees need to be monitored, yet he feels Mr. Wilson has ‘been punished enough’. Which leads to his statement of implementing a ‘comprehensive code of ethics’ if that is the case why are Mr. Wilson and others still under Town employment? The outdoor burning is a state law and Owasco has had a leash law for years. Does Mr. Lattimore even ‘get’ why the code on shutting off water came about? That would be the fallout of Mr. Wilson’s admitted criminal activities. Let him off the hook yet put laws in place to punish others. He supports balanced budgets-duh why wouldn’t he? He supported spending cuts for 2012- he kind of had to since the towns’ reserves are nearly GONE are they not Mr. Lattimore? The rest of it is to ludicrous to even comment on. What his letter shows is he did NO work, but ‘supported’ others work and ideas.

Mr. Aldrich has been remarkably silent publicly other than in group letters and a letter in The Citizen. However, in door-to-door campaigning he and Candidate Murphy, when Murphy actually went door-to-door, were busy spreading erroneous information about their opponents. Closing the recycling center, implying town services will be cut for example. He gets an endorsement from someone who does not nor ever has lived in Owasco in a letter to the editor. What could that person possibly know of the needs of Owasco.

Candidate ‘All I need to know about being a Supervisor & budgeting I learned in The Citizen’ Murphy claims he has been busy campaigning for the office, but in actuality he has been off on vacation for several weeks. The endorsement letter from John Klink and Gino Alberici is interesting as John Klink stated at a board meeting after he was elected Supervisor that, “he never realized how difficult the job was.” Now he and Alberici endorse candidates who have never set foot in a board meeting, never held an elected or appointed position in the Town. Of course they support the candidates, they handpicked them! It is a safe bet that their fingers will still be in Town politics- deputy supervisor Klink perhaps? If Mr. Murphy really loves the Town where has he been?

Most concerning is that in the written statements it is clear that the candidates are clueless about Owasco, its history and what it needs. In 2007, 2009 and now 2011 The Democrat candidates have produced essentially identical letters switching the names of candidates as needed. Interestingly, they always expound upon how they will restore Owasco’s reputation, etc…blah, blah…Residents, the Democrats have had nearly four years to make good on that promise and have managed only to drag the Town down into an abyss of partisan decisions, excuses and consent orders, fines, legal troubles and criminal acts against the people who live here. It is up to each of us to get out and VOTE on Nov. 8th and vote not for friendship or party affiliation, but for what is best for everyone in town. Our financial future is on the line. Don’t let insinuations that leaves and brush will pile up, roads won’t be repaired, the quality of the lake will not be a concern or the recycling center will be closed sway your vote. The claims are ridiculous and underhanded attempts to strike fear into the public by those saying they are running a clean and respectful campaign.

Your vote on Tuesday Nov. 8, 2011 IS crucial to assure that Owasco residents will BEGIN a tradition of living in a town they can be truly proud of. Please make your voice heard. Its your town, your choice, YOUR vote.

District Attorney On The Record

2011-05-03T18:52:00.001-04:00

What a refreshing letter from someone who would know the FACTS of the case. To Mr. Klink maybe YOU should FOIL for the transcript of the court proceedings and all the statements given. Then maybe, just maybe, you could write a factual letter. The time has come for Mr. Wilson to apologize and the Town can move forward.

Clerical Error Evolves To Political Harrassment

2011-04-24T00:07:00.001-04:00

Mr. Klink in his letter to the Editor, as disjointed as it was, would like residents to believe Owasco has no laws regarding water use. While there is no law that states that a resident has to read their meter there are codes (AKA laws) that DO apply to his erroneous statements. To that end, the Informer felt posting the pertinent codes would assist the Supervisor in becoming familiar with the laws. Sewer fees are based upon water use, so sewer codes apply in this case also. Every Town newsletter has the schedule of billing, when readings are due and states every summer the Town will be collecting actual readings done by the water department meter reader.

In actuality Mr. Klink’s letter was just more excuses. He should explain how he went from being “stymied” and blaming the occurrence on a clerical error (all quoted numerous times in local news) to ‘years of political harassment’. If Mr. Wilson did indeed want this to go away as Mr. Klink stated, why write a letter that dredges it all up again and causes responses that put their integrity, and leadership ability into question?

The questions are:

WHEN did Mr. Wilson pay the bill? When the minimums were due or after the meter was read by someone other than himself and the discrepancy was discovered? If he received only estimated bills (the minimum use which at the time was $10.00 or so) WHY did that amount not roll onto his taxes after not paying it? The charge was not failing to read his meter- it was falsifying business records with the intent to defraud. That speaks to Mr. Wilson submitting readings that were erroneous and intended to benefit him. Who kept the unpaid bills from being levied on his taxes? The Town Clerk accepts payments and the water billing clerk makes note on the account, the bookkeeper should reconcile the accounts. Should the taxpayers believe that this was ‘overlooked’ as political favoritism? After all, who held those offices at the time?
Finally, why would a judge (a democrat) or the defendants lawyer (also a democrat) allow a person to plead guilty to a charge that they were innocent of- especially when that judge had initially dismissed the charge. The charge was reinstated after more evidence was presented and obviously that satisfied the judge and the defendant’s lawyer to allow him to plead guilty. Those two politically savvy people would never allow a defendant to plead under the duress of political harassment. The lawyer would have called for the charge(s) to be dismissed and the judge would have done so if there were any truth to Mr. Klink’s opinion.

To address Mr. Klink’s allegation of spending taxpayer money on what he calls ‘bogus charges’, Mr. Klink how many lawsuits has the Town brought against it’s own residents? What about taxpayer dollars paying avoidable fines due to mismanagement? How about taxpayer dollars lost because of 100’s of homes not being taxed for water and sewer maintenance? Speaking of which, did Mr. Wilson ever pay for the water line and water received to his home on Honeysuckle Rd.? The water line that was installed illegally. Also illegally extending the water district boundary, and then was not added to the tax rolls to help pay for the installation, operation and maintenance until well after Mr. Wilson sold it and moved out.

Mr. Klink, what happened to the grant monies that were obtained for upgrading the water meters? Remember, the new meter heads and billing system so that entry into the home was no longer necessary? The meter reader could, on schedule, obtain actual readings. That money has been in hand for years, yet no action, that is taxpayer money you have not applied to its intended use.

In the final analysis, Mr. Klink apparently thinks the residents of Owasco are idiots who need his opinion making a man who plead guilty to defrauding the people of Owasco look innocent and persecuted- think about it!

§ 116-84. Payment; inclusion in tax bills.
A. Sewer rents of all sewer users shall become due and payable quarterly, in conjunction with the regular water bill. The penalty for payments received 30 days after the billing date shall be 10% of the net amount of the sewer rent due.
B. Unpaid sewer bills shall be levied against the real property liable for same at the same time and in the same manner as Town taxes and shall be included in the Town tax bill for the following fiscal year, and such amount shall be collected and enforced in the same manner and at the same time as is provided by law for the collection and enforcement of Town taxes.

§ 144-4. Compliance required.
A. No person, building or premises shall apply for or receive water from the Owasco Water District except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations adopted hereunder shall be deemed a part of any contract for the furnishing of water, and any person applying for, receiving, accepting or paying for water service from the Owasco Water District and/or the Water Department shall be considered, as part of the consideration for receiving such service, as having agreed to be bound by said provisions and rules and regulations.
B. Any person who knowingly receives or knowingly permits premises owned or occupied by him to receive water from the Owasco Water District except in accordance with this chapter or said rules and regulations shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter, punishable as provided hereinafter.

§ 144-26. Basis for establishing water rates.
All water supplied shall be charged for on the basis of the amount registered on the meter or meters installed on the consumer's premises, with a minimum charge as established by the Town Board. Where two or more meters supply the same premises and consumer, the consumer, in addition to the fixed charges for all meters, shall be billed at the schedule of rates for a quantity of water equal to the sum of the readings on all meters on the premises.

§ 144-31. Unpaid charges to constitute lien.
A. All water rents, penalties and interest thereon and all charges for tapping, connecting and disconnecting and any other charges provided by this chapter shall be a lien on the real property upon which the water is used, and such lien shall be prior to every other lien or claim except the lien of an existing tax.
B. The Town Clerk shall annually file with the Town Board and the Supervisor the amount of any such liens which have not been paid at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Town Board, with a description of the real property affected thereby, and the Supervisor and the Assessor shall include such amount in the annual tax levy and shall transmit such statements to the County Treasurer, who shall levy the same upon the real property in default.

§ 144-45. Penalties for offenses.
A. In addition to any other violations set forth in this chapter or any statute of the State of New York, it shall be a violation for any person to cause damage to any water main, hydrant, meter or metering equipment, storage tower, standpipe or any facility or equipment used in providing water service by the Owasco Water Department or for any person to turn on, without the permission of the Owasco Town Board or a representative of the Owasco Water Department, any hydrant which is a part of the water system operated by the Owasco Water Department.
B. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter which is declared to be an offense or violation shall be guilty of a violation and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment not to exceed 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
C. Where it is provided herein that a violation of this chapter or any part or section thereof shall result in a forfeiture or the imposition of a penalty, the Town Board may maintain an action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction to collect such forfeiture or penalty and to compel compliance with this chapter by injunction or in any other legal manner.

Kudos to The Citizen

2011-04-11T08:21:00.000-04:00

Today the Citizen had an excellent Our View story on the lack of action by three Town Board members. Link below or click on the title of this post: http://auburnpub.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_40c692da-63d7-11e0-87c1-001cc4c002e0.html For three people who no doubt will be out asking for your support in the near future, this was reprehensible. Mr. Lattimore in particular since he has announced he is running for legislator. Why is it that every time he speaks he is saving the taxpayers $20,000.00? In no less than three articles since he was elected he is quoted as stating that amount. Oh, and we wouldn't want to kick a guy when he is down, but it is alright to kick the taxpayers who trusted him- right? The board is obligated to protect the people who voted them in office. Mr. Lattimore shows poor judgement and partisan decision making something that is certainly not what we need in a legislator. Mr. Lattimore should take note that just because Mr. Wilson plead and other charges are conditionally dismissed it does not mean that he didn't also commit those crimes. Were he truly innocent he would have gone to trial and proved such. Coupled with Mr. Lattimore's support of unionizing a supervisory position and creating a position for a highway department worker who was charged with aggravated DWI one must ask if he truly wants to represent and work in the best interests of the voters. All three board members and the voters should remember that Mr. Wilson has cost this town tens of thousands in fines and lost revenue for his mismanagement of the recycling center. Additionally, in all the time delay, he has added to his retirement fund, collected pay and benefits paid by the very people he admittedly defrauded. Take heed Owasco, real eyes, realize, real lies....

Innocent Until Proven (Pleads) Guilty

2011-04-03T19:13:00.005-04:00

4/1/11- Owasco Official Admits Falsifying Business Records Town officials previously said the charges were the result of a clerical error, but Budelmann said Wednesday’s conviction proves otherwise. “The guilty plea to a crime means this was definitely not just a clerical error,” Budelmann said. “It was an intentional criminal act committed by a public official with the required and stated intent to defraud the town of Owasco.” Town Supervisor John Klink and Wilson did not return phone calls seeking a comment. Now to reminisce: 7/25/08 Owasco Town Supervisor John Klink stated Friday in a prepared statement that he was “stymied” by the charges. The town board was made aware of a “clerical” error“ in 2006 and agreed after speaking with Wilson that there was no wrongdoing, Klink stated.Klink described Wilson as “a fine individual with an outstanding work ethic,” and stated that thinks the judicial system will agree with the 2006 board.“The basis for our American judicial system is the concept of innocent until proven guilty,” Klink stated. “I know that the people of Owasco will extend that belief to (Wilson). 7/26/2008 Town Supervisor John Klink, in a statement released Friday, called the time sheet incident a clerical error that was addressed by the Town Board in 2006. "The board met, spoke with Mike and agreed that there was no wrongdoing," the statement said. "It was clearly an error." Klink said he believes the courts will find Wilson did nothing wrong, and the supervisor praised the highway superintendent's job performance. 9/12/09 Count III addresses alleged violations between July 28, 2003 and Feb. 28, 2005. Wilson is charged with omitting information in town business records with intent to defraud the town, alleging that he violated his duty as the town water department superintendent by failing to read and/or report water meter readings at his own home.“Under no circumstances did Mike Wilson willfully attempt to defraud the people of Owasco,” Owasco Town Supervisor John Klink said in a written statement Friday.... It was clearly a clerical error. Mike has served the Town of Owasco with integrity and distinction for over 23 years and I'm confident he will be vindicated.” 4/29/10 Channel 5 news Though Wilson has been indicted on felony charges that carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison, Owasco Town Supervisor Klink says the town is not considering any attempt at this time to remove him as Highway Superintendent, which is an elected position. October 20, 2009- letter to the editor The Town of Owasco is blessed with people dedicated to making the Town of Owasco the best and most efficient town in the county. Mike Wilson is one of those people. In spite of the knot hole he has been dragged through lately he still has the best interest of the town in mind. 4/21/2010--Wilson re-election letter---It is my right to fight these charges, as I am doing, and I am asking you to remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty in this country. I hope that you can show your support on Election Day and vote for me to continue as Highway Superintendent for the Town of Owasco… Well residents, you be the judge...HMmmmm...

WE'RE BACK!!!

2011-02-12T00:00:00.003-05:00

The time has come....

Highway Superintendant Election Letter

2010-04-21T15:49:00.001-04:00

Dear Resident:

I am up for re-election as Highway Superintendent this year. I want to thank you for your support in the past years and t am asking for your continued support in this election.
i have been an employee of the Town of Owasco since 1986. In 1993, i took over as Highway Superintendent when John Dean retired I have been married to my wife Beth for 26 years. We have 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren.

As Highway Supenntendent our town roads are top priority. I am up at 3:00 am every day during the winter months checking our roads and getting my employees out with me to either plow or sand so the roads are safe for all the residents. We keep our ditches maintained, roads paved, brush picked up during the summer months and leaves during the fall. As a lot of you know, i am usually working right along with the highway workers. I am not one to sit around in an office doing paper work. I enjoy the physical labor of my job.

As some of you may have heard or read in the newspaper, I am in the middle of an unfortunate legal situation, in the summer the town hires college students to work as "summer laborers". In 2006 we did not have any applicants, so my son was hired as a summer laborer. He is a college student and in the Army Reserves as an MP He was scheduled to be away for mandatory training 7/17/06 - 7/28/06. My son is still in the Army Reserves and will be deployed in January to serve his country. I was under the impression that employers usually pay their employee's when they are at mandatory training for the military, t asked around, researched and came to the conclusion I should pay him and I did When it came time to fill out his timesheet I forgot to write on the sheet he was away at training There was a transition of bookkeepers at that time and it was brought to the attention of the Town Board a few months later I met with the town supervisor and some board members At the end of the meeting, they all agreed he should have been paid and that it was not a problem. At the time it was determined that it was simply a clerical error. This is what I am fighting in court.

I believe my intentions were honest and whether it was my son or another college student in the same position I would still have paid that person.

It is my right to fight these charges, as I am doing, and I am asking you to remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty in this country. I hope that you can show your support on Election Day and vote for me to continue as Highway Superintendent for the Town of Owasco, so I can continue to work for you.

If you have any questions or concerns please call me at 255-xxxx.

Sincerely,
Michael L. Wilson

The Tangled Web....

2010-04-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

“What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”-Sir Walter Scott

How much more before this Town Board takes action? It is understood that Mr. Klink & Alberici are long-time friends and staunchly support Mr. Wilson, but at what point does protecting the taxpayer take priority? In light of the fact that there have been additional instances of alleged defrauding the taxpayers, not the initial one charge, suspension should be considered until these legal issues are resolved.

It is hard to discount or explain away any of these charges now. This case has gone through a State Police investigation that resulted in arrest and charges against Mr. Wilson. An initial grand jury that indicted on the SP charges and added an additional charge. A dismissal hearing in which a judge (a democratic party judge for all those claiming politics) dismissed one charge because he claimed there was not enough proof to uphold the charge. A logical mind would deduce that there was enough evidence to support the other charges against Mr. Wilson. Now there has been another grand jury cycle with 9 more counts of similar actions. The previously dismissed charge was also included.

This needs to go to trial and be put to rest for good. A grand jury has 23 jurors, 16 of those jurors who have heard all testimony make a quorum. Of the quorum it takes 12 votes to indict or return a ‘no-bill’. Considering the history; that State Police felt there was enough basis for an arrest, a maximum of 43 to a minimum of 24 grand jurors felt there was cause to indict. That is a whole lot of cause to place Mr. Wilson on suspension.

All Mr. Wilson’s explanations now just look suspect as he only claimed responsibility for the one time while his son was on 2 weeks reserves training. Why not come clean up front and state there were instances in June and August also? Why so much training for reserves? One weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer is typical for reservists. Since the son was part-time and the highway department does not work Friday-Sunday during the summer months, his weekend training would not be an issue.

The initial charge was blamed on a clerical error. Why wouldn’t Mr. Wilson simply produce the orders every reservist gets for training, the minutes of the meeting where it was decided reservists would be paid or proof that they money was paid back employee was paid in error? Had any of this existed Mr. Wilson would have been able to present it to the grand juries and this would be moot.

“Deception is a false reality imposed on a true reality. It is a fragile and complex weaving of truth, half-truths', lies, and lies of omission. To successfully deceive another or several people, one must be skilled in the art of deception. To create a deception worthy of belief one must be able to create plausible details that help create the illusion of truth. It is the details that people listen to and remember and the one deceiving is obligated to remember these details in order to avoid having the lie exposed. Most people are basically good and we tend to forget the bad things people have done. In order to successfully perpetuate deception, the liar must be willing to live that lie when necessary. This becomes the tangled web we weave, especially when first we practice to deceive.” – Sir Walter Scott's Quote

A Lesson To Be Learned

2010-04-14T18:15:00.001-04:00

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2010/04/14/latest_news/latestnews01.txt

How does it feel Mr. Klink?? That is the question that leaps to mind after reading the article about the State dropping the Truck Traffic issue. This should be a lesson learned as so many Owasco residents cared passionately about many, many things and were ignored by a board that had already made up their mind. What about your own board members that care about an issue and have been ignored and left out of the loop. The eye rolling, heavy sighs, disrespect for their feelings or cause.

Lets recall just a few of those times….

Sewer District #2 petitions passed against it and ignored. Numerous residents and officials voicing concerns over future problems if Sewer #1 was not fully repaired first-- ignored.
M.J. O’Leary playground- So many residents stated that it was unnecessary to rename it. As it is everyone but those at the Town Hall still refer to it as the “Owasco Playground.”
Use of Eminent Domain to take a residents property
Sewer overflows into the outlet resident ignored until a consent order
Sewer overflows into residents basements residents ignored. (See #1 and add a new consent order to the list).
Ordering a new recycling truck when there were cheaper options
Residents who requested the assessors contract not be renewed because of being treated horribly
Residents’ pleas to reject the Galor subdivision project unless it was restructured to a much smaller scale.
Residents asking for help with stop signs, speed limit signs, traffic control all to be reluctantly heard and immediately shot down with no discussion by the board.
Requests that the last re-assessment be rejected by the board and done by an outside agency.

Does any of this ring a bell?? None of the above issues were any less important to those pursuing them than the Truck Traffic issue was to Mr. Klink. Lets hope a lesson was learned and can be incorporated into future decisions. It really stinks to care about an issue and have all your time and hard work shot down without a second thought.

Politics Or Due Cause

2010-04-05T13:45:00.003-04:00

A strong wish, that is what so very many residents of Owasco have. A strong wish that our Town be removed from the constant cloud of suspicion once and for all.

Recent print and television headlines have prompted this post. First and foremost, the article on the brand-new recycling truck. It is obvious there was an alternative to a nearly $110K purchase, equally as clear was Mr. Klink did not want to even consider an alternative. If Councilpersons Lattimore or Alberici, rather than Councilman Wagner, had brought this cost analysis to him, would there have been a different response by our Supervisor? Why was a councilman even doing a cost analysis? Do we not pay Mr. Wilson to SUPERVISE the recycling center? For that matter, do we not pay Mrs. Wilson to keep the books/budget? In these financially challenging times, ANY opportunity to keep funds in taxpayers wallets MUST be considered and acted upon, egos have to be checked at the door.

Speaking of new vehicles, how much did insurance go up after the fire at the recycling center? For that matter why did insurance even pay out? Pure luck for us taxpayers, millions of dollars at stake in equipment and buildings, our water treatment plant nearby and NO fire detection/suppression system in place. This is negligence in its best form. According to recycling center workers, a system will be in place so perhaps our investment will be better protected. Of course training the workers and having a pre/post, use checklist will prevent future disasters like leaving the master switch for the newest snowplow on, thus causing an avoidable electrical fire.

There is a common problem with Mr. Klink’s leadership. He does as HE wishes without thought to the cost to taxpayers or reputation of the Town. Remember folks, we pay elected and appointed officials… is it politics or is there cause for investigating and prosecuting? Some of the history…

*Recycling center once again has become lax in monitoring procedures causing losses in revenue. Although when this was first brought to the public over, $40,000 was recouped in a year. Where was the money going before that…How about now?

*Still no monitoring of fuel use per vehicle, driver etc….

*Cost of bulk water goes up when policies are questioned and hundreds in quarters appears when a financial accounting is requested. Water Department workers not making weekly deposits to the Town Clerk for bulk water sales. It has been nearly a year since Mr. Klink assured everyone at a town meeting that the money would be deposited weekly.

*Owasco residents are STILL paying more for water than Fleming, against their own Codes.

*Steel being cut up and sold by town employees for their own profit. Mr. Wilson’s response “no one said they could not do it.”

*Sewage being pumped into stream that goes to Hoopes Park where children play. Nothing done until DEC issues fines and consent order. Years of pumping raw sewage into outlet where boats and people go and Auburn’s emergency water intake is.

*Paying $50K to a law firm to lobby stimulus money for third sewer district. Same law firm donated $500.00 to Owasco Democratic Committee last election cycle.

*Town employee with hundreds of dollars in cell phone use. Mr. Wilson’s answer, “no one said we could not.” Town highway workers seen talking with cell phones to their ear while driving as recently as last week.

*Mr. Wilson hires his son for a $14 an hour part time job because 'no one else wanted it' as he stated in his election letter. It is a known fact that there were at least three other people who had applications in. These same people spoke informally to Mr. Wilson about employment with the Highway Dept. and were advised to submit an application by Mr. Wilson. Also, the hiring of people from out of town when town code calls for Owasco resident preference.

*Mr. Wilson allegedly falsifying son’s time card.

*Mr. Wilson with an $87,000.00 dollar job and his wife with a $40,000 dollar part time job with no set hours for either. Perhaps the Attorney General should investigate Owasco for offenses against the taxpayer like nearby communities, as has been reported on local news channels.

*Violating recent DEC consent order for not following the monitoring requirements. More fines???

*Giving paper dropped by residents for recycling away and delivering it to farm West of the lake, when money could be obtained and paper picked up. (Remember, we need a $100K vehicle for this purpose.)

*Recycling employee being paid in cash for metals and not getting receipts. Receipts not being given at the recycling center, even when requested.

*Mr. Wilson paid only minimum use water bills, $12.00 per quarter. Considering the swimming pool, family size and lawn watering this is highly suspect.

*Mr. Wilson paid NO ad valor em taxes when he resided on Honeysuckle Road.

It cannot go without notice that the same names and departments come up repeatedly. Mr. Klink, Mr. & Mrs. Wilson and their supporters may want to cry ‘politics' the history says due cause. A Grand Jury that has seen the evidence and heard the testimony ADDED charges and a Judge dropped only one charge at a dismassal hearing. Crying politics at this point only speaks to the desperation of those involved. It is past time that this go to trial and concluded.

More Interesting Letters

2009-10-23T04:25:00.002-04:00

Letters are in BLACK, Informer Comments are in Maroon

Wilson best choice for Owasco highway chief
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:50 PM EDT
The Town of Owasco is blessed with people dedicated to making the Town of Owasco the best and most efficient town in the county. Mike Wilson is one of those people. In spite of the knot hole he has been dragged through lately he still has the best interest of the town in mind. Every day, even when on vacation, he puts 125 percent of his sweat equity into making sure that the highway department, the water department, the sewer department and yes, recycling are all operating at a level that every Owasco resident can be proud of. His years of experience and dedication are what make him the outstanding choice for highway supervisor. Please vote for Mike and let him know how much you appreciate what he does every day for all the residents of the Town of Owasco.

Richard Knaul
Auburn

Ah yes, every Owasco resident should be very proud that Mr. Wilson spear-headed the pumping of sewage into a ditch that leads to Hoopes Park and ultimately the Owasco Outlet.

Every Owasco Resident should be very proud that according to the study by Barton & Loguidice the water, sewer and highway departments were seriously in deficit causing the fees and taxes to be raised nearly 90% over the last 20 months. Additionally, the DEC found violations and implemented fines against the highway Department, granted the fine was paid to Owasco’s extreme fortune by the company contracted to do work, but does not negate that NOBODY was doing the weekly monitoring or reports required to the DEC for the gas tanks.

Owasco can be proud that the recycling center was $51K in the red and a virtual freebie and money-maker for anyone who so chose to use it that way. Councilman Wagner discovered that glaring lack of fiscal responsibility. He looked into other options to see if Owasco residents could save money, this has transformed in an odd direction. The Democratic candidates and recycling employees are propegating that Mr. Wagner wants to close the center. This is simply not true. It has been apparent that he wants the center to support itself and not run in deficit. THAT is fiscal responsibility.

Owasco can be VERY proud that Mr. Wilson was arrested for falsifying his son’s time sheet. We can be SUPREMELY proud that when this case was presented to a grand jury (23 of Mr. Wilson’s peers, a minimum of 16 who have heard all the evidence to vote and a majority of 12 to indict) not only felt he should be indicted for the charges he was arrested on they felt the need to ADD an additional charge concerning Mr. Wilson’s failure to record his water use for nearly two years.

Mr. Wilson drilled his own “knot hole” and sympathy is no reason to elect a person to office, facts far outweigh sympathy or misguided appreciation.

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/10/21/opinion/letters/letters01.txt

Owasco should keep Klink as supervisor
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:50 PM EDT

I don't usually get involved with other town's politics, but after reading Merrill Badman's letter to the editor in The Citizen on Oct. 8, I felt the need to respond.

The nerve of Mr. Badman to accuse Supervisor Klink and his fellow Owasco Town Board members of incompetence and unethical policies! This from a man whose own failed agenda as town supervisor couldn't even get out the town water bills?!I have a fine working relationship with Owasco Town Supervisor John Klink and have always found him well informed and cordial. He has always put his town and its residents as his top priority.Owasco would do well to keep John as their town supervisor. He will always put you first!

Gary Searing
Auburn
Searing is Fleming town supervisor

Mr. Searing, do you not have enough problems in your own back yard? The nerve of Owasco Town board members Klink, Richardson, Alberici and Buchanan for being complicit in everything that has gone on during & since Mr. Badman’s short term as Supervisor. Had it not been for that short term and Ed Wagner, Owasco residents would not be aware of the ‘incompetence’ and alleged illegal activities occurring within our town.

You, Mr. Searing were a great supporter of Mr. Badman’s bid for Supervisor in the 2005 election as you were running for Councilman of Fleming at the time. Do you not recall the 2005 Owasco Lake Summit on 8/30/05? YOU were very vocal to Mr. Badman about how supportive you were of him. Don’t YOU recall saying Mr. Klink and his ‘cronies’ had been in office too long and needed to go? Numerous people at that summit heard you and remember.

You as Supervisor of Fleming have no ulterior motives in this letter do you? Fleming has it wrapped up. You REFUSE to reassess and therefore cause every other taxpayer in the school district and county to pay MORE than their fair share of those taxes.

You get water from the Town of Owasco for less than Owasco residents pay (a violation of Owasco Town Code stating: § 144-30. Users outside Water District.The Town Board may enter into a contract or contracts for the sale of water to users not within the Owasco Water District Rates for such use shall be specified in each contract, provided that such rates shall not be less than the rates established for users within the District. In fixing such rates, the Board may consider whether any such applicant is by the Owasco Water District as a property owner within said District. Any contract for such service outside the District shall require the party requesting such service to comply with the provisions of this chapter.)

Maybe Fleming water district residents should help pay for the upgrade to $3 million plus upgrade Owasco implemented to be able to sell water to YOUR Town. Owasco Water District residents are STILL paying on that bond.

Nothing about this has been mentioned in campaigning and there is question as to what, if anything, Mr. Wagner would propose about these topics should he wisely be elected. The fact that your Town has benefited greatly at the expense of Owasco residents is clear. Why would you not support the leader of your ‘golden goose’?

To set the record straight for Mr. Searing, Mr. Klink's Supervision has also had its 'billing issues'. Water bills were sent out with illegal retro-active rate increases- TWICE, and residents had to be credited for over-payments. Mr. Klink and the rest of the Town Board did not feel this was an issue worth pursuing when questioned by a Town resident. It took Councilman Wagner pushing for the residents rights and a call to the Attorney General who instructed the Board they HAD to credit the water over-payments back to residents. Oh, we cannot forget the incorrect tax bills that needed to be recalculated and again mailed to residents because....? Oh yeah a CLERICAL ERROR, the tax rate was incorrect for the water district.

Maybe Mr. Searing would serve HIS town better if he responded to even a few of the allegations being printed in Letters To The Editor against HIS Town.

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/10/21/opinion/letters/letters02.txt

Letter To Editor From John Klink

2009-10-20T03:06:00.001-04:00

Mr. Klinks' Letter is in black, Informer comments are in blue

Help me continue to make Owasco better
Saturday, October 17, 2009 11:58 PM EDT

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/10/18/opinion/letters/letters01.txt

It is truly unfortunate that former Owasco Town Supervisor Merrill Badman signed a recent letter to the editor Oct. 8 in The Citizen. The tone of the letter reflected the tone of his brief administration. That tone was and obviously still is negative.

MR. Klink what are YOU insinuating in these two sentences? It sounds as though you are insinuating Mr. Badman signed but did not write the letter. Perhaps YOU also forgot that YOU were a part of that, how did you put it, negative administration. An arguement could also be made that you are insinuating a vote for someone other than yourself or your ticket would result in a negative 'tone' eminating from the Town Hall.

I have and will continue to work toward positive progress as the campaign for Owasco supervisor enters its final weeks. The town board has worked cooperatively to make sound decisions and understands that unilateral decisions are not part of the process at the town level of government. You mean like when YOU as a councilman and Mr. Wilson made the sound unilateral decision to pump raw sewage? When YOU and Misters Richardson, Alberici and Buchanan unilaterally decided that it was OK to condone the so-called ‘clerical error’ of Mr. Wilson? Usually when errors are made, they are corrected; in this case returning the underserved pay would have been in order. The Town has been in the newspapers (see earlier posts) during Mr. Klink’s term as Supervisor more than ever and consistently in a manner that sheds a very bad light on our Town.

Facts from the independent Cuddy and Ward 2008 audit support the present town budget re-built by the board from the financial chaos of 2006-07. Mr. Klink Do YOU forget the financial chaos of the 2005 audit of the Town OR the 2007 audit of the Highway department? Do YOU recall that YOU have been a member of the Town Board for nearly 30 years and had a hand in EVERY decision made? The fact is prior to Mr. Badman, Owasco had exactly one audit in the time YOU had served on the Board and that was done by the State at the request of residents who back then thought practices needed a closer look. However, in all these ‘audits’ recall items not reported in them that have been in news reports. This because the audits you rely on to validate your leadership are procedural audits and not actually full dollars and cents audits. Nor do the audits cover all the Departments within Town, only a general overview. Procedural guidelines are great as long as they are followed consistently and applied to all Departments.

The overflows after heavy rains at Archie Street and Melrose that demanded the help of our firemen and ultimately the town over the span of many decades will be corrected. The town board was able to secure $825,000 in federal stimulus money and 0 percent interest rate for 30 years on the remaining $776,000. Taxpayers will save approximately $1,200,000. Mr. Klink at no time was there mention of the fire department being involved in the sewage-pumping debacle that led to the consent order and DEC fine. As a matter of fact YOU are quoted in a newspaper article on Thursday, August 21, 2008 as stating, “We (the town) are never going to pump again,” John Klink, town supervisor, said. ‘He added that residents who might have flooded basements in the future could always call the fire department if there's an emergency.

‘The town board has supported the Upstate Safety Coalition in moving DOT regulations to the comment period. When the regulations are released, non-local, long-haul garbage trucks will not be able to use Owasco Road/Route 38A as a short cut to the Seneca Meadows Dump in Waterloo. The town board has made improvements, both fiscally and logistically, at the recycling center, the playground in the Hamlet of Owasco and the Michael J. O'Leary Community Playground. The town board has moved aggressively toward state and federal funding for the proposed Sewer District No. 3 from Burtis Point to Koenigs Point. The town has received $89,000 in grants from Assembly Minority Leader Kolb and Senator David Valesky. The truck coalition has been working on this problem for over twenty years and you stated that even if the laws were passed there would be serious difficulties in enforcing the new laws. Yet another law with no teeth.

Fiscal improvements at the recycling center, yes, that’s right- Mr. Wagner started looking into the operations and was given a figure of $8,000.00 deficit by Mrs. Wilson our bookkeeper. Mr. Wagner questioned that total and on his own came up with a figure of over $46,000.00. The rest of the Town Board, led by Mr. Klink disagreed with his figures and had an audit performed, the total deficit from the audit was some $51,000.00. Changes were made, however, there is much more to be done to create a self-supporting recycling center.

Yes, the playground program had some changes some programs were removed that residents had been questioning the safety of for many years. Mr. Wagner brought these concerns to the forefront and pushed to alter the playground plan. Adding the paid playground director position is an expense the board should hold off on considering the economic struggles of our country and state. Owasco residents should have a hard time accepting that they are paying for a program that a HUGE number of children from other municipalities utilize.

Daily, work is being done to secure positive progress and programs for the residents. The grant monies as listed, Auburn Civic Band concerts, summer library and playground programs, Internet safety programs, and Owasco Cleanup Day are all positive accomplishments in the last 20 months for which I am proud. There has been some good, but campaign promises of 2007 cannot be forgotten and how Mr. Klink and Mr. Wilson annihilated them, primarily, and Mr. Richardson, Mr. Klink & Mr. Buchanan as the board who condoned or supported them.

I pledge to the people of Owasco a clean, positive political campaign for supervisor. Negative campaigning (insinuations, slander, libel) only hurts the candidate and the party that practices it. Most importantly, it is demeaning to the entire town and its residents. Enough is enough! Enough is Enough, wasn't that the party line the Republicans used in 2005? Mr. Klink was this not a whitewashed ‘negative’ letter? You never pass up a chance to ‘dig’ at Badman. You were involved as a councilman and therefore part of the problem. This letter itself has insinuations. Slander? Have you forgotten the ethnic slur incident, how not only did you not comment, you made the person that said it your deputy supervisor? One can only claim slander & libel if the information is untrue, maybe there is just a bit of paranoia going on in this letter.

Positive IS good, HONEST is better...

John Klink
Auburn

A Ghost Story

2009-10-12T04:45:00.000-04:00

MAYA ANGELOU: History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

The ghost of elections present… since Mr. Klink in his chilling hubris seems intent on over-looking HIS less than stellar term as Supervisor and insists upon bringing up, a prior Supervisors 14 month term stating,’ Residents of Owasco will remember the water/sewer billing fiasco (now bounced back to him considering Mr. Wilson’s indictment), the signed blank checks (charges against Mr. Wilson indicate he walks around town with a goody bag of ‘blank checks’), and the missing $19,000’ (any charges or arrests?). Allow us to offer our own chilling memories and one of the top reasons to consider carefully before pulling the lever for the Democrat candidates.

Mr. Wilson is our current elected Highway Superintendent. He is appointed to the water/sewer/recycling and playground supervisory positions. Appointments that make up roughly half his over 80K per year plus benefits salary. He is currently under indictment for charges of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of second-degree falsifying business records.

Mr. Klink has disturbingly supported Mr. Wilson, most recently documented in a 9/12/2009 Citizen article, “In 2006, Mike's son was a summer employee for the Town of Owasco. It was documented and common knowledge at the time that Mike's son was in the Army Reserves and served for two weeks in Fort Drum. In 2006, the previous Town Board, of which I was a member, was made aware of a clerical error on the time sheet. Board members met, spoke with Mike, and agreed that there was not any intentional wrongdoing on his part. It was clearly a clerical error.” (Now, Mr. Klink, perhaps Mike told his employees that his son was at Fort Drum, of course the only one knowing he would be getting paid for this time away is Mike Wilson. Since Mike falsified the time sheet and said his son was working on the playground and other areas of the town, do we know that his son was even at Fort Drum? All we do know is that he was not in the town of Owasco working, as implied John Klink’s remarks.)

This leads to the haunting memories of our Town leadership’s choices, in honor of October the month of the surreal and bizarre. Judge for yourselves how frighteningly familiar this sounds…

The ghost of elections past...The Citizen; Monday April 20, 1998; Appraiser admits fraud; Patrick Doyle pleads guilty to wrongdoing in credit union fraud case; Appraiser pleads guilty in fraud case
Thomas W. Seeley Staff Writer
AUBURN - Patrick Doyle has pleaded guilty to falsifying documents in the Auburn Federal Credit Union loan fraud case.
Doyle is the third to plead in the May 1994 embezzlement scheme.
The 32-year-old appraiser, real estate agent and Owasco Town Councilor pleaded guilty in City Court to one count of second-degree falsifying business records, a misdemeanor violation of state law. He was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution-and given a conditional discharge.
Doyle admitted preparing a false appraisal report for Debra Bowker's
61 Standart Ave. home, inflating the value of the property to $110,000,according to court documents. (the home had a full value assessment of $79K)
Doyle failed to inspect the property while preparing the appraisal at the time of the infraction, (We HAD to include this part considering he was appointed Code Enforcement Officer and the vast majority of his job is performing inspections.)

Mr. Doyle remained a councilman until the 2001 election at which time the constituency voted him out of office, voting in current Councilman Buchanan. In a flagrant slap in the face to the voters in Owasco he was appointed as Deputy Supervisor by then Supervisor O’Leary in 2002. According to newspaper accounts (3/2007) of Ms. Wilson's appointment to bookkeeper it was written that controversial appointee Patrick Doyle had replaced her in 2002 as bookkeeper. Yet, in a Jan 2007 newspaper account it states that Patrick Doyle, a former Democratic Town Councilman worked part-time in the water billing department until the administration change in Jan. 2006.

The ghost of elections future...the point that if voters feel voting Mr. Wilson out of office will remove him from employment with the town; history has proven this to be unlikely. Mr. Klink and Mr. Richardson were BOTH a part of the board that ‘met, spoke with Mike and agreed that there was not any intentional wrongdoing on his part.’ Both Klink & Richardson are candidates on the Democratic party line along with Terrence Lattimore. Disturbingly, neither Mr. Richardson or Mr. Lattimore have made any public statements in regards to the charges against Mr. Wilson, however, Mr. Richardson has changed to the Democratic Party since he was elected as a Republican councilman in 2005. That and his silence on the subject speak volumes. The electorate wants to know their position and their intentions should Mr. Wilson be voted out of office. Mr. Klink has made his clear from his defense of Mr. Wilson and his supporting the numerous appointments of Mr. Doyle.

'He simply cannot control his impulses. He then convinces himself of a new truth and, eager for your approval, reports the version that he knows will make you happy.’--Cathy Rindner Tempelsman.

Can we all say, “clerical error?” All together now, c-l-e-r-i-c-a-l e-r-r-o-r…

How Much Are WE paying??

2009-10-04T07:03:00.001-04:00

According to Town minutes Owasco 'employs' no less than FIVE attorneys! According to those minutes they are R. Galbato- Town Attorney, D. Tehan- Real Property & Contract Agreements, M. McCarthy- Real Property (Assessment issues), a yet to be named attorney requested by the Zoning Board Chair and M. Wladis- lobbying for grant monies under the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Interestingly, the article below is from a newscast on Channel 3 news on Thursday night. This is the same law firm Mr. Klink has insisted on to lobby for stimulus money. The Cicero candidates raise some interesting points, maybe Owasco residents should be questioning the necessity of utilizing this firm. The Town of Cicero is paying a $12,500.00 a month retainer! What are WE paying them, and all the others? Keep in mind this is something the Town could have handled itself or employed a much less expensive grant writer. Maybe when Mr. Klink and his slate come a-knocking we should all be asking him how much WE are paying, how much WE have received and why he insisted on this firm.

http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?list=190258&id=357561

CICERO, ONONDAGA COUNTY -- Democrats running for office in the Town of Cicero say the law firm hired by the town has overcharged taxpayers for legal fees.
A political flier claims town records show that legal fees paid to the Wladis law firm went from $91,123 in 1998, to $448,505 in 2007. "That's a 450 percent increase." says town supervisor candidate Judy Boyke, "That is four times more than the Town of Clay pays their attorney and they're twice the size of Cicero."
Boyke complains the Wladis Law Firm's monthly retainer fee, what they would get even if their lawyers did no work for Cicero, went from $3,300 a month, to $12,500. She says the taxpayers were also billed for routine things that should be part of the retainer fee. She accuses the firm of "double-dipping" and explains, "You have a retainer and a contract and then you charge for a meeting with council members, for union negotiations, and codes revisions that are part of the contract."
Incumbant Cicero Town Supervisor Chet Dudzinski responded, "They're trying to make accusations that aren't true."
Dudzinski says the flier is misleading because it includes money charged to developers and not taxpayers. He says everything is above board and credits the law firm with improving the town's bond rating, helping with road improvements, economic development and other initiatives.
"If there's a specific problem please point it out to us and we'll fix it." Dudzinski.
The receptionist at the Wladis law office told Action News that Mark Wladis was not in the office Thursday.

Till next time...

Yet Another Headline Worthy Of Note

2009-09-12T20:23:00.008-04:00

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/09/12/latest_news/latestnews01.txt

Excerpted from The Citizen:

Owasco public official faces felony charge

"Owasco Highway Superintendent Michael L. Wilson was indicted this week on one felony and two misdemeanor charges by a Cayuga County grand jury, but Owasco Town Supervisor John Klink said the charges are unwarranted and the result of a clerical error."

' “Under no circumstances did Mike Wilson willfully attempt to defraud the people of Owasco,” Owasco Town Supervisor John Klink said in a written statement Friday. “In 2006, Mike's son was a summer employee for the Town of Owasco. It was documented and common knowledge at the time that Mike's son was in the Army Reserves and served for two weeks in Fort Drum. In 2006, the previous Town Board, of which I was a member, was made aware of a clerical error on the time sheet. Board members met, spoke with Mike and agreed that there was not any intentional wrongdoing on his part. It was clearly a clerical error. Mike has served the Town of Owasco with integrity and distinction for over 23 years and I'm confident he will be vindicated.” '

'Wilson is running for re-election this fall on the Democratic and Independence tickets. He could not be reached for comment Friday.'

Does it not make everyone wonder WHY Mr. Klink is so staunchly supporting Mr. Wilson? To make the comment he did leads to questions, why not simply state that he would let the justice system take it's course? This could be a political career and reputation killer for Mr. Klink as well.

What is this business with the water meter readings? The Super can't even see to it HIS meter is read in two years? It is no wonder then that EVERY Department he oversees has been or is in deficit or trouble.

Why no comment on the water billing count? Was this 19 MONTHS of 'clerical errors' Mr. Klink?? Come on-- the residents of this Town deserve better than the mantra of 'clerical errors' you have maintained. If this is yet ANOTHER clerical error maybe somebody should speak with the water billing clerks at the time- everybody knows who THEY were. In another administration this would have been called incompetence at the least and screamed from the hilltops by you and your supporters.

FYI- Mr. Wilson is NOT on the Independence ticket as he did not receive their endorsement, maybe the newspaper should ask them why.

The question is, exactly who is running this Town- Mr. Klink or the Wilson family?

Misleading Information MUST Cease

2009-08-30T21:00:00.002-04:00

At present I shall only give you my Opinion that tho’ your Reasonings are subtle, and may prevail with some Readers, you will not succeed so as to change the general Sentiments of Mankind on that Subject, and the Consequence of printing this Piece will be a great deal of Odium drawn upon your self, Mischief to you and no Benefit to others. He that spits against the Wind, spits in his own Face. – Ben Franklin

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2009/08/25/opinion/letters/letters01.txt

Owasco government operating efficiently
Monday, August 24, 2009

A look at Mr. Klink’s’ letter, 'line by line'….

****As the election season begins and my campaign for re-election to supervisor for the town of Owasco gets under way, let me reassure the residents that the town of Owasco budget is sound and fiscally responsible. Read on and decide for yourself….

***It is true that the 2006-7 budgets, developed by the previous administration, did have serious problems. Residents of Owasco will remember the water/sewer billing fiasco, the signed blank checks, and the missing $19,000. Who are you running against Mr. Klink? This barely worked in 2007 you hardly won with a mandate. . It is getting old, as YOU have been a part of administrations for three decades! Let us direct readers to Mr. Klink’s OWN fiascos. First and foremost IF there is $19K missing, why on earth was NOTHING done about it? That is a great deal of money, why did YOU as a board member and then Supervisor NOT push for an investigation and restitution? Since you are bringing up OLD news, how are 2-3 signed checks left for an emergency any worse than the 1999 comptrollers audit taking the town to task over an unsecured signature stamp? A stamp that could ‘sign’ 1 check or 50 checks in one day if anyone so chose. January 2009 minutes show a town resident questioning the water & sewer rate increases and when they were implemented. A second January meeting shows the board issuing refunds for residents billed for the new rates prior to Jan. 1, 2009. HhMmm, is that not a water-billing problem? How about the incorrect tax bills sent out at the very start of YOUR term, those errors involved water and sewer tax levy’s did they not? How about EVERYONE in Town has split more than $40K thus far to get plans, maps etc... for proposed Sewer District #3? EVERYONE will get the money back only IF the residents in SD#3 decide by majority vote they want it after all costs are released. How about the $51,000 + deficit at the recycling center? Potential loss of grant money, all told over 15K? Two DEC consent orders and fines!! An elected official arrested & charged with falsifying time sheets.

***Everyone who ran for office in the fall of 2007 promised to clean up the sordid financial situation and when elected we did. So in effect, you are saying Mr. Wagner was part of helping clean up what you call a sordid mess…

****The 2008 audit conducted by the firm of Cuddy and Ward gave the town of Owasco a positive financial report on the budget and finances. EVERY audit performed thus far contains the following statement from Cuddy & Ward,” we considered the Organization's internal controls in order to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the financial statements and not to provide assurance on internal control. You keep relying on these ‘audits’ to further your case when it has been shown time and again that they have not shown a true picture of the Town’s finances. The audits ONLY check to see if the Town is following a general accounting format. They DO NOT go through every account received, paid and pending, the audit is a general cursory review and has been misrepresented for to long.

****The town ended the 2008 year with a significant fund balance in both the general and highway fund and will do the same this year in spite of a five percent drop in the sales tax. What is ‘significant’? Sales tax continues to drop as home and vehicle sales decline, at some point THAT fact has to be considered. Therein lies the problem with basing a 3+million budget on ONLY $20K in actual tax collection and the rest on sales tax.

****The water and sewer rents have created a surplus due to the increase in rates that were supported unanimously by the Town Board. While a surplus is a good thing for unexpected repairs etc, the amount of increases was HUGE! 88% for water and 67% for sewer district#1. Additionally, the board made a resolution to have SD#2 and all future sewer districts pay SD#1 rehab fees. The resolution also gives the board authority to increase fees without a public hearing. How many of you in sewer district #2 noticed the nearly $60.00 fee on your tax bill that had never been there before? Not a big problem, except that it should have occurred in 2004 when billing for the second district began, that is 5 years worth of revenue lost. Additionally it is a fee that was not calculated into the cost projection given to residents prior to voting for or against the installation of said new sewer district. This alone should cause those wanting a third sewer district to proceed with extreme caution and make sure they have ALL the facts and possibilities PRIOR to a vote.

****As supervisor, I led a series of meetings with the town board in September and October to create the budget. The final budget is adopted in November for the following year. The 2009 budget was unanimously approved by the town board. Yes, perhaps the budget was unanimously approved, but only after a great deal of review and questioning by Councilman Wagner, including his contacting the newspaper to see that the public was informed of his concerns. In that newspaper article the preliminary budget was NOT unanimous. In fact, Mr. Klink, you and Mr. Alberici voted against amendments to it and the budget itself. The reason apparently that you both felt a $115,000 expense for a Town Police Officer was a necessity. What about all the items budgeted for that have not even been begun? One example is the ‘yellow flagged’ Town Hall Road bridge. It has been studied by engineers, plans have been made and yet, NO work on it. Are you waiting for a vehicle to fall through it before the work gets done? Maybe the wait is for better weather, like in December maybe?

****At the monthly meetings, the budget is gone over line by line and there is little reason during the fiscal year that a board member would not know or fully understand that the status of the Owasco budget is strong. WHAT!!! Mr. Klink; when does this occur? Is that what Audit and payment of the bills is about? Those who have attended monthly meetings cannot recall hearing the budget gone over line by line. There is no explanation at PUBLIC meetings of what the expenses are, what fund they are coming from and the remaining balance in the fund. If this is the case, then how did a $50K deficit escape the board at the recycling center, how is it that all bulk water money($130 approx.) was not turned in until Mr. Wagner questioned it? Then miraculously $580+ dollars in quarters shows up the day before the Town Board meeting! After Mr. Wagner questioned these items new, ‘policies’ were made.

****Fiscal responsibility is the duty of everyone on the board. This is not just at election time. Hmmmm…A mere 78 days in office and Mr. Wagner was raising questions about the recycling center deficits, lack of accountability and the need for serious changes. In The Nov. 11th 2008 Citizen article written by Kathleen Barren, titled ‘Councilman says Owasco budget is ‘inefficient'’ Mr. Wagner expressed concerns over expenses. it states,” Councilman Ed Wagner, in a letter to The Citizen, said he wanted to be proactive in letting residents know the proposed budget reflects inefficient use of taxpayers' money.’ Does not look like it is JUST at election time as it was the end of his first of a 4 yr. term. It is of note that he has ‘dogged you’ for explanations and changes since he took office, to the point that you are quite short with him and contemptful at meetings.

****Effective leadership also requires networking, persistence, and experience. During my term of office the town secured numerous grants to improve our infrastructure. We received $825,000 in federal stimulus money and will save $1,200,000 with a zero percent interest rate on the remaining loan on the Sewer District No. 1 Melrose Road/Archie Street Project. We also secured $75,000 to begin updating our water meter reading system from state Sen. Dave Valesky. Mr. Klink how much of this networking have YOU done? If YOU are so involved and deserving of the credit, pray tell WHY did YOU push and continue to defend the hiring of Wladis Law Firm to lobby for the grant money? Is the Town not up to some $55,000 in payments to them? Weedsport received over 3 million in grant money and THEY did the paperwork on their own! We wonder if your trip to D.C. was at taxpayer expense so you could meet with representatives personally. For all the name-dropping you do, we all just figured you were on their fav fives already. All sarcasm aside, each representative has a local office and you could work through those channels for FREE.

****In closing, town governments have to balance the budget, year in and year out, right to the penny. In an article written By Kathleen Barran / The Citizen Tuesday, November 11, 2008, Mr. Klink YOU are quoted as saying;” “A budget is a 'guesstimate',” Town Supervisor John Klink said…”

****We have made fiscally sound decisions for the betterment of the town and have delivered not only in “dollars” but in “sense” to restore responsible government to Owasco. Well readers, the lever will be in your hands....

John Klink
Owasco
Klink is town of Owasco supervisor

'08 &'09 headlines

2009-08-30T20:12:00.000-04:00

Thanks to 'A Little Birdie' for sending this. You can click on any headline to link to the whole article. These are headlines to date from The Citizen, readers you judge if Mr. Klink has 'restored Owasco's reputation and accountibility':

Sewage dumping could cost Owasco A perfect storm Dec. 23 left the town of Owasco with a tough choice - to let homeowners' basements flood or to relieve pressure on the sewer line by pumping it into a trench along Melrose Road. Maureen Wren, public outreach speciali... Jan. 3, 2008

Owasco sends out incorrect tax bills Owasco water and sewer problems have managed to surface again, but this time the town hopes to flush the issue sooner than later. Property tax bills for 2008 were nullified because the wrong water and sewer levy was sent to the Cayuga County assessme... Jan. 8, 2008

DEC fine likely for Owasco OWASCO - State Department of Environmental Conservation officials paid a visit to the town of Owasco Thursday morning to see the site where flooding had occurred Dec. 23 and where a sewer line was pumped out in response to water flooding nea...Jan. 11, 2008

Our View: Town must show it won't tolerate slurs Imagine an Auburn city councilor or the mayor using a racial or ethnic slur directed at a another person during a meeting. The outrage would be intense, as it should be, and you can bet the person who used those words would suffer serious consequence... Jan. 13, 2008

Owasco board debates new code officer OWASCO -- Sparks flew briefly over the naming of a new code enforcement officer Tuesday afternoon at a special meeting of the Owasco Town Board. Patrick Doyle, former deputy supervisor and former town councilman, was selected by a committee of two fr...Jan. 22, 2008

Owasco board argues over code officer OWASCO - Sparks flew briefly over the naming of a new code enforcement officer Tuesday afternoon at a work session of the Owasco Town Board. Patrick Doyle, former deputy supervisor and former town councilman, was selected by a committee of t...Jan. 23, 2008

Owasco board examines reassessment OWASCO - The town of Owasco went into streamline mode Thursday as the town council discussed some high-profile issues of recent years. “We're trying to take a fresh look at everything,” said John Klink, town supe... Feb. 15, 2008

Owasco looks at how it handles garbage OWASCO - The town of Owasco might hire a private trash hauler for curbside pickup rather than continue to maintain its recycling center. “As a result of comparing the present costs of the recycling center to the costs of hiring a p... Mar. 19, 2008

Town moves to cut red tape *** interesting because of info on Local Law #3 and ‘unclaimed’ grant monies***OWASCO - Streamlining was the buzzword at the Owasco town board meeting on Thursday night. The board moved to eliminate some of the red tape in administering its fire codes and sewer rates by replacing and amending former laws. It is also in... May. 9, 2008

DEC: Owasco pumping sewage since 1980 OWASCO - The town of Owasco has been slapped with a $35,000 fine for discharging sewage into state waters without a State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit. On May 22, the State Department of Environmental Conser...Jun. 20, 2008

Owasco holds meeting on growing crime problem OWASCO -- Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould and members of his office met with Owasco residents Monday evening to discuss the recent increase of crime and any possible solutions to rebuild the community's sense of security. The meeting came three day... Jun. 30, 2008

Owasco wants to use recycling center to increase revenue OWASCO - The Owasco Town Board received an audit report from Cuddy & Ward CPAs of its operations at the recycling center, outlining possible options and financial implications, as officials are anxious to optimize the center as a source...Jul. 17, 2008

Official charged with falsifying time sheet The New York State Police arrested Owasco's highway superintendent Thursday on allegations that he falsified a time sheet. According to state police investigators, Michael L. Wilson, 47, of Owasco Road, Auburn, is accused of submitting a tim... Jul. 26, 2008

Accused Owasco official to stay on the job The Owasco Town Board on Tuesday decided to take no action in the status of its highway superintendent, accused by New York State Police of falsifying a time sheet. Town highway superintendent Michael L. Wilson is accused of submitting a falsified ti...Jul. 29, 2008

Owasco could lose grant funds *** The same grant funds discussed in 5/9/09 article above***A $5,000 grant for playground equipment in the town of Owasco is on a list of member items reviewed by the state attorney general that have been labeled as rejected or incomplete, but town officials are hopeful they can still secure the fund... Aug. 14, 2008

Owasco will pay fine for releasing wastewater The Town of Owasco will continue to pay thousands of dollars in state fines until it upgrades its wastewater infrastructure. On Thursday, town officials agreed to pay a fine for pumping sewage or other wastewater into state waters without a State Pol... Aug. 21, 2008

State DEC fines town of Owasco $1,400 The state Department of Environmental Conservation has fined the town of Owasco $1,400 for failure to monitor and keep records on three fuel tanks at its highway department as well as some malfunctions. The town received a consent order date...Aug. 25, 2008

Owasco to be reimbursed for fines The Town of Owasco will be reimbursed $15,400 in fines and grants after officials corrected problems at the municipal garage and turned in project vouchers. Paragon Environmental Construction reimbursed Owasco $1,400 for a fine that was lev... Sep. 10, 2008

Owasco could use its funds to help all of its residents The town of Owasco seems to fancy itself “The Skaneateles of Cayuga County.” It is true that both towns share similar traits - both are on sizable lakes, both have fine homes, farms, country clubs, a yacht club and high taxes. Here t... Sep. 22, 2008

Councilman says Owasco budget is ‘inefficient' Owasco residents will get one last chance to voice their opinions about the town's 2009 budget on Thursday. An Owasco town councilman is among those who would like to see some changes. Councilman Ed Wagner, in a letter to The Citizen, said he wa... Nov. 12, 2008

Owasco decides not to hire full-time police officer OWASCO - More than 50 Owasco residents packed town hall Thursday night to voice their opinions at the public hearing on the proposed 2009 town budget. Many of those in attendance were motivated by a item in the budget to hire a full-time police ... Nov. 14, 2008

Owasco misinformed on police budget I read with disappointment the article in your paper about the Owasco Town Board meeting Thursday evening, Nov. 13. Perhaps the residents who objected to the item in the 2009 budget for a full-time police officer were misinformed by Councilman Wagner...Nov. 23, 2008

Make your expectations known to elected officials I would like to express my appreciation to the nearly 50 town residents who attended the Nov. 13 Town of Owasco board meeting to share their thoughts and opinions regarding the proposed 2009 budget. Efficient operation of government is not only expec...Nov. 24, 2008

Owasco getting more funds for sewers OWASCO - Owasco residents in beleaguered Sewer District No. 1 can breathe easier now that costs for that project will be halved. The town board has learned of additional grant money from the Federal Stimulus package now earmarked for the sewerli... Apr. 10, 2009

Owasco chimes in on noise ordinance OWASCO - A Town of Owasco noise ordinance is in the works. A special meeting Tuesday afternoon was called to configure a law for noise-related issues. The board wants a professional, enforceable, reasonable law with something that works over the... Apr. 15, 2009

Town must be careful with chimes dispute The Owasco Town Board this week began work on the creation of a noise ordinance following a complaint from a family about what they describe as excessive wind chime use by their neighbors. Everyone should understand that the town is not looking to ba... Apr. 19, 2009

Owasco working on noise ordinance as neighbors compromise on wind chimes OWASCO -- The Owasco Town Board tackled the task of creating a noise ordinance at a workshop on Wednesday. The board had earlier agreed the town needed a noise ordinance after two residents complained of losing sleep because of their neighbors' noisy... Apr. 29, 2009

Neighbors compromise on wind chimes OWASCO - The Owasco Town Board tackled the task of creating a noise ordinance at a workshop on Wednesday. The board had earlier agreed the town needed a noise ordinance after two residents complained of losing sleep because of their neighbors&#0... Apr. 30, 2009

Town of Owasco works toward improvements I enjoyed Jeremy Boyer's column on Tuesday, April 21. Positive or negative is in the “eye of the beholder.” If you agree with the story it is positive. If you disagree it is negative. Basically, the paper can't win. A couple of ... Apr. 30, 2009

Bid pulled on Owasco sewer project OWASCO - The low bid on the Archie Street sewer rehabilitation project in Owasco that seemed too good to be true turned out to be exactly that. Bat-Con, Inc. took back its bid when it discovered a mistake in math to the tune of $25,200 afte... May. 2, 2009

County tax bills miscalculated Owasco taxpayers have been charged more than they should have on their Cayuga County tax bills for 2009, issued in January, and taxpayers in other parts of the county will have to make up the difference next year because they were slightly undercharg... May. 15, 2009

Owasco looks to save energy, money OWASCO - The Owasco Town Board focused on finances and funding at its meeting Thursday night as board members mulled a number of ongoing projects, discussing how to obtain money and how to save it. Town Supervisor John Klink said the long haul t... Jun. 12, 2009

Owasco still working on noise law Almost four months ago wind chimes led the Owasco Town Board to add a possible noise ordinance to its code committee's laundry list, but the “laundry” is still blowing in the wind. In May, two Owasco residents said their neighbor ... Aug. 4, 2009

Town to get rec board OWASCO - Recreation in the town of Owasco will soon be more formally organized with a newly created recreation board to oversee playgrounds and provide programs. A public hearing was held at the regular town board meeting Thursday night, followe... Aug. 14, 2009

More positive change is needed for Owasco In accepting the nomination, for supervisor of the Town of Owasco, from both the Republican and Conservative parties, I am honored while being aware of the responsibilities that are entailed with holding this office. It is also my fortune to have a s... Aug. 17, 2009

Owasco government operating efficiently As the election season begins and my campaign for re-election to supervisor for the town of Owasco gets under way, let me reassure the residents that the town of Owasco budget is sound and fiscally responsible. It is true that the 2006-7 budgets, dev... Aug. 25, 2009

Windchimes- For Real!!??

2009-04-18T13:23:00.007-04:00

We really were going to leave this topic alone and let the foolishness of it speak for itself BUT this has reached such a level of idiocy we are compelled to CHIME in (sorry couldn't resist).

First off, since when are special meetings held for such a simple issue? This whole problem has been ballooned so much that it even made TV news. So now Owasco not only looks foolish and petty to all who read the newspaper, but to the entire TV 5 viewing area! We cannot think of a better way to restore Owasco's "fine reputation" than to make it look as though a few wind chimes are a bigger issue than a criminal investigation, an elected officials arrest and a nearly 2 million dollar sewer system being installed under a DEC consent order!

Why is the board (when referring to 'the board' in this post we do not include Councilman Wagner as he was not present at the meeting under discussion- until he returns and weighs in on the subject it is unfair to include him as being part of the decision to pursue this matter) even considering a 'noise ordinance' anyway? Are there really that many noise complaints in Owasco that a town-wide law needs to be implemented? This by all appearances involves neighbor disputes and the town gets caught up in them too frequently. Why are we wasting taxpayer dollars on a select few residents who could simply go to mediation or civil court to have this issue resolved. If it is that important they can spend their money, not taxpayers, to solve their problem. Do the complainants realize if a resolution is made that it takes months for a law to be drawn up, reviewed, revised and enacted. The time and tax dollars involved is better spent on real town problems of which there are plenty.

Who will enforce this ordinance, our frequently MIA codes officer, the sheriff, state police? The sheriff stated he would be able to enforce a noise ordinance. Well why doesn't he enforce a disorderly conduct law? Under penal law disorderly conduct is defined as:

§ 240.20 Disorderly conduct. A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof: 1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior; or 2. He makes unreasonable noise; .....or 7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose. Disorderly conduct is a violation.

So Sheriff Gould, send your deputies out to rectify this situation under an already existing law. By the sounds of the situation you will be arresting both parties involved.

How would unlawful noise be determined ? The current 'model' from Henrietta is pretty wide-ranging and would only encourage more of this type of dispute. The portion of the model law that states; “ either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of a person or neighborhood” would appear to be judgments based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts. With the exception of injuring or endangering the health or safety of a person or neighborhood the rest of that code is pretty open to interpretation.

There is also a portion of the model law that states ' any sound which crosses at least one property line' would be a problem in Owasco because of the diversity of the town. A residential property line is different from a rural or lake shore property line. Sounds also travel differently in the various areas.

Most online codes we found allow for up to 55 dBA from the property line for A/C units, fans, pumps and wind chimes. (dBA is an A-weighted sound that most closely represents human hearing by filtering ultra high & ultra low sounds, this is the unit of measure commonly utilized when enforcing the code.)

We really feel as though the Town Board should simply direct these type of complaints to a mediator, the Sheriff or a civil complaint in court. This particular problem was brought to the boards attention, a public complaint was made and the problem received way more press than needed. It is up to the ADULTS to handle the issue amongst themselves. The entire town does not need more government restrictions on what we can or cannot do with our own property. The fourth amendment, if we want to go to the extreme, guarantees us personal privacy and freedom within our property. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also covers our personal rights.

We will close with the following to consider:
Black's Law Dictionary (5th ed. 1979) states that "[i]n the strict legal sense, [property is] an aggregate of rights which are guaranteed and protected by the government" and that the term property "includes not only ownership and possession but also the right of use and enjoyment for lawful purposes."
Barron's Law Dictionary (2d ed. 1984) defines property as "one's exclusive right to possess, use, and dispose of a thing" [ . . . ] "as well as the object, benefit, or prerogative which constitutes the subject matter of that right."

The Wind Chime Debacle should be a dead issue before the board:

Sewer District #3, A Pipe Dream

2009-01-07T12:39:00.006-05:00

Here is the letter sent to residents of proposed sewer district #3 (Informer comments follow in BLUE):
December 16, 2008
Dear Resident:

The Town of Owasco is considering extending public sewers to serve areas along Rockefeller Road and lakefront properties between the existing Sewer District No. 2 boundary at Burtis Point and the Town's southern boundary at Koenig Point. Over the years numerous residents in this area have asked the Town to investigate the possibility of a Sewer District #3.

In May of 2004, a brief survey was mailed out to the residents of this area and a majority showed interest in pursuing the project. An engineering firm prepared a Preliminary Engineering Report for Proposed Sewer District No. 3. The report was financed by a $5,000.00 grant from Assemblyman Brian Kolb in August 2004. For a variety of reasons no action was taken.

Currently, the Federal Government is considering a massive infrastructure stimulus program. Our representatives in Washington indicate the Sewer District #3 project may be eligible in 2009 for that stimulus program or in 2010 or 2011. Federal representatives tell us that municipalities that are ready may be given first consideration.

Sewer District #3 would be formed to serve only those areas where there is demonstrated need, sufficient development density, and property owner support for public sewers. Enclosed is a proposed map of the area and a survey that would be very helpful in identifying current interest in public sewers. The survey will also be helpful in documenting problems with existing private, on-site disposal systems in support of future engineering reports and funding applications. Should the survey responses indicate an adequate level of interest, the Town would continue to pursue the establishment of Sewer District #3.

Please complete and return the survey by January 31, 2009. Prior to the formation of the district, residents of the proposed Sewer District #3 would have the opportunity to formally state their opinion through either a petition process or public referendum. Either method requires a Public Hearing.

Public sewers won't be feasible if they cannot be delivered at a reasonable cost. With this in mind, the Town will aggressively seek state and federal funding to keep user costs as low as possible.

We sincerely appreciate your participation in this survey. We'll keep you informed of the survey results and our progress with this important project. Any questions please call 253-9021, Ext. 5. SEE MAP ON OTHER SIDE

Sincerely,

John Klink, Supervisor

The foremost reason for not proceeding with the sewer expansion was that it was deemed 'cost prohibitive', as YOU Mr. Klink stated at meetings on numerous occasions.

Perhaps, Mr. Klink you are counting chickens before they hatch with the whole 'considering a massive infrastructure stimulus program' comment. NO ONE has any clue if this will occur, what it will encompass and if it will be in the form of grants, loans etc... Odd that only a general blanket of 'our representatives in Washington' statement was made. What representatives have told you this? Mr. Klink you can name drop for 5 minutes straight at Board meetings, yet in a letter not ONE single name is mentioned. Very odd, very odd indeed.

Finally, how will this effect Sewer districts 1 & 2? When even more effluent is forced into SD #1 and another 'weak' area blows and needs millions in repairs, will SD#1 again pay for it? Will the Ad Valorem taxes get hiked without hearing (59% this year) to pay for decades of mis-management?

This sewer district is no more affordable than it has been for the last 5 years. Our Town is already in too much debt and is already to far in the red to even consider this. Remember 1.8 million bonded for repairs to the ancient SD#1, because of back ups into residents basements and "weak spots".We hope that the residents see this for what it is, an election year ploy to garner votes from people led to believe Mr. Klink is working in their favor. Note that every time there is an election year 04-05, 07 & now 09 this becomes a pet project for Mr. Klink, yet once elected it is dropped until one or two residents show up at a meeting to inquire as to the progress, only to be given the run around.

Why was the estimated cost not included in the letter or survey? Many people might want the sewer, yet ultimately not be able to afford it. Why was the impact on assessed value not mentioned? Residences in Sewer District #2 increased substantially in assessed value after the sewer was installed. Considering that the majority of the residents in the proposed area already think they are assessed to high, this would also be a mitigating factor in their decision. How about the cost of the grinder pumps and their maintenance and 'life'? A large number of homes on the west side of Rockefeller Road will need the pumps to bring the sewage up to the main. The timeline of '09, 10 or maybe 11' shows exactly how weak a proposal this is, after all 2011 would be just in time for the next election cycle.

Now Here is the 'Survey":

Town of Owasco Proposed Sewer District #3 Residential Interest Survey

1. Is your place of residence seasonal or year-round occupancy?
____ Yes ____ No (Not exactly a Yes/No question Mr. Klink!)
If seasonal, average number of months per year occupied?_______

2. How do you currently dispose of your sanitary sewage?
___ Septic tank and leach field ____ Holding tank ___Unknown ___Other
How old is your current on-site disposal system?
___ 5-10 years ___ 10 - 20 years ____ 20 - 30 years
___ Unknown

3. Has your current on-site disposal system ever been dye-tested?
___Yes ___No (Mr. Klink, who is going to answer no to this and admit to violating Cayuga County's Sanitary Code! We want to help you, Mr. Klink, by providing the links to the code http://co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/projects/septicprotocol2006.pdf
excerpt: CAYUGA COUNTY HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM SITE ASSESSMENT PROTOCAL
3.3 Dye Testing
3.3.1 A dye test shall be performed as part of either the Sanitary Code for Property Transfer/Refinance inspection procedures.

http://co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/projects/sanitarycode.pdf pg.10 shows the schedule of inspection
excerpt: A. DISCHARGE PERMIT
All wastewater treatment systems must have a completed inspection
report and a permit to discharge. The inspection results shall be
submitted to the Health Department on a form supplied by or approved
by the Cayuga County Health Department. Inspections are hereby
required in accordance with the following schedule:
1. OWASCO LAKE AND LITTLE SODUS BAY WATERSHED
(a) On or before November 1, 1994, for systems and all
drainage pipes located on a parcel of property
bordering the mean high water mark of Owasco Lake or
Little Sodus Bay and every two years thereafter. If the
wastewater treatment system is greater than 500 feet
from the mean high water mark, then 1) (c) shall apply.
All drainage pipes shall be inspected by a Cayuga
County inspector for fecal coliform organisms to be
tested at a laboratory certified by the New York State
Department of Health and shall be part of the
inspection report and discharge permit for the
property.
(b) On or before November 1, 1995, for all systems located
on a parcel of property not bordering the mean high
water mark of Owasco Lake or Little Sodus Bay but
within 500 feet thereof and every three years
thereafter.
(c) On or before November 1, 1996, for systems located in
the Owasco Lake or Little Sodus Bay watershed, but not
covered under paragraph (a) or (b) above, and are in
the Towns of Owasco, Niles, Moravia, Scipio, Fleming,
and Sterling, and every five years thereafter.

4. Have you experienced any problems with your current on-site disposal system?____ Yes ____No

5. Have you experienced any problems with your current on-site disposal system?____ Yes ____ No (Must be a VERY important question since it was asked TWICE)

6. Are you concerned about the remaining "life" of your current on-site disposal system? ____ Yes ____ No

7. Would you be in favor of public sewers in your area?
____ Yes ____ No
Comments: (several lines for comments)

There is absolutely no question as to why the Town is facing the problems it is after reading this letter & survey, a half witted effort with no foresight. What are the engineers telling you to do? When will there be a 2008 audit & will it include the water & sewer accounts as well as the recycling? Can the board throw in the Highway Department for good measure considering the legal troubles of its leader? This Town is in TROUBLE and the fact that incurring MORE debt is even being considered is ludicrous. Until next time.....

Happy Holiday's Owasco

2008-12-24T08:43:00.001-05:00

Holy smokes, the letter from the Town of Owasco (John Klink) was a very nice holiday greeting was it not? How nice of him to remind us once again that our sewer and water rates are going to increase- again. Seriously, a 23% increase in water use fees. Do they realize that is an 88% increase since March!? Another 32% for sewer fees! Oh, can we mention that sewer district #1 has a rate per thousand increase of 59% and district #2 a 4% increase. Additionally, sewer rehab costs gone up 8% per unit. Apparently they think money grows on all those trees that can’t vote.

Along those lines, why was it necessary to mail out a full color repeat of what was in the newsletter we got a couple months ago? That was excellent use of taxpayer money, happy holidays; we are going to stick it to ya- oh and by the way please don’t park on our roads during the winter.

The recycling center will be closed Dec. 24th 2007 and don’t expect to go to the Town Hall until Monday the 29th, 2008 because they are off until then. Does that mean the recycling center is closed Saturday also? Is this paid time off or do the employees have to use vacation time?

Come on Officials, times are tough and we would like to see our tax dollars spent more efficiently than getting old news in full color. Whose brilliant idea was it to title the letter ‘Owasco News’? Didn’t THAT ring a bell with anybody, kind of humorous actually?

Mr. Klink, if you want to send out campaign literature do it on your dime, not ours.

Well everybody, enjoy your holidays and let’s hope for a much more fiscally responsible new year….

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T19:52:00.002-04:00

Today is a great day for a new post. A day that that brings fantasy and the darker side to life, sadly in Owasco this isn’t a one-day event. We recently passed the 300-day milestone of Mr. Klink’s administration, and what an administration it has been…

The truth is not as important as what is widely believed. The Owasco Democratic Party and their supporters have been served well by using this philosophy. In looking back to the post on the first 100 days it is interesting that there is very little to update. The DEC did impose a fine of $25,000.00 and a consent order for the Town as a result of the illegal pumping of sewage last December. Mr. Klink wrote in the most recent newsletter in reference to yet ANOTHER DEC fine, ‘Many of you may have read the front page headline in the July 26th edition of the Citizen stating that the Town was to pay a fine to the DEC for $1,400.00. The infractions were due to an error of the company we hired to do the work on the new gas tanks. Paragon Environmental Construction is an outstanding company and through a series of unfortunate occurrences mistakes were made. After consulting with Paragon, the Town was reimbursed on September 5, 2008 for $1,400.00.’ So based on that theory Mr. Klink, when are you and Mr. Wilson going to reimburse the taxpayers for your ‘mistake’ due to an unfortunate bought of rain?

We recall that Mr. Buchanan apologized to the public for his use of an ethnic slur. Too bad the town board did not take any official action against him, just the opposite in fact, he was rewarded with the Deputy Supervisors position. Had some action been taken perhaps a ‘retired’ highway worker would not have felt so comfortable using the same slur against a councilman AND threatening another councilman and two town residents. This after he was told he had to take a month off because of a civil service violation pertaining to his retired status and continuing to work full time hours. Regardless the employee should be fired with cause for making the threats.

Our understanding is that the Code Enforcement Crony STILL isn’t doing his job, nor at the Town Hall any set hours. All anyone needs to do is drive around town and see the porches, garages, additions etc… that have NO building permit displayed. That again hurts us as taxpayers because there is no permit fee in the coffers and no records for assessment purposes. In that vien the Town settled with the former Code Officer for an undisclosed amount of money, however, court documents are public record and we will persue that avenue.

Also in that post we warned that the Town had to many eggs in what was referred to as the “Wilson Basket” and that would bite them. Well Highway Super Wilson’s arrest certainly confirmed that. Looks as though this situation will ring in the New Year, what a way to begin an election year! We have a new slogan for Klink, Wilson, Shaw and whatever 2 lackeys they get to run for Council. “We lead with conviction.” Kinda has a nice ring to it eh??

Tomorrow brings the Civil Service test for the water billing/assessors assistant job. We can only hope they treat the results fairly and don’t have the job set up for yet another crony.
Well, everyone enjoy Halloween night and be ready for the smoke and mirrors to engage as 2009 brings a new local election season and the need for damage control. We wonder how much more can be blamed on Badman and ‘clerical errors’?

The Truth IS Out There

2008-09-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Missing time, flawed memories, 'retired' full-time employee, disappearing grant money, tired over-utilized excuses; has area 51 been relocated, or is this government in Owasco?

The most recent news of Owasco receiving two separate DEC fines & consent orders is most disturbing. Equally disconcerting is the apparent inability to keep track of and file for pre-approved reimbursement grants. More taxpayer dollars down the drain because of the incompetence of our elected officials. The last town meeting brought forth questions of an employee who retired from the Town, yet continues to work full time hours.

Unconfirmed reports are that the installation company has inexplicably paid the Town for the fine. It is not the companies fault that the Highway Superintendent and his workers failed to “ keep weekly monitoring records for tanks and piping, failed to reconcile inventory records, failed to monitor for leaks between the bottom of a tank and the impermeable barrier and failed to perform monthly inspections’ (Among other violations). Wilson was and still is the Supervisor for the Highway Department. Is it not Mr. Wilson’s responsibility to notify the board that work is incomplete? Is it not HIS responsibility to follow up and insist that the company complete the work they were paid fully to do?

This is a huge issue. The installation was never completed and that begs the questions; why did it take well over a year and a DEC inspection to bring the situation to light? Mr. Wilson failed to ensure that inventory records (of fuel) were maintained on a daily & monthly basis. This means that there is no record of fuel use per vehicle, whom is filling the vehicle or sadly if there is a leak in the tank. Imagine the tanks leaking diesel fuel, gasoline or waste oil in such an ecologically sensitive area. Mr. Wagner brought up the lack of fuel use monitoring several months ago when he addressed the deficits within the recycling center. How does a supervisor budget fuel, bill the fire department for what they use if they have no monitoring in place? Mr. Wilson is being paid a pretty penny by the taxpayers of this town, the least he could do is his JOB!

The statement that Klink was not supervisor at the time of the installation is laughable! How many times does he think he can use that tired old excuse? Where is the accountability as the senior board member? He has been a Councilman in Owasco for better than a quarter century, he ought to know every issue & deal addressed by the board!! The FACT that he was not supervisor didn’t stop him from instructing Mr. Wilson to pump sewage last December costing taxpayers $25k in fines.

On to the employee who works full-time hours for the highway/recycling department, yet is retired from the job. Mr. Wilson stated at the meeting that the employee did not receive benefits and therefore it was cheaper to keep him than hiring on a new person. Hhmmm… Is this not the same employee that was front and center in January 2006 complaining that highway benefits had been altered and that the employees now had to pay too much in co-pays and several items were not covered? As a retiree is he not getting full benefits anyway like all the others before him? What about the union and their contract? What about limitations on how much a state employee can earn in a job they have retired from (teachers know about this)? Perhaps that is why they gave him a nifty new job title at the last meeting!

Now the town has lost $5k in grant money because of ‘a mix-up in the mailing’ and confusion over what the grant was actually for. AGAIN Klink was ‘not supervisor at the time.’ So this says to us that there was not one, but two grants the officials were not keeping on top of. Hopefully they will be able to recoup that money, but this just adds to the ever-progressing incompetence of this administration. For a slate of candidates that stated in their 2007 literature,” Since the last election we have heard your concerns and share with you the frustrations and embarrassment that fiscal irresponsibility, incompetence, inexperience and poor communication can bring upon a Town and its people. We believe this election is very important to regain Owasco's reputation, integrity, and respect.” We at the Informer ask, how are we better off now? Is Owasco’s reputation better, exactly how has all the claimed experience turned the Town around? Any hope of reclaiming integrity was shot with Mr. Wilson’s arrest, avoidable fines, consent orders and fiscal irresponsibility. Owasco has been hemorrhaging respect, reputation and money since this administration took its oaths of office.

Unfortunately, these issues are the tip of the iceberg and there are many more that will be rearing their ugly heads in the upcoming weeks & months. Till then…

2008-08-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

There are a few items that need addressing and now is as good a time as any.

These comments came from the July town board meeting and we feel they are important because some directly relate to current (and possibly future) happenings here in town. The first 45 min-1hour of the meeting involved discussion over the home invasion/assault that occurred at the end of June. There were two town residents that spoke because they were upset that the emergency meeting was held without full notification of residents. One was extremely upset that the meeting did not ‘qualify’ as an emergency situation. He maintained that it was an ‘illegal’ meeting under open meetings law, after reviewing opinions from the Committee on Open Government that resident could have a valid complaint. A call to Mr. Freeman at the Committee would no doubt provide the answer. The other resident was equally upset over not having been aware of the meeting that had taken place. The conversation then lead to a litany of descriptions of other incidents in Town and what was being done to curtail the crime.

Now in hindsight we find the following comments very telling as to how serious our officials are when dealing with crimes committed in Owasco. A great deal of emphasis was placed on accountability, in this context parental accountability for their kids. Why does the same not apply to our Town Board and its accountability, to the taxpayer and for the actions of each other and town workers? The other statement that that was made by Mr. Alberici was that we needed hard-nosed law enforcement. To which Mr. Klink interjected,’ and judges.’ Mr. Alberici then agreed with that statement.

How does the town board think it looks when an elected official is arrested and the majority essentially condones the act? What message does that send? We maintain that if there had been a meeting dealing with the issue that led to an arrest, there would have been minutes of the meeting; a record of vote and a resolution authorizing said pay. Common sense says that NONE of that was present or it would have been given to investigators at the time of questioning and they would not have made the arrest. Therefore that leads to questions as to whether any such meeting ever took place, if it was a legal meeting under open meetings laws, and if ALL the board members were PRESENT and AWARE the meeting took place. Those questions should be answered during a trial process when they are all called to testify under oath.

Another interesting thing that came out of that meeting dealt with the July 4th fundraiser the fire department holds. Mr. Klink made a HUGE show over how he has nothing against the fire department, even went as far as to say he LOVED the fire department and that requiring insurance statements from each and every vendor was simply to protect the town. Several questions were asked in relation to whether or not a specific parties had been required to have insurance documents in the past or not. Some apparently did, others did not. Finally it was stated that it didn’t matter what occurred in the past this is how it will be done from now on. Here is the resolution as it was adopted: Resolution - the Town Board as it has in the past waves the fee for the Owasco Fire Department a shelter permit for 9 days prior to and after the Fourth of July.
The Board recognizes the necessity for the Owasco Field Day Committee of the Owasco Fire Department to secure from Vendors on the Town of Owasco Property a Certificate of Liability indicating that the certificate holder is the Town of Owasco and that the certificate holder is an additional insured pertaining to the July 4, 2008 Field Day. The Town insurance carrier NYMIR is requiring this documentation and supported by the town attorney Riccardo T. Galbato.

Now, it would stand to reason that IF the fire department were not the target, as Mr. Klink stated, the resolution would not have been written ONLY in reference to the fire department and that specific date only? Why was it passed a short two days prior to the event? Had the board met on its usual date the event would have been over and too late to pass the resolution as written. Perhaps this did have more to do with the chairperson of the event, as implied when Mr. Klink choked out said persons name in response to inquiry from Mr. Buchanan as to who was the chair of the committee. We will leave readers to judge the intent of the resolution and why it did not cover any persons renting the shelter in the future. Does this indicate that a new resolution will be voted on every year to cover only the Field days as this one pertains only to July 4th 2008?

Now in regards to comments being left on the site. NOBODY at the Informer wants to ruin ANYONE”S life. Our goal is to have a government that listens to ALL the people, a government that is honest and worthy of the trust given by the voters. Anyone can comment on a post and some comments (that in some of our opinions should have been deleted) have been allowed to show the mentality of those supporting someone who stands accused of breaking the law and bilking taxpayers. The language is foul, the spelling & grammar atrocious. They have nothing to offer other than filth and a laugh.

If lives are being ruined we maintain that it has nothing to do with what is written in this blog, or by those involved in writing it. We feel more time should be spent worrying about the current state of our town than who is writing on a blog. If the officials would simply do their jobs, justly and within the law we wouldn’t have much to write about but all the good they are doing. At any given point in time anyone can refute a post and give their side. To date this has never been done by anyone in an ‘official’ capacity. We surmise they have no defense and the only way they know how to handle the truth ‘getting out’ is by personal attacks. That is the mantra and sadly it has worked for many years, people now though are not so easily led. Any ‘ruined’ lives present or future are the result of actions taken by person’s who abused their position(s) and trust of the public.

Falsehoods Perpetuate Themselves

2008-07-29T10:28:00.002-04:00

How? Why? WHAT!!! How is it that Mr. Klink can so blatantly claim that there is no wrongdoing in Mr. Wilson filling out the time card for his son? If the town had a policy of paying employees out on reserve duties, why not just put on the card that he was doing just that? Why fill out a time card that states the worker, Mr. Wilson's SON, was working in various locations IN TOWN when he was not doing so? Clerical error? Mr. Klink and the board do you really think the people are that stupid? A clerical error is an extra zero or a missing zero. Filling out a time card that detail where an employee was supposedly working EACH DAY is NOT a clerical error; it is defrauding the public. Compounded by the fact that this was done to benefit a FAMILY MEMBER, so Mr. Wilson knew that the worker was not even in town much less working.

Let us turn back the clock about a year, shall we? Recall, if you will, the HUGE deal made out of a certain $17,000.00 check that was issued to an employee. The employee returned the check that day and a new one was issued. According to the Democratic candidates that was INCOMPETENCE not a simple clerical error. So do tell Owasco Town Board, if payroll is approved by all of you prior to issuance to the employees, how exactly was a $17,000 check not caught and corrected? Kind of takes the wind out of Klink's claim that the board approved the payment doesn't it?

The poor record keeping within the Town will certainly bite them in this one. If the Town Board had approved this, as Mr. Klink maintains, then there should be minutes that reflect the decision. Maybe a resolution to pay a worker while at reserves training, how about a local law creating policy that deals with that particular type situation? If ANY one of those items were in the records they would have been given to the police investigators and this would have never gone any father right? If such records suddenly appear it will only look suspect.

This does lead to questions such as; How many times did this or something like this occur and it wasn’t caught? How many other times have we the public been mislead and our tax dollars used inappropriately? Why would Mr. Klink insist that there is NOTHING wrong? Why have we heard NOTHING from our other elected officials on this? Why is Mr. Wilson not screaming his innocence from the highest mulch pile?

Since we are turning back the clock let’s refresh a bit of what the investigation is about:

2005/06 COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield billing records
Individual payment records for the COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield account showing underpayment
Charges of official misconduct against former appointed official involving homes built without permits, no accounting of payment of fees, documents stating inspections done by employee while employee was out of town, certificates of occupancy not issued in many cases, falsifying documents, destruction of government records
Failure to tax water & sewer districts prior to 2006 on hundreds of properties
Town employee & elected officials water bills that had zero usage meter readings
Overpayments of water & or sewer bills not credited to residents statements
Water lines extended without public hearings & then not taxed
Numerous Water & Sewer connections without proper permits or accounting
2003/04/05 Record of elected official longevity pay & clothing allowance claims, paid by bookkeeper without Town Board approval
Requested 2006 employee unemployment claims be investigated
2005 payroll with the questionable holiday pay & hours that did not match paycheck
2006 highway department time sheets showing pay for part-time employee that was not present
FOIL response stating that a former elected official’s town owned computer was destroyed. A computer he had at his residence to do town business at home.
Photographs of accounting records removed from file cabinets, boxed and piled on the Supervisors office floor.

Is this arrest just the first in a string of them? We need accountability in our officials, not defending those that are accused of breaking the law.

Crime In Owasco Now Includes Official

2008-07-25T16:20:00.001-04:00

Tsk, Tsk- Crime in Owasco Now includes Official

http://blog.syracuse.com/news/cayuga/

We have said it was coming for how long now…
Mike Wilson our illustrious jack-of-all-trades has been arrested as part of the ongoing criminal investigation begun during Supervisor Badman’s short administration.

Mr. Klink is credited with fully supporting Mr. Wilson, a very bad choice for his political career. Perhaps it has escaped Mr. Klink’s’ notice but EVERY department Mr. Wilson is in charge of is having some sort of issue or another. The Sewer Department deficits & DEC situation for the illegal pumping of sewage last fall. The recycling department for its $51,000 deficit, the water department in deficit and permits not being issued properly. On & on….

It is time residents got a clear picture of the type of leadership Owasco has been under. Mr. Klink’s defense of Mr. Wilson is typical. Maybe he would like to explain why, when an accounting of the recycling center was requested Mrs. Wilson (town bookkeeper, court clerk & deputy clerk) showed only an $8,000 deficit? We now know that to be tens of thousands short of the actual figure of $51,000. Therein lies another issue, a husband and a wife should not be in positions of employ where they can ‘cover’ for each other.

Mr. Klink and the town board have a great deal of explaining to do. Fine individuals with outstanding work ethics do not betray the very people that elected them, nor does the state police arrest them.

The Informer is giving the town board an opportunity to come clean with the true facts of the case, rather than this ‘clerical error’ non-sense. The tax bills were a ‘clerical error’ also- remember? No arrests in that incident were there? The point being there is more to this- much more than what Mr. Klink tried to pass off as an explanation. Hopefully out of five elected board members someone will disagree with misleading the public as Mr. Klink did in his statement.

We encourage your comments and perspectives. Let your officials know exactly how you feel about the latest incident of wrongdoing that affects YOU!

Escalating Crime In Owasco

2008-07-02T10:28:00.000-04:00

There needs to be some discussion on a few items of concern to every Owasco resident. First and foremost, WHY does it always take an incident of serious bodily harm or potential for imminent death before officials take any action? Two years ago this problem was identified and the possibility of a Town Police Department was brought up by then Supervisor Badman. The resulting investigation was that it would be too expensive. Reportedly $150-175K to start up, yet that cost would diminish after the initial start up costs. How is it that Port Byron, Weedsport and Moravia can all manage to maintain a police department but it is to expensive for Owasco? Yet, Mr. Klink can authorize the illegal pumping of sewage into a ditch that resulted in potential fines that would have paid the salary of one if not more police officers!

FORTY arrests in the last two months, with 12 still pending! Owasco has the most complaints of any other Town in the County? This is inexcusable! The vast majority are youth from this community, which opens up a whole new set of issues. Why are parents not aware of whom their children are with, where they are and what they are doing? As with what is currently being noticed in our schools apparently it has become the governments ‘job’ to raise children also? Horse feathers! The quickest, most effective ways to curb this problem lies right at our Town Justice’s feet. The youth know that they will get a slap on the hand and go right back to doing as they darn well please. Solutions: fines and community service on the first offense, there is plenty to be done in this town from cleaning up litter, helping at the recycling center, washing fire trucks and cleaning the fire stations. We wouldn’t need to pay a cleaning service for the Town Hall if the sentence was to dust, vacuum the building and clean the bathrooms. Parents should be required to co-sign their child in and out of the service project given. The youth sentenced would be confined to their property for a set period of time (essentially grounded by the court). The Town Justices have a responsibility to ALL the residents of the town, not to their friends whose kiddies might be in trouble.

Several residents present at the meeting gave numerous accounts of problems they have seen or witnessed. Most residents gave brief accounts of what had occurred with them and expressed the need for the Board to work with them on a solution. Interestingly, Chapter 122.1 & 122.2 of Town Code provides for many of the littering type complaints heard during the meeting.

One resident in particular appeared bent on placing blame on the victim, whom Mr. Gould repeatedly stated was COMPLETELY innocent and had NO connection to the perpetrator’s of Friday night’s attack. As a matter of fact he commended the victim on how he handled the situation.

A heated exchange took place between this resident and the victims’ family. It is unfortunate that this resident began with what sounded like a credible account of what occurred Friday and it spiraled into a surreal dramatic story that she couldn’t even get her neighbors to back her on when she requested them to do so. She lost her credibility when she accused the victim of ‘urinating’ with a friend on her lawn and throwing beer bottles, and in the next breath she went on to explain, “Don’t get me wrong I like Nate, he is a good kid.” We don’t know about you readers, but we would NOT think that a twenty-something peeing on our lawn was a ‘good kid’, nor would we ‘like’ him very much. Her bit about the yelling and profanities coming over her baby monitor was odd. Stuff generally doesn’t come over baby monitors unless it’s being transmitted over the same frequency the monitor is on. Yelling in a yard would not be broadcast in such a manner. This of course set the victim’s family on edge and Mr. Klink threatened to end the meeting if it could not be conducted in a proper manner.

This resident stated that she calls 911 & town board members on a regular basis because of the problems in her area. The resident left with a gentleman shortly after Mr. Klink told her to sit down, which is very telling. Had she been concerned about the situation and not attacking the victim and subsequently his family, she would have stayed for the whole meeting like the other attendees and offered cost effective solutions that were agreeable to everyone.

Mr. Klink gave an accounting that someone left a 12 pack of wine bottles under the Christmas tree in his yard. He speculated that it was a message of some kind. We really didn’t get the comment and it is not as if that really compares to someone’s child getting beaten with a baseball bat. That is the long and short of the problem, the crime is escalating, the perpetrators are from outside Owasco, are older and have criminal histories. In this instance curfews would have been moot, a community watch or peace officers could have easily escalated into a riot situation.

We also found it interesting that Mr. Klink & Mr. Gould claimed that there has been a meeting set up for July 8th between the two of them well prior to the Friday night home invasion and beating. If this was the case why did Mr. Wagner and Mr. Buchanan state they knew nothing about it and Mr. Wagner requesting to be present? That is sure bi-partisan isn’t it? There should be a representative from both parties present during the meeting. Two members of the board present at a fact-finding meeting break no open meetings laws.

Our first line of defense against the ‘typical Owasco crime’ is missing; parents taking responsibility for their kids. Our second line of defense is weak- our Town Justices and their slap on the hand sentences. Our final line of defense the Town Board has hidden their heads in the sand long enough. They need to implement codes under chapter 104 Peace & Good Order with mandatory penalties that the justices HAVE to hand down. They need to work with the school district to create and enforce laws for the school owned property where much of the delinquency stems from. We hope that rather than pushing for an expensive sewer district #3 that we most certainly cannot afford, they place their efforts and limited tax dollars to a solution to this problem.

Residents brought up everything from community watch programs to what amounted to peace officers and curfews. Calling the 911 center constantly for trivial annoyances hurts everyone. Repeated complaints from the same person will not be taken as seriously and response could be delayed. Should the town board decide to implement a police department, as Mr. Badman attempted two years ago, we hope they do it responsibly and not as another political plum job for a crony.

REMINDER: The regular monthly meeting of the Town Board is tonight the 2nd at 7:00PM.

'Fine'ally Today The DEC Meets With Officials

2008-06-27T11:12:00.005-04:00

The County Democratic Party is reportedly NOT happy with Mr. Klink and his Owasco Democrat minions. Is it any wonder as Kate Lacey the head of the Party worked for the DEC? We await the results of today's meeting with the DEC.

In the June 20th edition of The Citizen (http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/06/20/local_news/news06.txt) there was an article in which Mr. Klink once again referred residents to the Fire Department in the event sewage is flooding their basements. Mr. Klink what part of THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT PUMP SEWAGE DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?? The board has been told at a public meeting, by the Chief, they do not do this; do you think it is any less illegal if the fire department does the pumping? For future reference, flooded basements are to call the Highway Department. In the event the Highway Department is inundated AND a pilot light or electrical box is in jeopardy then the Fire Department will respond and take appropriate action. However, they will not pump sewage.

The proposed consent order has penalties of $500 per day up to 30 days, $750 per day from day 31 to 40, and $1,500 per day after the 41st day. Penalties enforced if the town doesn't meet its deadlines to fix the problem. We can only hope that Mr. Klink will not take the path of his mentor O’Leary who defied ANYONE who attempted to collect on or enforce fines in June of 2000. The action Mr. Klink allowed, even instructed was inexcusable. We know for a fact that in past incidents at the foot of the lake the town called in septic hauling trucks to remove the sewage and take it to another place in the line.

“This is the last piece in Sewer District No. 1,” Klink said in the article. Wow on 6/28/2002 The Post Standard ran a story headlined 'Sewer Work Nears End'. The article states ' Work on Owasco's Sewer District 1 is nearing completion, and past battles over the project are settling with the dust.' Twenty years Klink says they have been pumping sewage from the Melrose Rd. site, a couple times a year. How was this not addressed in the Rehab project that doubled residents sewer bills? It is not as though the Officials at the time were not aware of the problem. They mislead not only residents but the DEC, County Health Department, County Attorney AND the Legislature. Shame on them! Another campaign 'promise' flushed down the political loo.

Tues. Dec. 17th 2002 The Citizen ran a story in which the following was attributed to Mike Wilson, 'According to Wilson, the new pump station, part of the $2.6 million sewer project approved by residents in March, was designed to prevent any overflow in the sewer system, in particular, back-ups in homes.' Apparently the $2.6 million project failed because according to officials own statements they have been pumping twice a year and it was to protect residents property from sewage backing up into their homes.

On October 26, 2007 Mr. Klink is quoted in The Citizen as stating: “We have an obligation to protect that lake,” Klink said, noting the environmental and economic importance. Apparently he is not the environmentalist he claims to be. The same article states”… points to his work on sewer districts as one example of progress.” Sorry Mr. Klink, but band aid fixes and allowing known problems to fester for 20 plus years is not ‘progress’.The DEC's proposed solution tallies in at a cost of $1,022,000. (That’s $1,064.00 per household) Mr. Klink’s response to this was: “They're using a hammer for a mosquito,” Klink said. “It's important for folks to have a feeling for what we've done in the past. People in the town of Owasco have done a lot to improve the water and sewer system.”

Perhaps Mr. Klink would like to explain how every single thing done in the sewer districts was FORCED by the DEC, County Health Department and County Attorney with the support of the County Legislature. Just say the name Walrath around a democrat town official and watch the hackles rise and the glint of fire in their eyes. Additionally, we are certain that the residents who have suffered thousands and thousands in damages to their homes appreciate Mr. Klink’s above statement. Once again a problem is not seriously addressed until there is a potential for fines and the DEC is involved. If Mr. Klink wants a flyswatter for this ‘mosquito’ then maybe the Town should invest in a septic hauling truck of their own and be prepared to ‘suck and dump’ during every heavy rainfall or snow-melt.

Mr. Klink also pointed out the town had been working on Sewer Districts Nos. 2 and 3, including Burtis Point and Koenig Point, to provide water and sewer in an effort to prevent polluting the lake. Mr. Klink are you not aware that a water district and a sewer district are two different things? Water District #1 already serves residents to Koenigs Point and has for numerous years. (Remember that is how those homes in Niles are obtaining water. You remember now, no contract with Niles, ‘homemade hookups’ and absolutely no recourse to collect fees OR taxes on the users should they choose not to pay. ) Didn’t Environmental Facilities Corporation respond that Owasco was far down on the list for low interest loans for projects, because there are far less wealthy Towns ahead of Owasco? $4,198,990 is the estimated cost for that main trunk line. That is $26,245.000 per household BEFORE interest, grinder pumps and any needed pumping stations! Why is he continuing to pursue sewer district #3 and balking at the much smaller, less costly repair to sewer district #1?

In conclusion don’t expect to show up at the Town Hall on Thursday July 10th to hear about this meeting with the DEC. The regular monthly meeting was changed to Wednesday July 2nd at 7:00 p.m.

Pizza, Grilled Cheese and Politics

2008-06-15T18:43:00.005-04:00

One of our own town residents was given the rare opportunity to follow the President of the United States' weekly national radio address. We generally don't venture into the national politics arena this instance all but begged for it.

"Auburn schoolteacher Jeff Alberici will deliver the Democratic Radio Address, the Democratic Party's weekly, national rebuttal to President George Bush's radio address, this morning according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer's office.
Schumer said in a news release that Alberici, a father of three, will discuss how the current economic climate, from the rising cost of groceries to the skyrocketing price of gas, is negatively impacting families across upstate New York and the entire country.' ( The Citizen Staff Report 6/13/2008)

Mr. Alberici"s "address to the nation" was interesting to say the least. It may be unbeknownst to the entire nation, but here in the little berg of Auburn we know better. We are disappointed that he had such a rare opportunity to give a real picture of the ‘regular’ American and squandered it.

Newsflash, it is somewhat difficult to get ahead as it should be. At no other time has there been such self-servience. Too many expect, key word- EXPECT. Expect the government to fund social security, a war, social services, yet still allow for everyone to keep their current lifestyle with no personal sacrifice. Unless we consider swapping grilled cheese for the occasional ordered pizza a sacrifice. Those who lived through the depression and WW II are snickering in disgust, right? The entitlement generation is in full swing and it seems as though the only ones making ANY sacrifices are those who have loved ones SERVING ALL OF US in the war. Are we rationing? Are we cutting back? NO, No, no, the vast majority wants MORE, More, more… The American dream is steeped in sacrifice and earning ones due. It has only been in the recent generations that earning has turned to expecting. Expecting it to be easy, expecting to be handed the American dream.

Could it be a misrepresentation that his ‘wife returned to work’? She has been working right along with exceptions to maternity leaves. There has always been that second paycheck, we know because she has substituted for many of our children, often long-term. Both of them are in the taxpayer paid realm, please do tell how THEIR healthcare costs skyrocketed! OUR taxes certainly made up for any increase there, or don’t you read the remarks by the school board & Superintendent? He is out of touch with those who are truly struggling.

It is easy to see he learned his politics at Daddy’s knee. Another teacher/jock that has no business being in politics. Did Jeff thank Dad for his water bill increase? How about the sewer bill increase? Did he thank Dad for the years of financial mismanagement that lead to those increases? We bet thanks were given for being part of the board that illegally pumped sewage into the ditch to Hoopes Park pond so that young Mr. Alberici's home was one of those protected from the same fate as Ms. Dailey's. Did Jeff thank Dad for the fact that his solution for every deficit is to ‘bond it’? We bet the kids (Owasco’s future) will thank Grandpa in 2033 and beyond, when they are still paying for his part in those decisions, if they even stay in Owasco. Believe it when we say we could fill 3 more posts on all we have to “thank” the decades of Democrat leadership for in Owasco.

Isn't it nice that the new generation of Alberici kids can be involved in all those sports; there are many who cannot afford such extras. If you are hurting, tell the kids NO, it really gets easier every time you say it. Then put the mega bucks spent on sports into their college fund, problem solved. Speaking of which when was the last time the Alberici kids used the graffiti wall- oops, sorry, expensive lacrosse wall Jeff convinced the Town Board to install? Word on the street is that it is this summer’s outdoor movie screen.

Two teachers employed full time should not be feeling the pain nearly as badly as so many others are. He should have thought of the senior citizens, those on fixed incomes and those who cannot find full-time work or even jobs when he wrote his address to the nation. His pitched plight is insulting, especially in light of the hotly contested school budget vote. This may come as a huge shock, but the vast majority is noticing that it is harder to make ends meet. The economy didn’t just up and decide, 'let’s make it harder for middle class democrats.'

The teachers union is looking to block the property tax cap right? There was a HUGE issue Mr. Alberici could have addressed, that and the need for State mandated assessing at one equal rate at regular intervals. When their contract is up will their hands be out looking for the raise, looking to protect your very liberal benefits and retirement benefits? If Mr. Alberici wants to impress people, since he is obviously being groomed for some office or another, he should publicly state that he feels teachers should pay more into benefits and should forego or accept a lesser raise because they are aware of the “middle class” struggle. Let us see HIM do THAT!

We respect that you have a right to your opinions and perceptions, we can only hope you have the same respect for ours. It is odd though that Mr. Alberici has such a different perception of his situation from those looking in and asking what he has to complain about, he has it better than so many in today’s world, especially in NYS. Why doesn’t he seem to appreciate what he has? It is a make more, spend more; gimme society.

Change is NOT going to come from Democrat OR Republican leadership. It will only come from the people, the voters demanding it. Only when special interest groups’ influence is removed from the equation will there be change. (The teachers union is one of the most influential of those special interests groups) A vast overhaul is needed as both parties have their ‘groups’. Think about the enormous sums of money spent on elections, yes it is possible to buy political office. Apathy is also the downfall of our society. Perhaps the one good thing to come of the economic state of our country is millions are now taking notice and getting involved.

Mr. Alberici had a great opportunity to make well thought out statements that would have reached the ears of those in a position to make change. Instead he abused the privilege on partisan whining and finger-pointing.

Newsletter- Wow, just Wow

2008-06-04T19:35:00.001-04:00

Klink is sure making up for not writing for The Citizen. One of the first questions that popped into collective minds was is he campaigning already? We are truly grateful to see him put in writing the statement that being Supervisor has, “ truly been a learning experience for me.” Another lie? After all HE was the one who campaigned as the ‘experienced’ candidate, the candidate for the future of the children. NOW he basically admits that he wasn’t as experienced as he professed.

FYI Mr. Klink, it’s Lt. Mike Wellauer, not Wellman.

Nice that the Re-Cycling center will remain open, lets make sure it is managed properly in the future and instead of giving Councilman Wagner a public slap with that comment- thank him, we do. (What is a Re-Cycling center anyway? A place where bicyclists start over?)

Our next piece of advice is to stop perpetuating the whole sewer district # 3 pipe dream. The current sewer districts are running a deficit. Mr. Klink you have stated that repairs to sewer district #1 will be very costly, as will the fine for the illegal pumping. A third district is simply not affordable and we think if you ask the residents again they will agree. Between the cost of building materials, labor how much it raises the assessed value, and the actual use fees for the 150 residents it would serve; the proposal is not realistic and you need to tell the residents that. There are several waiting on new septic systems because YOU told them, and continue to, that this new district was forthcoming and being actively worked on. Are a few votes more important than the quality of the lake?

What the residents want in a Supervisors Report is what is happening that effects them financially. We went from hummingbirds and field patterns to campaign pieces. Tell us how & why the water & sewer rates were not maintained & what is the plan for the future. Tell us why we are running a deficit in nearly every account and how that will impact us. Spend our money on information not campaign literature!

The truck traffic report was another fluff piece we already read in newspapers and we must again ask if Ms. Clary is planning to run for office in town. We also were of the impression that Skaneateles started the truck traffic fight and Ms. Clary joined in with them. The good news is that with this development maybe we won’t have to sit through lengthy, name-dropping reports at meetings any longer!

Oh and didn’t we just read the exact same piece in The Citizen letters to the editor on the clean up day? What was the point of doing both?

Town Clerks- what a job 28 hours a week in the summer and 32 hrs. over the winter!

FYI newsletter proof people it is 2008.

Yippee- we get to pay more for water & sewer, and if your late a 10% penalty!

What the heck is up with the code enforcement report? Well, we know he can copy from a book! Now can he enforce the codes he copied or is he too busy? He doesn't report what he has been doing at meetings OR in the newsletter. Some of those codes have already been in the newsletter and all are online. We also note that he quoted a code that stated interior & exterior requirements. Of the literally hundreds of NYS codes, why pull out that one? Does he really think he can enter a residence to inspect it just because? Is this going to be the new form of harassment? We already have a Trash Nazi, do we now have a Codes Nazi? Bring a warrant with ya Mr. Doyle as there is this little thing called the 4th amendment. Oh, speaking of reduced hours, why is Mr. Doyle off on Fridays? He works for the Highway Department now (By the way is having Fridays off, working 10 hour days and being paid for 10 hour holidays in the highway workers contract?) or is this job conflicting with his real estate work, or his construction business with Mr. Wilson?

Mr. Wilson could you please write SOMETHING new?! YOU are a supervisor for crying out loud. At present YOU are a supervisor who has a great deal of answering to do. WHY has the recycling center been significantly in deficit for years? Why are you not doing the jobs YOU took on? What are YOU doing to correct the problem? When Badman asked questions and wanted change we recall he was told YOU were the only one who could make decisions, hire & fire in those departments, remember? Well in the next newsletter how about we get more information from the SUPERVISOR. If it were an election year you would be spouting off to the papers and mailing letters telling how you plan to do this and that. How wonderful and experienced you are. Guess it is a good thing now the recycling center was never expanded, imagine how many people it would take to run that, at our expense and you NEVER present unless the newspapers are planning to show up.

All this kind of makes you wish your water bill were late, eh?

On The Last Of May

2008-05-31T12:45:00.001-04:00

Greetings Informer readers, we want to begin by thanking all of you who read and comment on our site. Often times we receive comments that are requesting that we investigate a certain allegation and not be posted to the main page or comments pages. Thank you for your input as it only makes the site better.

Onto the latest news, we hope you all saw Mr. Klink’s Letter to the Editor in the Citizen on 5/29- http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/05/29/opinion/letters/letters03.txt. It was notable that the Town had a cleanup day, yet we find it unfortunate that the business at the Town Hall cannot be cleaned up as easily. Mr. Klink sure has his issues with trash. Apparently, it is easier to battle black flies and haul trash out of ditches than it is to balance the books and operate within a budget. Additionally, Mr. Klink commented on the large amount of trash collected from the Town Hall Road area. We do want to impress the FACT that reports of seeing the many bags lined along that road the evening of the cleanup; they were NOT even remotely full as he claimed. In fact more than half looked to only contain a few cans or bottles and a little trash. The detail that 50 people turned out for the event is notable enough without embellishing upon the amount of trash collected. We too hope the event will become a yearly event just without the number padding.

Speaking of cleanups, it has been 5 months and little of substance from our ‘leaders’ on the consent order or fines from the DEC for the sewage-pumping debacle. Other than mentioning that the corrective measures would be very expensive (so will the fine) we have heard very little. We truly feel for those in sewer district 1, the last thing they need is a larger sewer bill that could have been avoided if only the leadership had acted responsibly.

The American Flags once again line our main road, it is good to see the board keeping the tradition started at the prompting of former Supervisor Badman at the suggestion of town resident Helen Fromel. Read newspaper account here- http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/07/04/news/local_news/news03.txt

We suspect that the democrats are attempting to ‘buy’ the Hamlet with the decision to hire on two persons from the area as part-time workers for the town. A previously ignored demographic by our local democrats is now gaining new popularity. Perhaps it is due to the loss of Betty’s Lakeview as the morning coffee klatch. The morning political armchair quarterbacking has moved to The Store in the Hamlet. Interesting that the proprietor has benefited from this in the form of employment for his son. We also question the constant sale of motor vehicles on that particular property, most recently the town Clerk’s somewhat defunct truck. Two unregistered vehicles on the property, a commercial property at that…. Hmm were there not recently comments about this and how the code officer is not attending to the problem? We can imagine that the code officer will target, as the Democrat policy dictates, only certain people and other more ‘cooperative’ persons will have free reign.

It has not escaped the notice of several at the Informer that Mike Wilson is once again utilizing his personal vehicle for town business. A practice that he stopped upon the election of Merrill Badman, as did the submission of monthly mileage vouchers many totaling hundreds of dollars. The town has several pick-ups that are at his disposal, for a Supervisor of several departments, with every department operating at a deficit, it is negligent of him to return to the practice of using his vehicle for town business. The Town Board is equally negligent if they pay mileage vouchers to him.

We wonder if anyone views the tapes from the recycling center? Witnesses have reported seeing scrap metal ‘disappearing'. Last weekend a snow blower taken by an 'older' man, perhaps to repair and use? Also witnessed according to reports was what appeared to be two 17-20 year old boys and a girl filling their trunk with metal. We certainly hope our Towns' scrap metal is not financing alcohol or drugs for area youth.

Until next time, keep the tips coming.

May 8 Board Meeting

2008-05-14T21:10:00.003-04:00

Informer comments in BLUE

Let us begin with the statement that this meeting was less than an hour and incredibly no executive session.

No public comments

Public hearing on Local Law #2 Klink explained that the Town," has not updated, if you will, the Building & fire Code by law since 1984. Want to adopt the NYS B&F code. Our own code last altered in 1984." Perhaps Mr. Klink would like to recall that several codes were changed with the comprehnsive plan implementation & more in 2004. Klink then requested a motion to close the public hearing. Buchanan states concern that,"the option to appoint additional code officers could become political plum jobs and then potentially larger government." Doyle stated," we are working with another town with a municipal agreement type set-up." Buchanan asks if we have the option of appointing a fully trained inspector from another town why should we appoint an inspector or two who is untrained at cost to the town? Doyle responds, “I don’t think you would appoint an alternate inspector who has to be trained in my opinion.” There is some hipocrasy in that statement isn't there? Klink states he isn’t appointing any alternate anyway.

Shaw begins roll call vote while discussion is still going on, rather rude of him, yet nobody stopped it and for all Buchanan’s questions he STILL voted in favor of the changes. The Informer begs the question to Buchanan, since it was YOUR decision to remove the trained inspector why all the concern now over who is appointed and whether they are trained or not? Thanks to your decision, no doubt instigated by Klink & Alberici, we now have an inspector who is NEVER in the office, says he will look into questions & never gets back to the residents, has taken a vacation after only 3 months of employment, is now not working on Fridays and is the laughing stock because residents here cannot get answers because the code book is awful big. There is a multitude of construction going on (anybody see the monstrosity on the corner of Melrose & Oakridge with no permit visible?) yet, we never see our inspector inspecting anything. His vehicle is at home during his ‘work hours’ all the time. We seem to recall, Board members, (excluding Wagner) that the prior officer HAD to be in the office every day, so many hours a day. Keep a log of every activity and scrupulous track of mileage. So Mr. Buchanan where is all your fire & brimstone now? Why is Doyle NOT being held to the same standard as the prior officer? You were the only dissenting vote on Doyles' appointment, you should demand the same of him as YOU did of the previous guy, cronyism has always been a peeve of yours right?

Local Law #3 sewer rate increase without a public hearing. Recommendations from B&L. They want to be able to raise the rate by simple resolution. Need to raise rate to get out of the deficit situation we are currently in. Every year at budget time they will review the rate to see if needs adjusting. Public hearing on the budget. Joe Lattimore asked if they would still have a public hearing on increases and if the public votes on increases. Richardson stated that in order to raise rates now it takes 60 days, with this law the board can raise the rates immediately. Lattimore asked how the City increase would affect our rates. Klink replied that the board requested in a two page letter figures from the city needed to negotiate and have not received a response from them.

Communications- Owasco pride day a young man was using the bags to place his own trash in, caught by a police officer and was required to write an apology.

Dog warden Collier is responding better to calls.

Zoning- 3 variances & a special permit. In the process of updating our zoning code.
Supervisor's report- Klink states last month they started having staff meetings so every one is on the same page. Kim, John, Walt, Patrick, Rich. $6,000 for playground equipment in 2006 from Kolb & for whatever reason we never got it, all that has to be done is that the town purchase whatever equipment and Kolb will forward the funds. Also Kolb called a month ago when the State was putting the budget together and said there was $4,000 for Owasco what do you need it for? Rich, Art & John were meeting & they decided that it should be applied to water meters. Is this money not supposed to be used to benefit the entire town, not special districts?

Knaul was absent and in Indiana awaiting the birth of first granddaughter. Mike & Beth Wilson were absent and in Fla. celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. No mention of Laurel & the historian's report. Apparently along with all the other stuff Doyle isn’t held to as Code Officer he doesn’t have to give monthly reports either, even though he was present at the meeting. Maybe they should make Sennett's officer come and give the report.

Assessor’s report Kim Gridley - notices have gone out for any increases in AV. We have received only 4 calls since the notices went out. Most increases are due to new construction. If anyone needs to discuss their assessments or needs help filling out their grievance forms call, Linda or I can help them. May 28th is grievance day 4-8pm; we do not expect a big turnout forms turned in by May 21st to allow for attendance at the BAR. No one will be informed of changes at that time, you will be informed at a later date & if dissatisfied they can pursue a SCAR review. The informer would like to remind residents that they can file an article 7 instead of SCAR and use the Connor suit as precedent, it seems to be more effective, although not every resident is O’Leary’s son-in-law.

Newsletter/Website Lonna Vrooman- Newsletter items due May 22nd, per a memo you (Klink) sent out. Klink replies,”yes I did and I am cracking the whip.” This is the last possible day items can be sent in because in the past I would set a deadline and still be coming in 3-4 days after that to pick up items. Klink replied,” you will have it.” Lonna requested items be shorter because the water report is going to take up a lot of space even in a microscopic font. Website- Updated to include agendas as I get them. I have not received any minutes since March 24th. WHY? What is all the resistance to putting the minutes online? Vrooman continues that if possible getting agendas a day or two in advance... Shaw interrupts and states,” If I have them done 2 hours before the end of the day …” Klink states, “we are working on it.” Vrooman then expresses concern that often by the time she gets the agenda it is the day of the meeting and just a few hours prior. The last meeting had already begun by the time the agenda was received and posted. Shaw states,” we really don’t get it put together… “Vrooman replies ” it states right on the agenda that it is subject to change so they out to be covered if it does.”

Ed Wagner Water Quality Management- WQM office is having a household appliance drop off day for propane tanks, microwaves, cell phones for a five-dollar charge. Oct 4 household cleaners for recycling etc…Buchanan asked about the progress on the phosphorus dumping into the lake and Wagner replied that there has been little progress and the lawyers are working out the language.

Klink Owasco Lake Watershed Inspector Committee- is the committee that monitors what the steward is doing. Two seasonal watershed inspectors have been hired for 12 weeks to assist Jessica Miles allowing 24/7 coverage in the watershed over the summer. Jessica Miles relayed that Steve Cuddeback gave a presentation on his farming business and the no till planting method he uses. Where you make one pass over a field and the seed has been planted, fertilized and covered. They use 8 tenths of a gallon of gas per acre. This really reduces the runoff into the watershed. Buchanan asked how the seasonal employees were being paid and Klink replied that it was a grant from the Emerson Foundation. Then Buchanan asked about the truck and Klink told him that was a paper exchange. He also said that the Steward is really working out well. Nancy Taylor inquired if there was mention of the invasive weeds and Klink replied no, but she could inquire with soil & water. Taylor asked about the water chestnut weed that is so bad and Wagner replied he had asked about that and aerial views have not shown any.

Art Richardson had nothing from the playground committee. No surprise there.

Gino Alberici reported on Owasco Pride Day - 70 bags of garbage 17 on Town Hall Road alone. (To bad that some of those bags between Walker Road and Melrose had only a couple items. These were certainly not full bags and this could be another case of number fudging.) We felt it went very well. I am sure that when we meet next year we will make some changes. Klink stated that he was impressed that Gary Duckett & Jessica Miles attended and stayed through the opening event went out and worked.

Klink Truck Traffic report- I will keep short (highlights only of his ‘short’ 10 minute spiel the longest item of the night). Many of regional coalition members met with people numerous people in Albany to encourage them to understand what an important issue removing the truck traffic is. Then met with Barbara Lifton, who is supposed to be carrying the ball on this and they reiterated over & over what an invasion of upstate & the Fingerlakes these trucks are. That we need relief from this. He stated that we (the regional truck traffic coalition) have all been very disappointed in her (Rep. Lifton) because she wants to have another study by a blue ribbon panel and this issue has been studied to death.

Senator Schumer called Gov. Patterson about the situation & Patterson seems amenable to what is going on. There were two editorials in the papers, one in each paper and Klink says he took copies of each of them and sent them with a letter on Owasco letterhead to Schumer thanking him and a letter to Patterson thanking him for looking into it.

This summer Skaneateles is going to have a truck enforcement program with 2 additional officers and rotate shifts to stop garbage trucks. They will also have a meter now that will measure medical waste, nuclear medical waste. It has long been felt that nuclear medical waste has been being transported on these trucks. Now with the meter if this waste shows up as a smoking gun they can call the DEC and it would certainly strengthen our case.

April 25th Barbara Lifton had an editorial in the Ithaca journal that was really very, very disappointing. Klink wrote a personal letter to her, that in all this time nobody has politicized this and she did.

Cornell institute for public affairs had 4 students studying the traffic in that area. One finding in a cost comparison for a round trip between Seneca Meadows and Rte. 81 in Binghamton using the thruway was 238 miles 3hrs 56 minutes at a cost of $165.39, (most expensive.)

Least expensive route was Rte. 81 to Rte. 79 in Whitney Point to Rte. 96 in Ithaca to Rte. 20 to Waterloo is 185 miles 4hrs 46min and cost $135.43 cost difference of -29.96, yet takes 50 min longer than the most expensive route.

Ed Wagner -Recycling Operations Committee has not met since the last meeting where the 46,000 deficit was reported. The Center is to be audited by Cuddy & Ward (Per Klink, Dick Ward doing the audit himself on 5/23 and since Ed’s report they have recouped $13K in the last month and a half and expect to have the rest by the next meeting). Sounds like more fodder for the DA and State Police, if $46K can be recouped in 2 & 1/2 months! WHERE was the money going before Ed ‘discovered’ the ACTUAL deficit? A resolution was made to amend the 2007 budget to allow for the $3,500 reduction in M. Wilson’s salary for the center to be applied to payment of the newly hired gentleman who is to watch the dumpsters. According to Informer sources the gentleman is non-resident Charlie Gleason, though he is a long-time member of our fire department #2.

Resolution to hire Henry Barrette of Gawhiler Rd. (or is it actually Twelve Corners Rd. in Niles?) for part-time seasonal playground and maintenance work at $10.00 per hour. He will be doing work around the Town Hall, playgrounds and working for Mike to fill in for highway workers taking vacation. Where are Church & Reynolds the other 'seasonal' only workers?

The Informer questions how & why these particular men were chosen for the jobs? Nobody even knew there were jobs to apply for and why isn’t MIKE doing his JOB he accepted appointment to? The board keeps hiring people to ‘assist’ employees ( the Assessor, M. Wilson) who are getting great wages for already part-time jobs or allowing them to get away with NOT doing the jobs appointed to.(Doyle, B. Wilson)

Resolutions to maintain the current specific fees for building applications examples are decks & pools, sheds etc.

Resolution to adopt rate increase on sewer fees of $2.00 for minimum use & $1.20 per unit over 1000 units. Average users (2,500 units) will see an increase of about $5.00.

need to draft a resolution to create a local law to establish our solid waste facility (recycling center) Owasco recycling center is limited for use of Owasco Town residents and property owners only and no other persons. Also the board as a whole feels that if a small contractor is doing work for an Owasco resident who are doing yard work in Owasco can deposit the refuse at the center and they also need to update the local law to include the mulch as at the time the law was created the Town did not offer mulch. Rick (town attorney) is going to draft some language to see that the law encompasses all uses of the center.

The audit of claims all board members reviewed and resolution to approve abstract of unaudited vouchers, except #301. Voucher 301 is reportedly Doug Buchanan trying to get reimbursed (third attempt) for the $600.00 he paid for the mind-numbing full-page ad he placed last December.
Meeting adjourned.

Tidbits- revised edition

2008-05-02T20:36:00.002-04:00

Thanks to a couple of 'Informer's' we have additional information for you.

As we posted earlier, the Town board IS creating a local law to enable themselves to raise your sewer fees without the benefit of a public hearing. So should they pass said law you will get a nice letter stating your fees have increased. Though residents will be able to question the reasons why, chances are it will be only after the deed has been done. Considering all the mismanagement, we feel that all decisions should have public input.

5/8 LL#3 Sewers TOWN OF OWASCO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held by the Town Board of the Town of Owasco on May 8, 2008 at 7:00 P.M. at the Owasco Town Hall, 2 Bristol Avenue, regarding the adoption of Local Law No. 3 of 2008 of the Town of Owasco. Local Law No. 3 of 2008 will amend Chapter 116: SEWERS, Article VIII entitled Sewer District No. 1 and rename it Sewer Districts; amend Section 116-80 to include Sewer District No. 2 and any future Sewer Districts; and amend Section 116-82 to include future sewer districts and allow for the schedule of charges and rates for sewer service to be adopted annually or at any other time as determined by resolution of the Town Board. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that copies of said proposed Local Law are available for review at the Owasco Town Hall, 2 Bristol Avenue. By order of the Town Board of the Town of Owasco Dated: March 24, 2008 Robert A. Shaw Town Clerk of Owasco

Another legal ad:
5/7 Planning Bench TOWN OF OWASCO PLANNING BOARD LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Owasco Planning Board will hold a public hearing to review the Minor Subdivision plan submitted by Roy Bench, 5594 Buck Point, Auburn, NY, owner of the property in question, pursuant to Section 126-11 of the Subdivision Regulations of the Town of Owasco, relative to the minor subdivision, Oakridge Heights Phase III, Meadow Lane, Auburn, NY. Tax Map #123.08-2-2 to be turned over to the Town of Owasco. Copies of the Plan are available for review at Owasco Town Hall, 2 Bristol Ave., Auburn, NY. The subdivision plan will be reviewed at a meeting of the Planning Board to be held on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, 2 Bristol Avenue, Auburn, New York. Richard J. Knaul Town of Owasco Planning Board

Residents of that area this is your chance to voice concerns over the proposal. Drainage, wetlands, etc... Are the existing homes on the Avenues not flooded often enough? Can sewer district one handle more effluent? Has that area not been over built already?

Added 5/2/08 - Apparently the town wants to take over the retention pond on the Bench property. Mr. Bench is letting it go for back taxes so he does not have to fix what is wrong with it($50K by some estimates). Vitale cannot develop the adjacent property until the pond is corrected. Has this Town not bailed these developers out enough already? Wasn't it just last year that the Town took over a very large piece of property (Dickman) because it was swampy and of no developable value. Rather than leave it as the developers property the town takes it over and off the the tax rolls. Do these officials EVER think about consequences like liability if someone is injured on this town owned property or cost to the taxpayer for yet more property off the tax roll, while they are doing favors for their developer friends? Somebody should ask Mr. Klink how come the developments in the Oakridge Road/Stryker Ave. get all the breaks? Then ask WHY the nicest looking and planned development in town on Bevier has gotten nothing but harassment from the boards? Why doesn't the town offer to take over the part of the property at Woodlands that is having all the drainage issues and 'help' them out by fixing it so they can continue to develop? Could this be yet more favoritism on the boards part? No phone banks maybe, or signs in yards or on development property, donations? This will be another decision the majority of republican representatives will make without knowledge of the blatant favoritism? Klink and Alberici hide behind their fraudulent 'bipartisan tradition' as a means to get what they want for their buddies, the republicans have fallen for it every time.

Wake Up Buchanan & Richardson! How many times after the fact do you have to find out you were punked! Start asking questions BEFORE voting, we implore you both, the frustration of those who voted for you because of your promises of change is immeasurable.

On a similar note, WHO is going to do inspections? Our illustrious Code Officer hasn't been inspecting much since Mr. Wieman has been seen either out with J. Patrick or on his own. Oh, and doesn't Mr. Wieman have a few problems of his own in Sennett? By the way, where else can you get a job and 3 months later take a vacation!? We certainly hope he was not PAID during that time. It has also come to the Informers attention that people have called him with questions and he either does not get back to them or simply states he doesn't know the answer and the code book, "is awfully big!" Come on we are paying for him to do a job, not to support the democrats friends & family plan.

Lots of behind the scenes meetings of late. How is it that a gentleman who does not live in Owasco gets appointed to 'trash police'? No advertising, no discussion at a public meeting. Yet Mike Wilson isn't cut from the position? (he simply took a minimal cut in pay).More to add to the deficits? HELLO officials, while we do need the dumpsters monitored; we need a MANAGER far more to break even! Isn't it wonderful to have the grand pooh-bah of democrats at the helm?

Why are the highway workers on 10 hour shifts 4 days a week, especially already? Is that in their CONTRACT? What if something happens on a Friday, do we pay over-time? Are workers on call & if so are they paid on call pay?

Oh, said grand pooh-bah has also felt the need to leave certain elected representatives out of decisions, information and meetings (rather reminiscent of how Doug was treated). Is that not leaving a portion of the town without representation? It is also of note that pooh-bah has taken to placing the blame for proposed ideas (that obviously would not be popular) on certain elected representative(s). **So our advice to readers is that if you speak with an official and they 'credit' another with a proposal or decision, call that person to verify the information. Beware the fabricator whose leadership is so wanting he must make up tales so others look as bad or worse than he. Grasshopper learned well at the knee of O'Leary.

We can only hope the State Police & District Attorney will come in and take care of business the town leadership cannot or will not see to. Truthfully, at this point the leadership should be held criminally accountable also as they are aware of SO many problems and issues yet they DO NOTHING! Any action on their part would cut into the 'image' and the friends and family plan.
The final note we wish to leave you all with is that remember in 2009 when we will choose a representative to lead us, "bipartisan tradition" only counts when things are going the democrat way.

The only reason this stuff goes on is because WE allow it. We need to speak up & speak out against abuses of our tax dollars. WE can no longer be apathetic and not be aware of what is occurring right under our noses..

Maybe More Than Meets The Eye?

2008-04-23T08:33:00.003-04:00

Once again the Democrats have rallied ‘their’ supporters and have a new pocket pal reporter to ‘report’ on only what they want the public to know. http://www.syracuse.com/articles/cayuga/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1208768238326570.xml&coll=1

We must ask WHY some on the Town Board are so adamant they keep a service that has been losing funds for YEARS? What is the harm in looking into other options? If a person wants a new car, roof on their home, landscaping, snowplowing do they not shop around for the best deal?

Monday’s work-session was wrought with arguments & contention. Alberici had a total meltdown slamming his fists on the table and bellowing as only a former football coach can. Klink remains against even researching alternatives and Buchanan the windsock abstains. Was abstaining supposed to make people not get angry with him? Well, DUH!!! His vote was as effective in stopping legislation, as a NO vote would have been. Has the area we all have in our brains that tells us when something is total BS been eridicated by apathy? For the cost of a legal ad we could solicit bids and simply see if the service can be done more cost effectively. WHY THE RESISTANCE FROM Alberici & Klink, even Buchanan? It all seems a little odd and just begs more questions as to why this is so important to them.

The democrats count on the community’s apathy and ignorance of what is really happening. The democrats plan how much they can get away with because of apathy. If things are looking shaky, they call in their 'supporters' to give sound bites & write letters. Why do people approaching them as stated in the article carry more weight than those who write letters in favor of seeking options? Those people were willing to go on the record in letters as opposed to anonymous complaints and Klink & Shaw's opinion of what consitutes a large number of people. At what point will the public decide that they have swallowed about enough of the Democrats dictatorial BS.

Mike Wilson is paid over $500.00 a month to MANAGE the recycling center, a job he has NOT done very effectively. If he wants to keep this appointment then HE should be present at the center during its hours of operation. HE should be there writing receipts, keeping track of what gets dropped off, keeping track of the income. He does NOT want to do the job, as evidenced by his willingness to fore-go a whopping $3,500.00 of his salary to have other people to be at the Center when it is open to monitor the dumpsters. (How does Civil Service classify ‘Dumpster Police’) Now that works out to about 4 hours a week for someone to monitor dumpsters, so what about the other 6 hours the Center is open? Wouldn’t all of us like to get $14.00/hour to be the Dumpster Police? Didn’t the illustrious leadership just put us in the red even more because now there is increase in wages? 14.00/hr X 10hours a week X 52 weeks =$7,280.00 in yearly salary, for ONE employee to guard the dumpsters and there reportedly been ‘two young men’ there when the Center is open.

When people pay to drop items off the money needs to stop going into Ed or Steve’s pocket, and into the cash register ONLY with a reciept given. (This practice was still happening as of Sat. 4/19/08). Even if there is no impropriety going on it just looks questionable to the public. Common sense says that the scrap metal dumpster should be off limits as it is a source of income to offset the cost of operations. However, ‘dumpster diving’ should be allowed in the case of the other dumpster. People have paid to drop off many items in it and if someone comes along who wants the item let them take it! This is really a no-brainer as then the Town will pay less in tipping fees.

Currently the way the employees are presenting this to the public is ridiculous and meant to purposefully incite the public against seeking options. They are good little soldiers and of course don’t want to lose the personal ‘perks’ of the job. They don’t want to lose the tips people give them for loading mulch or helping them unload their trash. Isn’t there something in the code of ethics that says employees cannot accept ‘gifts’? Oh, doesn’t Steve also have a nice little business on the side picking up trash and does he take it to our landfill? Noooo, it goes right to our recycling center. You can’t miss him driving around town with garbage bags of all sizes & colors on his truck loaded to the hilt. He has been whining to everyone who will listen about the effect on his trash business. Residents ask how much he gets paid to pick up the trash at the town hall & firehouses? Why isn’t that in his job description & why is he paid extra to do that? How about his delivering mulch to residents for 20-25 bucks a load? HMmmm, we sincerely doubt that he shovels every truckload himself so is he using Town equipment to further his private business? Where is the liability in that? He is either working at his business on taxpayer time or is using the equipment after his hours when he is not covered under Town insurance. While we at the Informer have nothing personal against the employees, we do feel they have had free reign for far to long.

Why go to the trouble of appointing a committee to research the center if they are not going to be taken seriously or even given a chance to investigate options? This ENTIRE town needs to run like the business that it is. This is not the Democrats of Owasco, only friends & family need apply, it is the TOWN of Owasco and everyone should have a voice. If this were a 'real' business they would be holding a bankruptcy liquidation sale and annexing us to neighboring towns.

If Mr. Gero & Ms. Clary feel so strongly about the issue maybe they should volunteer to be Dumpster Police. Where were they with all their puffed up concern over the environment when raw sewage was being pumped into the ditch last December?

What is it that those who oppose even merely looking into alternatives are afraid of? Losing their gossip center, their campaign arena at election time? Could it be something more and perhaps less innocuous? Wake up people we need a tourniquet to stop the bleeding of funds and this administration has a fiduciary duty to US the taxpayer to seek out cost reducing measures. There has to be more to this than meets the eye as the vehemance in refusing to explore other options is bordering on irrational.

2007 Audit Findings

2008-04-16T11:09:00.004-04:00

Below is the text of the audit findings, unedited. We do have a few comments that will be at the end in blue.

Town of Owasco
Memorandum of Significant Deficiencies December 31,2007

1. The Sewer Fund Expenditures Were Significantly Over Budget
During our audit we discovered that the Sewer Fund had spent approximately $69,000 more than it had legally budgeted for. We recommend that the Town strictly follow its budget from year to year and to avoid this situation from occurring in the future. Due to the overspending of the budget, the Sewer Fund has a deficit fund balance of $6,331 at December 31, 2007. In addition as noted below in Comment #2, fund balances, that currently do not exist in the Sewer Fund, are being utilized to reduce the tax levy for 2008.

2. Improve Budgeting Procedures
The Town needs to address its budgeting procedures in the coming year. The Highway, Water and Sewer Funds have budgeted the use of fund balances in excess of current available amounts to reduce the 2008 tax levies for these funds. If actual revenue and expenses for 2008 approximate budgeted amounts, the fund balances for these funds will be in a significant deficit position at the end of 2008. Measures should be taken immediately to address this problem. Potential solutions include reducing, where possible, future expenditures and increasing water and sewer rates. The Town is also able to transfer additional funds from the General Fund to the Highway Fund to help offset any future deficits.

3. Improve Controls Over Recycling Center Revenue.
All incoming cash to the recycling center should be segregated by categories to better account for revenue. Currently there is no separation between bulk garbage dumping and revenue received from bagged garbage. The Town currently has a system in place to track the amount of bags utilized and the funds received for those bags. However, currently that system could be manipulated due to the lack of segregation of funds received and the lack of pre-numbered receipts being used consistently for bulk dumping or other miscellaneous receipts at the recycling center.

4. Avoid Overdrawn Cash Balances.
We believe that the Town's cash management and control activities can be improved, as evidenced by the overdrawn cash balance in the Water Fund at December 31, 2007. Although no checks were written that were returned by the bank for insufficient funds, all efforts should be made to avoid this occurrence in the future.

Additionally the audit shows that at year ending 12/31/07:

The Town under-budgeted $443,746.00 the General Fund, fortunately the money came in the form of sales tax revenue and left the General Fund with a year end balance of $76,635.00. **Remember, the town can transfer funds from the general fund to the highway fund to cover deficits per finding #2 above.
The highway fund was under-budgeted by $355,793.00 and ended 2007 with a deficit of $93,357.00. How would transferring money from the general fund helped? Doing so would have left one with a zero balance and the other still $16,722.00 in deficit!
The water fund was under-budgeted by $115,446.00 and ended 2007 with a deficit of $3,429.00. In March 2008 Barton & Loguidice reported from their study that the water fund is currently $103,664.00 in deficit.
The sewer fund was under-budgeted by $164,368.00 and ended 2007 with a deficit of $141,014.
The capital projects fund ended 2007 with a deficit of $187,200.00.
Note 2 states the town has a budget note payable. The town has a budget note outstanding in the sewer fund totaling $123,000.00 at Dec. 31, 2007. The note carries an interest rate of 4.5% and matures Oct. 2, 2008. Interestingly, this is not noted anywhere in the combined statement of revenues & expenditures page detailing the sewer fund.
Note 6 states deficit fund balance- the capitol fund had a deficit fund balance at December 31, 2007. The deficit will be eliminated as short-term debt is redeemed or converted to long term financing. The sewer fund also had a deficit balance at Dec. 31, 2007. The deficit is expected to be eliminated in 2008 with future revenue increases. (** This means tax & fee increases. Did it escape Cuddy & Ward that the water fund & highway fund were also in deficit at the end of 2007?)
The Towns long-term debt is reported as $5,736,000.00.

The auditors made comments in the findings pertaining to the recycling center, yet included NO documentation of the figures. Did they audit it or just take Wagner's findings as to what needs to be done to improve the situation? If this is an audit that Klink & the Board are pleased with we are deeply concerned. Correct us if we are mistaken, but having nearly EVERY fund in deficit is a BAD thing right??

Even more disturbing were the projected deficits for 2008 if action is not immediately taken Water approx. $200,000.00, Sewer approx. $300,000.00 and Highway approx. $350,000.00+. That is over 3/4 of a million in projected deficits!

Mr. Ward commented NUMEROUS times during the presentation of the audit that he was deeply concerned for the financial integrity of the Town. Is it us or are the Board members missing something? Is this not the most devastating audit to date? Fixing a few 'paper-work' problems from previous audits and reduce the number of findings all while dropping the ball and allowing the Town to fall into severe deficits is somehow better. FYI, it is not the number of findings that make an audit 'good' or 'bad', it is what is contained in those findings and how they impact the taxpayers bottom line that makes an audit devastating or not...

The First 100 Days

2008-04-12T22:15:00.003-04:00

Friday April 11th brought us the 100th day of Mr.'s Klink & Alberici's "competent leadership", "to regain Owasco's reputation, integrity, and respect." (source 2007 democrat campaign letter)Let's review the first 100 days...

January 2008
The Town Board was busy putting out fires in every direction. Public backlash for the pumping of raw sewage into a ditch that flows to Hoopes Park and recriminations for the ethnic slur made by the then acting Supervisor Buchanan. The DEC is investigating the sewage debacle and the town awaits fines & consent order continue to dog the Council. In an expensive ‘clerical error’ the water/sewer districts were under-billed on their taxes, resulting in the issuance of new ones. The Council switched banks in an effort to have more personalized business and not have to deal with automated operators. Yet, Mr. Alberici sits on the board for said bank and the Town Hall has an automated answering system!? Mr. Buchanan apologizes to the public for his ethnic slur, yet the apology is oddly absent from the minutes. Controversial GOB Patrick Doyle is brought back into the fold & coffers of our Town government with his appointment to Code Enforcement officer. We might add that there is some concern that Mr. Doyle's hours at the Town Hall are from 9-12pm M-F and he has not been there during those hours of late. We wonder if he must keep a detailed log of his workday, everyday? Where are the complaints about him?? The public learns that in spite of the new tax bills the tax levy for water/sewer remains under funded by tens of thousands.

February 2008
Newspaper accounts report the former Code Enforcement Officer filed a Notice of Claim against the Town. Several Town employees attended NYC trip though the public has never heard any reports on classes attended, how they plan to utilize what they learned or how much the trip cost. Bottom line- officials, it’s dollars & cents now, if the cost cannot be justified as beneficial to the public you serve perhaps the yearly migration for a few days of classes, fine dining, clubbing & shows should be eliminated. Residents were made aware of the bridge on Town Hall Road that has been yellow flagged and in need of repair, under normal circumstance this would be no big deal, however, the officials have been aware of this four long years! Mike Wilson’s title under Civil Service was changed to Superintendent of Public Works to cover for all his appointed job titles. Why not just spread the wealth and appoint other employees to the positions of Water Supervisor, Sewer Supervisor, Recycling Supervisor and Playgrounds Supervisor. Aside from recent revelations that Mr. Wilson’s management skills are less than sufficient, the informer has long maintained that there are too many eggs in the Wilson basket, and that may come back to haunt our officials.

March 2008
Ahhh… beware the Ides of March. Our water fund is reportedly $103,664 in the red and has been for several years (water rates have not increased since 1992). Now rather than incrementally increase the rates to cover the costs of operation the water district is being hit with a near 46% increase. Then there is the issue of the Civil Service test, a backhanded attempt to get rid of a kind and decent person who genuinely needs the job? The Informer knows of several people interested in taking this test, yet when the County Civil Service office is called to inquire as to when the test will be offered they claim to not know about a test and to check back every couple weeks! As a matter of fact, until the Commission gets the minutes making the resolution for that to be a competitive position they can take no action. Odd, since it has been maintained by Klink that this was a requirement of Civil Service. Why don’t they just resolve to return it to two part-time positions and have the issue done with?

Our town has been ‘studied’ to death. Town Hall Road bridge, the water deficit problem, the Melrose Parkway sewer overflows and yet another audit all totaling some $40K or better. We also adore the Town Boards creative spook-speak. The six homes in the Melrose Parkway area will have back-flow valves installed to prevent any further overflows as a temporary fix at Town expense. “At Town expense”, which the town Board relies on to imply that it costs nothing to the residents(the six directly affected). Residents really are not that stupid, simply put we ALL pay for yet another Band-Aid repair to a crumbling system that the Board should have addressed back with the Sewer District 1 rehabilitation. What happens when the next six, eight or ten 'weak' spots move during the next heavy rainfall and it backs up into new basements? “The problem became worse in the last couple years,”(in reference to the water fund deficits) another prime example of spook-speak. The definition to this is to imply once again everything was just primo prior to former Supervisor Merrill Badman’s 14-month stint. WE ARE SICK OF THIS TIRED EXCUSE! What we have come to realize is that Mike O’Leary was the master puppeteer. He knew how to transfer funds to cover deficits and pretty much remain under the radar doing it, (except getting caught by the comptrollers office in 1999 for transferring funds and not repaying them with interest). O’Leary would just state,” here is what I did”, and the Board would vote it through. The democrat arranged ‘public outcry’ on the assumed belief that Ms. Wilson was the end all and be all of bookkeeper’s returned her to the position. It does make us wonder though, why we have witnessed only more errors and incompetence. Another reason to believe O’Leary was pulling all the strings and Ms. Wilson just plugged the numbers in where she was told.

April 2008

April brought more concerns about the causes of the deficits within the recycling center. The Audit for 2007 was also reported and we will deal with that in our next posting.

Mr. Klink, Mr. Alberici & Mr. Buchanan simply must stop passing the buck of blame onto Badman’s administration. All three of them have been on the board long enough to take their share of responsibility for their lack of participation in the processes of governance. It takes more than one vote for legislation to pass, it takes some independence and self-initiative on each councilman’s part to fully understand and investigate every decision brought before them. After some 30, 9 & 7 years respectively, these three board members should have a better understanding of how to run the town. Personal agendas, vendettas and purposeful ignorance have no place in our leadership. It is no wonder our Town is facing serious financial trouble & we are almost afraid to see what the next hundred days bestows upon the taxpayers.

Minutes Seriously Lacking

2008-04-06T20:52:00.005-04:00

Is it any wonder our town is in the financial mess it is in? An Internet search for information on when the soon to be competitive test for the water billing/assessors assistant job would be offered gave information for a whole new post. The search turned up minutes from the Town of Owasco website and wow, very little on what was searched for BUT…… the minutes from the 3/13/08 & 3/24/08 meetings are online. So we will deal with that for now and post information on the civil service test at a later date.

The minutes of 3/13/08 & 3/24/08 discuss the water rate increases, here is what is interesting, they both show the increase of three cents for the watershed inspector to be applied as follows:0-1000 cubic feet $12.00 to 12.30, 1000-10,000 cubic feet $1.20 to 1.23 & over 10,000 cubic feet .60 to 63 cents.

Then they go on to apply the new rate increase & the three cents for the watershed inspector to be as above and then as follows $17.50 to 17.80, $1.75 to 1.78 & $1.31 to 1.34. Okay, we don’t know how far in advance these guys get their copies of the minutes to review for approval, but the same error appearing in ‘approved’ minutes less than 2 weeks apart? FYI- 12.00 to 12.30 and $17.50 to 17.80 are THIRTY CENT INCREASES, not three cents as resolved. Perhaps just another clerical error like the tax bills and the now infamous 40% raises of O’Leary’s last budget, but jeez a little attention to detail please. Oh, and WHY were Flemings rates conspicuously left out of the minutes? Could it be, because they are STILL paying less than Owasco residents?

Now the meeting of 3/24 includes a report that the DEC recommends Owasco stop issuing building permits for the woodlands development. Why, what were the details? We wonder how all the lot owners who have yet to build feel about this? Do we have a new ‘possible litigation’ for executive session?

The Board also formed a committee of Buchanan, M. Wilson & Wagner to ‘review the recycling center.’ Why don’t we form a committee of foxes to count the town's chickens for us? Wagner is the only trustworthy one in the lot, he started the investigation & he should have reliable people working with him. Buchanan has been on the board since 2002 and operates without rhyme or reason, he basis his decisions on whether your his friend at that moment. Decisions we think he would be dead against he votes for and visa versa. Wilson’s incompetence is the reason we are having the deficits in the first place. Here is a clue – contract an audit of the place and not Cuddy & Ward. Speaking of which, how come none of this was addressed in their previous audits of the Towns ‘internal controls’?

The minutes are a farce, nothing more than a manipulation of what occurred at the meetings. Maybe the board feels it is insulating itself from public criticism by not accurately reporting the meetings, but this will come back to bite them when a record is needed and they can’t provide one. There was nary a word about “Gino’s boy’ (Klink's term not ours), Jeff Alberici, and his public comments. Sure it mentions residents questioning the Connor lawsuit but the meat that it was O’Leary’s son-in-law was missing as was the amount of the reduction to $375K. The disclaimer that the Civil Service Department ‘directed’ the town to give M. Wilson a title that was encompassing 3 different titles when it was pointed out to be questionable under NYS Law, but then so is extending water districts without a public hearing (within the town lines) and extending them to other municipalities without a hearing OR a contract. They left out in the reporting of Ms. Saxton’s question that valves to prevent overflows to those six homes were being installed ‘at town expense’. They are awaiting word from the DEC and that a small pumping station would have to be placed at the corner of Melrose Parkway & Archie Streets. That the repair was going to be very costly. A whole lot more than “Klink stating they are working on a solution’, isn’t it?

For goodness sake, this is a legal document, a record that will stand for generations to come. What happens 20 years from now when a future Town Board of 'Owasco's Children' need to look back on a 38 year contract (Fleming) or why a code was implemented or the background on a lawsuit and all they have to rely on are manipulative, inaccurate minutes?

Too Embarrassed To Defend?

2008-04-03T17:14:00.005-04:00

Where did all the Klink & Company supporters go?

Comprehension Problems

2008-03-30T07:59:00.002-04:00

The latest legal ad:
'3/31 Special Board Mtg. TOWN OF OWASCO NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING In compliance with Chapter 511 of the laws of 1976, Article 7 of the Public Officers Law, entitled "Open Meetings Law", effective January 1, 1977, the following notice is given: A Special Town Board Meeting of the Town of Owasco Town Board shall take place on Monday, March 31st, 2008, at 4:00 P.M. at the Town Hall, 2 Bristol Avenue, Auburn, New York 13021. To hold an executive session in order to discuss personnel and possible litigation. Robert A. Shaw Town Clerk'

The Town Board must love getting beat up on this blog for their inability to follow open meetings laws. Have they ever read the laws they publish as being in compliance with?

A public body CANNOT schedule an executive session! An executive session can ONLY be convened from an open public meeting after a majority affirmative vote of the board.

'Possible litigation' is not a legal reason for entering into an executive session. If that were the case NO meeting would ever be open to the public, as everything that transpires at any given meeting could 'possibly' lead to litigation.

As posted before, they MUST state WHAT the litigation is before entering executive session, IE: Disgruntled Citizens v. The Town of Owasco. That gives away no legal strategy and let's the public know it is a LEGAL reason for the session. http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/otext/o3654.htm

Personnel issues are another ambiguous reason to convene an executive session. Courts have upheld that the convening board MUST state the 'issue', but do not need to identify the actual person. Example; I make a motion to enter executive session to discuss the disciplinary action of a particular employee, or I make a motion to enter executive session discuss the employment history of a particular employee.

The Town Board & Attorney may find this site very useful: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/advisoryindex.htm

As a friendly reminder, ONLY the topics that were stated as the reason for the executive session can be discussed in said session. Anything beyond that MUST be discussed in open meeting and council members or the attorney should stop the discussion and suggest they stick to the topic that brought them into the session or return to the public meeting.

These are really not difficult rules to understand OR follow. Why does our Town Board seem to have such a problem with them? Why does the Town 'appear' to have so much litigation? Why are decisions seemingly never made in these sessions, as evidenced by the lack of information or votes taken in front of the public after the meeting. It only amplifies the public opinion of 'closed door meetings.' If the elected officials want us to believe they are being honest & up front with the public they should start walking the walk...

Water Deficit Options

2008-03-29T01:36:00.001-04:00

It often seems as though the most obvious solutions are the most elusive to our elected officials. We are facing serious deficits in our water & sewer funds and while increasing the rates paid is often the easiest way to stave off deficit it is not the only solution. Since Mr. Wagner appears to be listening to the people and actually taking a good hard look at the background of problems we offer these observations to him and any other official who cares to pay attention.

Water reports for the years 2004 to 2006 the treated water unaccounted for from the water plant was 47,229,593 gallons. This totals $75,764.04 in lost revenue over those years.

If the unaccounted for water into two groups, necessary loss & unnecessary loss, correcting some of the problems would be easier. The reports claim the losses are from bulk water, flushing hydrants, leakage, flushing mains, fighting fires and emptying storage tanks for cleaning.

Unnecessary loss would be bulk water, leakage, flushing mains & hydrants and cleaning of storage tanks. Solutions for these losses could include; a meter at the bulk water fill station would allow for that water to be included in the tally and give a basis for fee increases in the bulk water. There was no mention of that increasing, so when was the last time the fee there was increased? (For those who are unaware of this reference to bulk water, we are referring to those who fill tanks at the Water Plant and fill wells, pools or water livestock.)

When flushing mains & hydrants utilizing a portable meter would account for the loss in those areas. We know that the water tanks hold 500 gallons & 200 gallons so on the occurrences that they are emptied for cleaning can they not be drained back into the system or accounted for in a log book? Identifying leaks after other measures are taken to account for what is currently lost water should be easier. Then identify the leaks & repair them.

Fighting fires and fire training would have to fall into the necessary loss area, since there would be no time to affix a meter to a hydrant to note how much water passed through it. Fortunately for Owasco residents we have relatively few fires and the Department does hydrant training only a few times a year.

Short of those measures, which would require minimal extra effort on the employyes part, increasing fees for water recipients to cover the average yearly loss of $25,255.00 worth of treated water could surely help with the deficit situation. Also keep in mind that those figures were based on the $1.20/ 100-cu.feet fee. At the new rate the average dollar loss will be closer to $35,595 per year. Watching the bottom line, dollars & cents that's what it all comes down too. Eliminating every unneeded expense is a foremost priority when costs for everything are skyrocketing and wages are not keeping up.

Water Rate Increases

2008-03-28T14:08:00.005-04:00

March 27th Post Standard had an article about the water rate increases
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/cayuga/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1206608271162850.xml&coll=1
What 30% increase? A person does not need a degree in teaching to figure out that the minimum use increase is 45.83%. The increase for 1000- 10,000cu.ft. is also 45.8% The increase for greater than 10,000cu.ft. appears to be approximately 118.3%, based on last known figure of 60 cents per 100cu.ft. There was also no mention of the additional three cents for the watershed inspector that was brought up at the Board meeting. Is it any wonder the Town finances are in a shambles?

Mr. Klink should have stated that water rates had to be raised to STOP the water department from running a deficit, rather than to keep the department from running a deficit? The water department has been & currently IS running a deficit. What kind of management has this town had that water rates have not been increased in 16 years? The cost of purification supplies must have increased several times, the yearly wage & benefit increases for employees, maintenance of equipment and water lines, costs of fuel & insurance on vehicles to read meters all HAD to have increased substantially in 16 years.

Some of our officials apparently think they are serving a town of morons. Mr. Klink & the board at the March 13th meeting stated that the problem with the deficits had become worse over the last couple years. Thus implying that, once again, a former supervisor in 14 months created this avalanche of mismanagement and deficit. At some point Mr. Klink HAS to acknowledge HIS culpability in our current problems, not only for decisions made by him over several decades, but also for putting his political aspirations and lack of objectivity before the good of the residents. A harsh assessment, but valid, since HE presented himself as the experienced candidate with the knowledge and leadership skills to ‘restore Owasco’s reputation.’ All we have seen from him are poor judgment, protecting cronies, favoritism and mismanagement.

On a similar note, why suddenly are officials pushing for the automated system for meter reading? This very topic was broached on Feb. 9, 2007 with a recommendation to go to automated meter reading devices and software that was ignored. (http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/02/09/news/local_news/news08.txt) The sudden desire to do what was proposed over a year ago leads to speculation that perhaps the problems with the water billing are not as rectified as we have been led to believe. Perhaps Mr. Klink just wants to take credit in the future for having the initiative to upgrade the ancient system and move it into the correct century.

Does Owasco have a contract with the Town of Niles as per Town law & State Law? Twelve OR SO homes in Niles, does that imply that the officials really don’t know how many homes have connected into the water supply off Koenig’s Point? When did Owasco’s water district extend into Niles? Are those recipients being charged ad valorem taxes? Do those homes have Owasco installed water meters read at least yearly by an Owasco employee?

What is Flemings’ increase going to be and will it follow Town law & State law this time & be more than Owasco residents pay & involve payment to the ‘rainy day fund’, and capitol improvements?

It would behoove Town officials to take a good long look at general municipal law articles 5-A, B & C http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS.
Reading Chapter 144 of Town Code in regards to water wouldn’t hurt either.
http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/codebook_frameset.asp?t=tc&p=0921%2D144%2Ehtm&cn=371&n=[1][49]

The time has come to tell the public the bottom line, we have the right to know.

Civil Service Test - Since When!

2008-03-23T04:43:00.000-04:00

The following resolution was voted on at the last meeting of the Town Board:
To establish as per the Department of Civil Service Commission the
Position of Data Collector / Account Clerk with the jurisdictional class
allocation being competitive.

Mr. Klink had stated that this was due to Mr. Buchanan’s decision to make the position a full time placement. How could Mr. Buchanan make that decision without the rest of the board weighing in on the subject? Why not just return the position to two part-time appointments? Could this be yet another attempt to ‘get rid’ of a worker in order to be able to fill the position with another crony? Why is it that NO other appointee has had to take a test, appointments fall under Civil Service non-competitive? It shall be of interest to see just who takes the test, AND who gets chosen from the top three candidates.

With all the workers for the Town that wear multiple hats, how is it that this one position is targeted to be the ONLY one that requires a competitive civil service test? Consider the following positions each held by ONE person:
1.Deputy Clerk, Deputy Tax Collector, Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics, Planning Board & Zoning Board Secretary,
2.Bookkeeper, Budget Officer, Justice Clerk
3.Highway Superintendent, Supervisor of the following departments; Water, Sewer, Recycling & Playgrounds.
4.Deputy Clerk, Constable
5.Water Billing Clerk, Assistant to the Assessor (the position, & ONLY position in Town government, now requiring a test)

Now consider he following civil service tests, or provisional appointments, currently being offered:
http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/civilservice/BldgInspProv08.html Code Officer

http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/civilservice/BusinessMgr08.html Business Manager

http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/civilservice/Clerk08.html Clerk

http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/civilservice/GenHwySupv08.html General Highway Supervisor

http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/civilservice/RealProp08.html Real Property Tax Service Specialist

Citizen Article on Trash

2008-03-21T10:39:00.002-04:00

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/03/19/latest_news/latestnews03.txt
The Citizen reported on Mr. Wagner's proposal for curb-side pickup of trash rather than utilizing the recycling center.

Our first question is why does an interview with Mr. Wagner necessitate the 'babysitting' services of Mr. Alberici?

Mr. Alberici is quoted as stating; “There are definitely things that need to be tightened up,” said Gino Alberici, town councilor. “Deficits are being addressed. I credit Ed for the investigative work that he's done, although I'm not in total agreement with all the figures. " Why is he questioning Wagner's figures and not the bookkeepers? She has already had flawed figures for the water budget so that the tax levy was wrong. She made the 'clerical error' that necessitated new tax bills be sent out at quite a significant cost. Why is she right and Wagner's figures are suspect?

This leads us to our additional questions, Mr. Alberici has been serving on the Town Board since 1999, Mr. Klink since the late 70's and even Mr. Shaw was a councilor for a good while prior to becoming Town Clerk, WHY has a gentleman in office less than 4 months discovered such inconsistencies that have apparently escaped the others? The public was told over & over during the last campaign that these people were the experienced choice, why are we not seeing any forward progress?

Things that need to be tightened up?! Things?! What the heck is that?! The whole Town needs to be put under a microscope, residents should DEMAND no less. WHY are we paying people to do jobs they are NOT doing?

The article also noted;
"Improper trash dumping has occurred during the recycling plant's hours of operation. Making sure the supervisor of public works is at the plant will correct the problem. The town needs to tighten controls on non-residents depositing trash illegally at the center. The center's cash transactions were not strictly accounted for, nor receipts systematically given, yet the state requires them. Bulk dumping and blue bag dumping funds need to be separated. Inaccurate tracking of recycling vehicles' fuel consumption, despite a card system put in place to record fuels used, gives rise to the need for a monthly report to the board. Wagner factored previously unaccounted costs into the bookkeeper's 2007 recycling report."

The findings are disgraceful, where are our elected officials? When Mr. Badman first brought up the trash bag increase, we can remember Mr. Alberici being vehemently against it because, ' the Center is a service never intended to be a money-maker.' Was it intended to be a money pit? The 50 cent bag increase brought in an additional $18,555.00, what IF the increase had not been implemented as Mr. Klink & Alberici wanted? The money has to come from somewhere. Where it comes from to cover the losses we have yet to figure out.

What this amounts to is an ongoing, VERY long-term lack of bookkeeping, monitoring and supervision. Note the following comment by Wagner in the article, 'He said the town was losing money in recycling, water billing, and sewer billing.' Would resident's PLEASE wake up! What is the common denominator here? Who is in charge of ALL three departments? STOP paying for a title and get people who will actually do the jobs! We also feel that if the bookkeeper/budget officer cannot correctly maintain the books or project the revenues/deficits perhaps it is time to look into a firm that can handle the work. Our elected officials MUST start looking at the dollars & cents bottom line and NOT who is whose friend or supporter. This is supposedly one of, if not the wealthiest towns in the County, and decades of substandard leadership have us bonded to the hilt. The answer to every shortage is 'bond the money'. It is even more clear than ever that, much like kids playing house, our officials are playing at running the Town. This isn't a game, there are no 'do-overs', we need fiscal responsibility now more than ever. Unlike Town employees, most of us are facing job loss or pay cuts and increasing co-pays, few get yearly 4% wage increases. it is no longer a matter of wanting fiscal responsibility it is a matter of needing it.

Kudos Mr. Wagner for bringing this to the forefront.

Update on Connor Article 7

2008-03-18T13:13:00.000-04:00

In Dec. 05 the property was purchased for $540,000.00. In May of 2007 the owner appeared before the BAR requesting a reduction to $328,000.00. The grounds of his complaint were that he realized after purchasing the property he paid too much for it, the purchase was made out of nostalgia as he had grown up in the area and wanted a place on the lake. He explained he had to buy a new vehicle to get in & out of the driveway; there were 50 steps to the lake. The owner provided a bank appraisal for $570,000.

The BAR felt that his purchase price indicated the fair market value to be $540,000.00 (he paid $95,000 over the assessed value). That coupled with a bank appraisal of $570,000.00 made the BAR reluctant to offer a reduction but they did in the amount of $40,000.00 on the house.

The owners then took the Town to court in an article 7 (tax certiorari suit) filed in 7/07. In the court papers they contested on the grounds that (per court filed documents):

‘The assessment is contested generally on all applicable grounds and further alleged that it is erroneous as excessive, overvalued, unlawful (illegal) and unequal on the following grounds, among others:

The assessment violates the Equal Protection Clauses of the United States and New York State Constitutions as the assessment was not based on a policy applied even-handedly to all similarly situated property with the Town and the assessment exceeds the fair market value of the property.

The assessment is unequal in that it has been made at a higher proportionate valuation than the assessments of other real property on the said assessment rolls of the Town of Owasco made by the same officers for the tax year 2007/08. Petitioners specify as the instances in which inequality exists, the assessments of all real property made by the same officers in the Town of Owasco for the aforesaid tax year. The assessment is excessive because it is greater than the fair market value of the subject property. The assessment is unlawful and/or illegal as the Assessor and/or Board of Assessors has included within the assessment non-assessable and/or non real property items, thereby violating Real Property Tax Law Section 300, and the New York State Constitution.

Your Petitioners are aggrieved and have been or will be injured by said unequal, unlawful and excessive assessment and will be required to pay a greater amount and proportion of taxes than would be required if the said assessment had been just, lawful and equal. Such illegal, unjust, unequal and excessive assessment will subject your Petitioners the payment of more taxes than they are legally required to pay.

Heretofore your Petitioners caused to be filed with the Board of Assessment Review for the Town of Owasco a due and timely complaint, notice of protest or grievance requesting that said assessment be corrected and reduced and the Board of Assessment Review did not reduce the assessment or reduced the assessment to an amount that remains unequal, excessive and illegal; therefore, the Respondent failed and refused to make such correction as requested.

We find the Town Boards settlement of this property in the tax certiorari suit to be out of character for a board that normally litigates until the opponent runs out of funding or is denied through the courts (which this case most certainly would have been). The reason offered at the February board meeting was that they wanted to avoid a long expensive trial. At the March meeting that reason was again given and stated that the board & the Assessor were in agreement with the reduction. (Too bad they didn't feel that way with so many of the lawsuits in the past) Even more questionable is the reduction to $375,000. That is a $165,000 reduction!

Consider please that in 2004 approx. 197 residents grieved between 20 & 30 were reduced. Fewer went to SCAR proceedings and VERY few were reduced. In 2005 approx. 116 property assessments were grieved, of those about 32 were reduced and generally only about $10,000. A couple reductions were in the 30-50K range. Needless to say NONE were of the amount the Connor’s received.

Also consider that under the (per court filed) stipulation agreement (amounts rounded) the County has to refund $1,664.85, the College $14.85, Seymour Library $82.50 and the school district $3,550.85 for a total of $5,438.30 that other Owasco residents will have to make up in the future. The Connors DID waive the right to refund from the Town of Owasco.

Both parties further agreed to abide by RPT section 727, basically prohibiting change in assessment following litigation for three years with a few exceptions and the Connors agree to not file for further review for reduction for the same amount of time.

Be it further noted that there were NO appraisals filed by either party indicating an outside judgment of value for the property. Odd since so many other residents who fought their assessments had very expensive appraisals showing their properties value to be much less than the assessor determined and that made NO DIFFERENCE. On the flip side others were told that had they provided an appraisal showing a lesser value the BAR would have considered it.

The precedent that the board has set is to skip over SCAR proceedings and go directly to an Article 7 after the BAR hearing. They also have given every single resident ground for reduction stated right in the Connor paperwork as highlighted in red above. The Assessor has lost her grounds for assessing by purchase price as fair market value, a tactic she used repeatedly in 04 &05. Of course it would be beneficial to have Mike O’Leary as your father-in-law, no matter how much the board denies preferential treatment. Please, tell us when the cronyism will stop…

Additional Information Re: Town Meeting

2008-03-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry, inadvertently left out a couple items from the 3/13/08 meeting.

There is a new erosion control plan for small home-site construction that will need to be filed with building permits if there is to be the removal of soil.

Earline Sorenson was appointed to the County Planning Board as our Town representative.

Appointments to recreation committee: 1 year term- Sandra Sheridan and 5 Year term- Michele Locastro-Rivoli.

Audit of Payments & Claims - not made public, but the public was assured each one is reviewed by all 5 board members.

Perhaps this is as good a place as any to address the ongoing 'excuse' of entering executive session for "litigation". According to Robert Freeman from the Committee on Open Government the following advisory opinion was issued and is pertinent.

OML-AO-3654
July 10, 2003
The staff of the Committee on Open Government is authorized to issue advisory opinions…. proper motion for entry into executive session under §105(1)(d). That provision authorizes a public body to conduct an executive session to discuss "proposed, pending or current litigation."
As such, a motion to conduct an executive session must include reference to the subject or subjects to be discussed, and the motion must be carried by majority vote of a public body's membership before such a session may validly be held. The ensuing provisions of §105(1) specify and limit the subjects that may appropriately be considered during an executive session.
"It is insufficient to merely regurgitate the statutory language; to wit, 'discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation'. This boilerplate recitation does not comply with the intent of the statute. To validly convene an executive session for discussion of proposed, pending or current litigation, the public body must identify with particularity the pending, proposed or current litigation to be discussed during the executive session" [Daily Gazette Co. , Inc. v. Town Board, Town of Cobleskill, 44 NYS 2d 44, 46 (1981), emphasis added by court].

The emphasis in the passage quoted above on the word "the" indicates that when the discussion relates to litigation that has been initiated, the motion must name the litigation. For example, a proper motion might be: "I move to enter into executive session to discuss our litigation strategy in the case of the XYZ Company v. the Town of Brighton." If the Town Board seeks to discuss its litigation strategy in relation to a person or entity that it intends to sue, and if premature identification of that person or entity could adversely affect the interests of the Town and its residents, it has been suggested that the motion need not identify that person or entity, but that it should clearly indicate that the discussion will involve the litigation strategy.

Only by means of that kind of description can the public know that the subject matter may justifiably be considered during an executive session.

So we hope that the Town Board and it's Attorney take this under advisement and follow correct procedure in the future. Additionally, when a topic is brought up in executive session that does not belong there or is apart from the stated reason for entering into executive session, it is up to the attorney or a council person to state such and cease discussion until the meeting is re-convened in the public forum. We at the Informer are VERY concerned that Owasco has enough litigation that it requires better than an hour at each meeting or workshop to discuss. Especially since no decisions appear to be made in these sessions. If a decision is to be reached the Town Board is to reconvene the meeting and then vote on the decision IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC.

Wagner's Solid Waste Study

2008-03-15T14:46:00.001-04:00

SOLID WASTE STUDY
Prepared By: Ed Wagner
March 2008

Due to the changing market place, elected officials have a fiduciary responsibility to evaluate services governments provide to their community. Solid waste and recyclables is a significant service that the Town of Owasco provides.
The objective of this report is to review the cost associated with residential refuse collection services presently provided by the Town of Owasco and to ensure the highest quality of service for the lowest possible cost.

Recycling 2007 yearly report
THIS REPORT WAS GIVEN TO THE BOARD FOR THEIR REVIEW

REVENUE: (per bookkeeping records)

REFUSE AND GARBAGE CHARGES $83,190.65
SALES OF REFUSE FOR RECYCLING $5,958.54
TOTAL REVENUE $89,149.19
EXPENDITURES:
WAGES $50,473.44
LANDFILL $28,900.99
REPAIRS, SUPPLIES, NYSEG $18,045.55
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $97,419.98
TOTAL DEFICIT $8,270.79

RECYCLING 2007 YEARLY REPORT
Figures prepared by Ed Wagner for Board review:

REVENUE:

* REFUSE AND GARBAGE CHARGES $83,190.65
SALES OF REFUSE FOR RECYCLING $5,958.54
TOTAL REVENUE $89,149.19

EXPENDITURES:
WAGES: $50,473.44
HEALTH INSURANCE $20,052.00
FICA/MEDICADE $3,665.10
TOTAL PAYROLL PACKAGE $77,773.54

*LANDFILL $28,900.99
REPAIRS $2,244.22
SUPPLIES $12,648.30
NYSEG $3,153.03
WORKMANS COMPENSATION $7,359.32
TRUCK INSURANCE $400.00
*Fuel for truck (roll off) $1052.69
$2.41 X 2.81 GAL X 3 TRIPS X 52 WEEKS
FUEL FOR BOBCAT $100.00
BOND ON BUILDING$10,000 Of $47,500 $2.200.00

TOTAL OTHER EXPENDITURES $58,058.55
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $135,832.09

TOTAL DEFICIT $46,682.90

EXPENDITURES DO NOT INCLUDE DEPRECIATION ON EQUIPMENT OR FUNDING FOR REPLACEMENT COST
* DISCUSSION AREA - WILL BE ADDRESSED LATER

PRIVATE HAULER (APPLETON)
4- 30 GALLON BAGS PER WEEK FOR THE YEAR $324.00
TAX $25.90
13 % FUEL CHARGE $42.10
TOTAL COST $392.00

96 GALLON TOTER ONCE A WEEK FOR A YEAR $360.00
TAX $28.80
13% FUEL CHARGE $46.80
TOTAL COST $435.60

PRIVATE HAULING WITH MUNICIPAL CONTRACT: (EXAMPLES)

Town/ Residents/ Delivery/ Tipping / Other/Cost
Elbridge / 494/ 24,547/ 12,000/ *** / 73.98
Jordan / 450/ 20,789/ 15,048/ *** / 79.63
Moravia/ 550/ 47,045/ 24,000/ *** /129.17
Niles/ *** / 75,955 / 9,874/ *** /108.88
Union Springs/ 460 / 24,000/ 13,200/8,800/ 100.00

YEARLY COST COMPARATIVE
RECYCLING CENTER (Owasco)
$175 1 bag a week
$225 1 1/2 bags a week
$275 2 bags a week

PRIVATE HAULER
$392 4-30 gallon bags a week $435.60 96 gallon toter

MUNICIPAL
73.68 Elbridge
63 Jordan
129.17 Moravia
108.88 Niles
100.00 Union Springs

CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Present revenue sources of charging $2 per bag and the income from recyclables are not meeting current expenses. The Town is undercharging by $1.20 per bag. $3.20 is the break even point for the Town to cover its present operating cost. The Town should charge $4 per bag. This price would cover the deficit and build a fund balance of $29,680 per year for further capital purchases and expenses.

2. Enforcement of the blue bag requirement is difficult to monitor due to a lack of proper staffing. As a result, town officials have received complaints from residents who have witnessed improper dumping of trash. To resolve this problem, the Supervisor of Public Works should be present during the Recycling Center's hours of operation in order to enforce the rules and regulations. As a result, revenue will increase due to additional blue bag sales and dumping of non-blue bagged trash will be eliminated.

3. Illegal usage of the Recycling Center is occurring. Enforcement of the local law requiring only Owasco residents to use the Recycling Center is deficient. Controls need to be implemented to ensure the Recycling Center is used by Town of Owasco residents only. This includes the additional services of brush drop off and mulch. Further discussion is warranted in order to resolve this issue.

4. The intake of cash at the site is inconsistent and improperly accounted for and recorded. No written receipts are being distributed for cash transactions. Effective immediately, all transactions should be recorded on the cash register. All employees should be properly trained to handle and record cash transactions. Daily reconciliation of the register tape should be performed by the supervisor. Separation of funds should occur between bulk dumping and blue bag dumping.

5.The Fuel Distribution Center has the capability of monitoring fuel usage/consumption by driver and vehicle. Presently no policy is in place to provide the Town with accurate consumption data. Implementation of a new policy to record all transactions at the Fuel Distribution Center via identification card is warranted. A monthly report should be provided to the Town Board prior to the scheduled monthly meeting.

6. As a result of comparing the present costs of the Recycling Center to the costs of hiring a private hauler with a municipal contract, it is apparent that due to financial reasons the Town Board should consider getting out of the trash business. With the Board's approval a RFP (Request For Proposal) for trash services should be sent out to prospective bidders as soon as possible. Public hearings should be scheduled in order to educate residents of the pros and cons of municipal contracted refuse collection. Enclosed is a portion of the NYS Comptroller's Office report outlining the positives and negatives of municipal trash collection (curb side pickup).

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Issued by the Office of the State Comptroller:
A Study of Residential Refuse Collection
www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/swr/2005mr6.pdf

Local Government Management Guide: Intermunicipal Cooperation
www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/lgmg/intermunicipal.pdf

Other Resources:
MSW Learning Tool: Lesson #3: Solid Waste Collection
University of Central Florida www.msw.cecs.ucf.edu/lesson3-general.html

Decision Maker's Guide to Solid Waste Management (2 volumes)
US Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/

APPENDIX C LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUES
When studying whether municipally contracted refuse collection services benefit their communities, governing board members should consider many issues in addition to the potential cost savings and advantages previously discussed. The following are standard issues related to municipally contracted refuse collection services and our responses.
* Issue - The municipality may incur greater administrative costs as a result of awarding and administering the contract.
Generally, such costs will be insignificant when compared to the potential savings; however, the local governments can recover them by assessing the residents benefiting from the service.
• Issue - Residential households will lose the ability to select the refuse hauler of their choice.
We believe that properly constructed contracts ensuring quality service delivery will help mitigate this concern.
« Issue - Residents may resist additional layers of government and/or the formation of special districts to deliver the residential refuse collection service. Educating residents about the pros and cons of municipally contracted refuse collection, holding public hearings to discuss the issues and, where appropriate, allowing them to petition the governing board to establish special districts to deliver the service should help address these concerns.
• Issue - Residents will resist increases in their real property tax bills.
We again believe that educating residents about the pros and cons of the service may mitigate this concern. In addition, to further address the concern, municipalities could periodically bill residents for the refuse collection using an approach similar to the method the private hauler would have used. Such an approach would clearly demonstrate to the resident the benefits of any price reductions. If a local government already bills residents for existing user charges, such as water or sewer, the refuse collection charge could be added to the bill with a minimal increase in administrative costs.
• Issue - Smaller private refuse haulers may not have the capital resources to bid on municipal contracts, thereby reducing overall competition.
In municipalities having difficulty encouraging competition from private haulers for large refuse Collection contracts, the governing board could design the contracts to service smaller territories.
division of local government services and economic development
• Issue - Rural populations or large residential lot sizes may make creating refuse collection districts impractical.
For more rural communities, entering into a municipal cooperation agreement, pursuant to article 5-G of the General Municipal Law, with other local governments to jointly provide residential refuse collection may enable communities to gain sufficient population density to make municipal contracts economically feasible. However, we understand that there may be situations where municipal contracts are not feasible. That is why we recommend that each municipality study the issue to determine if it is practicable for their particular situation.
« Issue - Residents may need to pay for an entire year's service, even if they are away for several months during the year.
When a significant issue locally, governing boards may be able to address this concern through provisions in the service contract and by using periodic billings instead of an annual charge on the real property tax bill.
» Issue - Discounts currently offered to some residents such as senior citizens or for small volume may no longer be available.
Municipal contract provisions could be constructed to provide similar discounts, when appropriate. In addition, we note that the costs savings potentially available to residents by municipal refuse contracts could be larger than the discounts received by these residents.

Town Board Meeting 3/13/08

2008-03-15T06:15:00.001-04:00

The Informer offers apologies for the length of this post, however there was a great deal covered and a long meeting.

Public Comments:

Al Drennan asked if the Town had done anything different with its water because the stains in his tub and toilet are suddenly gone. Per M. Wilson no changes have been made. He also expressed concern over the change of the recycling center to curb pick-up and having trashcans blowing all over. (Perhaps that would slow the truckers down!;0) Additionally, he stated he was not happy with the costs of Seymour Library on the tax bill.

Nancy Taylor asked about the Connor Lawsuit and if they could talk about it now. Mr. Klink stated that Judge Leone had signed the papers the day of the meeting and prior to that they could not talk about it. He told the public several times that the only reduction had been in the value of the home and not the land. He did not appear very comfortable speaking about the topic.

Stan Czolowski asked why the minutes are not read to the public prior to their approval. Mr. Klink stated that that’s the way it’s done and if he wanted them read he would, but they are on the website or available 2 weeks after the meeting at the Clerks office. Mr. Klink stated they board would take the question under consideration. He also asked why the budget has not been put on the website with no response. The paying of bills was also questioned as to why they are not made public so the residents know what they are paying for. Mr. Klink responded that every councilperson reviews the claims prior to payment approval.

Ms. Saxton asked on behalf of Joan Dailey, what progress was being made on the flooding of sewage into homes on Dec. 23, 2007. The response was that Barton & Loguidice had met with the City of Auburn and walked the area. For a quick temporary fix the Town is putting in at Town expense, backflow preventers in the fronts of the 6 homes affected with flooding. The resident told the board that her home had been flooded also with damages over $4,000.00. Mr. Klink explained that the DEC has stated the Town cannot pump anymore and residents will have to call the Fire Department (to the best of the Informers information the Fire Department does not pump basements unless there is a threat to life or property. They certainly DO NOT pump sewage.) Mr. Klink said the DEC will be serving a consent order on the Town and the Town will have 18months to 2 years to repair the problem and it will be costly. Currently they are looking to place a small pumping station at the corner of Archie & Melrose (wonder who will get hit with eminent domain this time)?

Ms. Vrooman expressed concern over the title change for M. Wilson to Superintendent of Public Works. She inquired as to the law they followed to enact the change and referenced Town Law Article 4 section 64 that there could only be a change as they enacted if the population was over 10,000 and the office of highway super was appointed. The Board also would need to create a Department of public works prior to appointing the Supervisor. Mr. Klink stated that it was the civil service department that required a change to encompass the job titles of Mr. Wilson. Ms. Vrooman requested that they check into it before there were problems because the current title is appointive not elected under the law and down the road there could be conflicts with civil service or the board of elections. She also requested to know what the Connor property was reduced to in the settlement. Mr. Klink asked Mr. Galbato if they could speak on that and she was told it had been reduced to $375,000.00. She inquired if there were any favoritism or preferential treatment involved in the decision because the case would have been declined in Court based on past history and that the Town historically does not settle or reduce assessments that much. Mr. Klink very angrily asked her to say what she was really inquiring about and she replied if the O’Leary connection played any part in the decision. She was told it was a unanimous decision of the Town Board. Mr. Buchanan, Richardson & Wagner stated they did not know what she was talking about and she stated that one of the owners of the home is Mike O’Leary’s son-in-law and that it is unusual for the Town to settle as there are at least two other tax certiorari cases that have been in the courts since 2006 and they have not been settled. She added that the decision was made without the entire board being aware of the connection to the former supervisor. Mr. Richardson stated that there was not favoritism. (The Connor suit details will be posted very soon).

The public comment period was closed and the public hearing portion was opened on the local law to prevent single family residences from claiming they are condo’s to in effect get lower tax rates due to a large loophole in the law. No comment from the public and the hearing was closed and the law passed.

A representative from Barton & Loguidice did a presentation on the water rate study they did for the Town. They reported a deficit of $103,664 and there has been a deficit for several consecutive years. There has been no change in water rates since 1992 and no reserve fund budgeted for unexpected repairs or future capitol improvements. (The Informer questions where the money was coming from if there has been a deficit for several consecutive years? We know the board took out a bank note last year to cover the deficit, so what was done prior to that? Maybe it is like the answer Mr. Dolan got at the March work session when he asked where the money came from for the paying of lawsuits. The board told him,’ here & there!’). They recommended that the water rates be reviewed every year during the budgeting process. The following recommendations were offered for rate increases:
1-7,000 cu. ft. 17.50 (increased from $12.00 for minimum usage)
7,000-10,000 cu, ft. $1.75
over 10,000 $1.31 With 3 cents added for the watershed inspector.

Decision tabled because this rate change was calculated as beginning in Jan. and it will not be implemented until July to give the town of Fleming notice. (Will they still be paying less than Owasco residents in violation of Owasco codes?) A work session prior to April first was scheduled to allow for notification of Fleming & to calculate rates higher than proposed to make up for the 6-month lag.

The board also voted to make the water billing clerk/assessor's assistant job competitive due to it's full time status. This under the direction of civil service. (Why could they not vote to separate it back into 2 part-time positions? Why can so many other people hold multiple part-time job titles and not take a test for the job? M. Wilson can be elected to Highway Super yet appointed to Water/sewer/recycling/playgrounds and that does not qualify to be competative requiring a test?)

No zoning board report.

Planning Chair reported that there is one sub-division that was sent to zoning for variance prior to planning board approval. They are working on updating the codes of Owasco because the have not been addressed since 1989. (We thought several were updated in 2001 & 2004 along with the comprehensive plan & it’s recommendations).

Assessor reported that the deadline for exemptions has passed and she will be out evaluating new construction. She drives a red SUV with Town signs on the sides. Now is a good time to come in & discuss assessments just call and make an appointment. Grievance Day is scheduled for May 26th with a tentative time of 4-8pm. Forms are due 3 days in advance. Latest equalization rate has come in at 77%, however she will be disputing that rate with the state.

Code Enforcement Officer reported 4 permits were issued with a value of $27,000. The weather is effecting the construction.

Truck Traffic; Mr. Klink reported they are still looking to have the bill passed to remove trucks from rural roads and are hopeful it will progress. Many local representatives are considering going to Albany to meet with all the elected officials at once to impress upon them how important the bill is. (We do note that ALL newspaper reports consistently leave Routes 38 & 38A off the lists of roadways the State officials are attempting to remove the truck traffic from. 41, 41A, 20, 90, 34 & 34B are usually the ones mentioned in those reports).

Mr. Buchanan reported that he attended a Workers comp meeting and why Cayuga County should go with private WC insurance. Currently thru NYS WC is $63,000/yr. in premiums. Privatizing through the County would reduce costs 15-25%. Cayuga County Legislature must approve and are waiting to hear from the Supervisors of the Towns. Wayne Allen is encouraging the switch.

Mr. Wagner did a solid waste study presentation. Of note from the presentation is that he was given figures from B. Wilson that the Recycling Center is $8,270.00 in the red. Mr. Wagner did his own study and found the Center to be $46,682.90 in the red. He made several observations that were quite distressing from improper accounting of cash taken in on site to no accounting of fuel usage though the system is equipped to do so by vehicle and driver. We intend to post the report as given by Mr. Wagner at the meeting to all attendees, for public review following this post. There was much discontent among the board members over this and no decisions were made again deferring it to a work session for further review. The majority of the public reaction was disgust over the current state of the Center and inquiries as to how soon his changes could be made.

The meeting then adjourned to executive session to discuss litigation. (Another topic that will be addressed VERY soon in another post).

Irony

2008-02-23T12:30:00.002-05:00

Irony usually emphasizes the contrast between the way things are expected to be and the way they actually are.

** Very recently one of us had the experience of needing to call the Town Hall. Upon the phone being answered the caller is thanked for calling the Town of Owasco then instructed that if they know their parties extension they can dial it at any time, for the Town Clerk dial 1, Water Billing dial 2..... Also noted that it did not matter what Town Hall Department number was called you got that automated system, we use to be able to dial directly to any office in the Town Hall.

What is the big deal you may ask? Not so much that it is a big deal, but that our officials had to switch banks, be notified of a rate change due to switching banks all because they didn't like the inconvenience of automated systems and wanted to talk with a 'real' person. This would lead us to believe that our officials don't want to be inconvenienced in their 'busy' lives, but it is alright for those they represent or do business with to suffer the very inconvenience they found so deplorable that the banking institution was changed. We can say, how often does one call the Town Hall that it is that big a problem? On the flip side, how often are the officials calling the bank? It's just the principle...

*** Now that our officials are back from NYC, it is now understood that our newly appointed, currently uncertified, code officer attended. We hope that there is a darn good explanation for WHY $1,200 + dollars of taxpayer money was approved for this employee. The courses offered were under the heading of 'continuing education' for building officials. In other words, the courses were for already certified building inspectors who needed to meet some of their 24 hours of yearly continuing education. Wasting taxpayer dollars is inexcusable, just so a 'buddy' can join the party in the 'city that never sleeps'. Officials need to get a grip that times are getting tougher for everyone and the gravy train must cease in Owasco.

On the note of spouses, why is it that under the current 'rules', employees like the Wilson's & Westover's are advanced $600.00 ($300.00 each employee) if they attend the conference? Could this be why so many 'related' people have been employed by the Town? If not employed by the Town, the employee was expected to pay the expenses of the spouse or significant other.

This whole system needs a good close evaluation as to who attends, a limit on how many attend, if similar courses are available at less expense at a much closer venue. If the officials won't practice the campaign preaching, we the taxpayers must derail the gravy train for them.

For the next post press one.....only kidding!

February Town Board Meeting

2008-02-17T16:18:00.002-05:00

Meeting called to order & Buchanan insisted that the minutes of Jan. 10 be corrected to say- sewage in the basement & not water. Correction made. (This does beg the question why did he not insist his apology for the ethnic slur be shown & that the public comment from Mr. VeVone & Ms. Riley’s question also be reflected in those same minutes?)

Communications: There was a rate change with Bank of America and Buchanan asked why the switch of banks was made? The response was that with Bank of America they could speak with a real person rather than an automated system.
DEC states that the bridge on Town Hall Road has been ‘yellow flagged’ for four years and needs attention now.
Bruce Natalie with the watershed inspector’s yearly report.

Committee reports: Highway- when there is another thaw the workers will be out to pick up the leaves & brush that has accumulated. Buchanan asked about the $7,000 deficit noted from the recycling center & why a voucher was submitted for $15,000? According to Wilson repairs on one truck were $8,000. It was stated that now every voucher has 5 people reviewing it rather than just 2 persons. ($7,000, two years ago it was $60,000 in arrears!) Maybe the highway & recycling Departments should be audited. Why pay $4,500 to have Cuddy & Ward state that everything is great at the Town Hall? Pay them to look into new areas, especially if they are not breaking even.)

Code Enforcement- 2 permits issued. Drop due to the weather and the economy.

Truck Traffic- A Hazmat team is looking into rerouting trucks away from water supplies of Skaneateles & Owasco lakes.

Website/Newsletter- Schedules are in boxes please be considerate and get information to Lonna before the deadline.

A new council procedure to have Councilmen report on all meetings they attend.
Wagner- Water Quality Management Committee- many records were requested, and he feels there should be a yearly report on the Watershed. There are TMDL (?) bacteria in the island area, a problem Gary Duckett will have to solve.( We are not sure why this is Duckett's problem to solve. We would think that the Legislature & Health Dept. Would have to be involved.) Additionally, farmers have been ditching in Owasco Flats and causing run-off of bacteria.

Alberici- Many complaints that Carl Collier is not responding to animal complaints in a timely manner, because of this there will now be a complaint form at the Town Hall & on the website. He will have to pick up forms and let the town know how the complaints were handled. Alberici met with Sheriff & representatives. There is a need for increased service during summer months due to problems with kids. Gould explained that there are 8 cars for the whole county, but the dedicated car for Owasco will patrol M-T 9-12pm, F 4-3am, and Sun. from 4-11pm. (We do question the lack of patrol on Saturday nights.) There does not appear to be a big problem with drug trafficking in Owasco. Speeding & failing to follow traffic signs are a bigger problem. The Sheriffs’ Dept. received a $12K grant to go to areas of the county where those problems are noticed. A phone number will be posted on the Town website to call to report speeding & ignoring stop signs, etc…

Two Town residents cleaned up areas of Oakridge Rd. and felt that it would be great if everyone picked up a little area the Town would look much better. On 3/10/08 at 10:30 am there will be a meeting of core members for Community Awareness to discuss cleanup and curbside pick-up by the Town. The Town will provide bags & gloves. On 5/3/08 planned Owasco Pride Day.

Wagner reported that he is looking into solid waste recycling and changing to curbside pick-up. Moravia & Niles charge $100.00 on each tax bill to have curbside pick-up. He stated that if a household uses 2 of the current blue bags a week they are paying $100.00 a year. He then stated he & Klink met with ORPS & the School district to try & figure out how taxes are figured and reducing them. Everyone should be treated equally & he will pursue this like a pit-bull. Buchanan asked why 2 people were pulled from the assessment review committee and was told they had no application on file, same with people interested in the recreation committee. If there are people interested they need to fill out an application.

Buchanan brought up that the Town paid $5,600 in workers comp insurance this month alone and it puts quite a strain on the town.(What does health insurance for those who work 20hrs. a week or less cost the Town?)
Klink stated that for what Owasco pays in taxes the County roads should be paved rather than oil & chipped. He will talk to Roger Mills about the situation & see if the roads can be paved.
Klink also stated that the Town would need to increase water rates.
A committee of Ross & Beckwith is reviewing housing prices and they are decreasing & feel that a reval should wait until prices start climbing again. So a reval has been put on hold.

To pay $15,000 to Barton & Loguidice to make a plan for repairing Town Hall Road Bridge, which has been yellow, flagged for four years. Wilson & Highway workers will do the repairs.
Planning & zoning boards are a community service according to Klink (why do they get paid over $70/ meeting) and they are appointing en mass with changes to occur yearly so as to always have experienced people on the boards. Ron Podolak new on planning board & Gary Duckett re-appointed to Zoning.

The Connor lawsuit settled after working long & hard on the case, fair to everyone.

Reclassify M. Wilson under civil service as Superintendent of Public Works. (Don’t we need to reclassify to a Department of Public Works first) Apparently the Civil Service Commission has issues with Wilson having so many job titles.

Payment of audit & claims again stated five people now review everything.
Adjourned to executive session for litigation issues.

NYC Trip

2008-02-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

This upcoming weekend will begin the 4 day 'training' that our elected officials traditionally attend in NYC. We have taken a look at the course offerings on the Association of Towns website. Since our tax dollars are paying to send these numerous officials to the convention of sorts we have some recommended courses for our officials.

Monitoring The Budget- in light of the numerous budget shortfalls this would be a great class for board members & the illustrious budget officer.
Provisions Of A Code Of Ethics: How To Run A Board Of Ethics- Perhaps this would cover creating a board of ethics so when we have officials who make ethnic slurs, fail to abstain from votes they have interest in or they illegally terminate employees there is a group that reviews the situation. One problem with this theory is the board would no doubt be loaded with cronies and supporters which would defeat the purpose.
Personnel Hot Buttons Panel- We would hope this would cover the appropriate hiring & firing of employees. It would be helpful if the class also covered Civil Service Laws in reference to municipal employees.
FOIL & OML general issues- Our Town Board & Clerk have no clue what is involved with Freedom of Information Laws or Open Meeting Laws. They need to concentrate on the time frames for FOIL requests and what is deniable. They also need to know that while minutes need to be only a summary of a meeting, it should be a summary of THE WHOLE MEETING! No purposely leaving out or altering what was stated to benefit the board.
Legal Issues Arising Out of Use of Social Networking Sites By Public Employees- Owasco has no rules against logging onto sites like the County does. Ironic isn't it since Mr. Klink has frequently whined about anonymous sites such as this one, syracuse.com, and the Citizen's 2 cents.
Fraud Prevention & Detection- THIS IS DESPERATELY NEEDED! Especially after the Comptrollers report & criminal investigation are completed.
Laws & Regulations Related to Records- There are so many missing resolutions, resolutions that are not properly organized, etc... When interestingly, there can be a resolution that was unable to be located that dealt with property owners of lots and the rules pertaining to water & sewer taxation. Out of the blue, then civilian JP Doyle, waltzes into the Town vault and returns with a manila folder containing just the resolution they were looking for, much to the Assessor's glee who couldn't wait to shove it under the police & comptroller's noses. This begs the questions; Why did our Clerk not know where the resolution was? Why was the resolution not properly filed in the book with all the other resolutions for that year? Why was a Town resident allowed into the vault where all the Town's records are held?
Town Clerks Fiscal Responsibilities- such as logging water & sewer payments ALL to one account or the other rather than to each account.
Improving Office Professionalism: Dealing With Workplace Incivility- They could do a case study on Owasco for this one. We guess that the course is dealing with an angry public, but interoffice incivility is a HUGE problem in our Town. If an official is perceived as being from the 'wrong' party or supportive of the 'wrong' people they certainly are treated with a lack of civility.

Those are the courses we feel the public could benefit from the most. We also respectfully request that if you tip for services, order $15.00 slices of cheesecake, etc... you pay for it yourself. We hope you bring home new knowledge that will benefit the residents of our Town, not new ways to work against us.

Notice Of Claim

2008-02-07T06:41:00.000-05:00

Everyone HAD to expect this:
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/cayuga/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1202378298179600.xml&coll=1

This newspaper report certainly proves that Owasco Officials cannot even terminate a person within the law. A law they know all to well since they got called on it when Code Officer Walker was not re-appointed.

We would like to know a few things. Are all the other employees of the Town required to have all incoming & outgoing correspondence reviewed? Mr. Buchanan certainly didn’t run his bizarre resolution being placed in the newspaper by the other officials as reflected in newspaper accounts. Will the new Code Officer be held to that rule? What purpose was the stated requirement supposed to serve? Why was Mr. VeVone advised to treat residents with dignity & respect if there were no complaints? We also take issue with this considering the ENORMOUS public demand for the Assessor’s termination after multiple public & written complaints about her behavior and the Board chose to keep her.

The minutes referred to after taking a look at them are seriously lacking. Not only are they missing Buchanan’s apology, we find it interesting that Ms. Daily's sewer overflows into her basement have become ‘water getting into her basement’. Mr. VeVone’s comments during the public session are missing, as is a question from another resident that inquired as to whom the tax bill error affected. What was said in the Department reports- other Towns minutes have a synopsis of what was reported? Additionally, how was there a code enforcement report when there was no Code Officer at the time? Mr. Shaw should take a few courses in the record keeping of a meeting. In most venues if it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen because there is NO evidence recorded. Fortunately the newspapers have a better accounting of the meeting than the minutes provide, however we are concerned about the legal ramifications that could occur in the future if this is not taken care of. The omission appears to be an effort to leave out information the Officials may not want the public to be privy to. In the future this could come back to bite them, the minutes are a legal document that provides a summary of ALL the topics covered at a meeting. What if in the future officials need to prove that a certain item was discussed and the resulting action? There would be no proof. Perhaps the board should step-up as have the City & County and have the meetings taped and broadcast- no better back up than that.

The whole situation sounds as though it was long planned and certainly was and continues to be handled improperly by the officials. Anyone who ever doubted there was retaliation for actions or statements made in Owasco only needs to look at this situation for proof. Klink has his cronies back together and with his hired gun Code Officer we don’t see the situation improving. There was hope Wagner would be a voice of reason and fairness to the residents but he has proven with his vote for Doyle that he is yet another disappointment. Unfortunate because for two years residents felt free to voice concerns or opinions without worry of retaliation, no wonder the last meeting had a HUGE turnout, but very few comments. The board was to self-absorbed to recognize ‘silent support’ of Mr. VeVone when it was sitting right in front of them.

The First 30 Days

2008-01-31T03:06:00.000-05:00

Here is what the Decepticrats had for campaign goals: ‘much work still needs to be done in regards to our lake, the non-local garbage truck traffic, fair and equitable county-wide assessments, enforcement of zoning codes, neighborhood safety, and continued maintenance of the roads in the town.’

Let’s take a look at the progress on the campaign issues.

Our lake, with the sewage-pumping debacle we question how often and at what other locations this type of activity has occurred. We have absolutely no faith that they intend to protect the lake the Decepticrats have a long history of covering up their contamination of waterways & the environment. Remember the overflows into the outlet that went on for how many years? How about the release of salt into the wetland behind the Highway garage that killed off trees, plant life, animals (including beavers who had built a dam there) in a huge area of a town resident’s woodland. Is that not in the watershed?

The County-wide assessments, at one of the first meetings after Klink was the ‘winner’ it was stated by him county-wide assessing did not look promising as it would be to difficult to get all the municipalities on board. He also moved the assessor out of her office so his GOB could have a ‘private’ office.

Enforcement of zoning codes, for those of you who missed it that was the first clue that Mr. VeVone was a goner as code officer. VeVone didn't follow the harassment 'hit list' & what major Decepticrat supporter(s) was he requiring to follow codes? Let’s add to the ‘problem’ that VeVone also required the Town follow its own codes. The improvement is to appoint JP Doyle?! His 'qualifications" are questionable and we will have more on that at a later time.

Neighborhood safety, the problems have died down as the temperatures have dropped but we are still having vandalism problems, vehicles being rifled through and mailboxes being destroyed. Really don’t see much being done on that front except continuing the sheriff’s contract for a dedicated patrol that rarely patrols, they park and wait for a problem to come to them. Maybe the returning Town Constable (GOB Gerald Russell) can help them out. The rigged Code Enforcement job falls into this category too. How safe are structures going to be when we cannot be certain they will even be inspected and not just rubber-stamped?

Road maintenance, ask the residents on Martin’s Point how that is going. Exactly what have those guys been doing in the milder weather; it sure hasn’t been repairing the shoulders of the roads & driveways they have dug up with the plows. There are a few areas that have no shoulder left at all.

Lest we forget the truck traffic. Well that was going nowhere fast prior to the election; it has become a moot point with the increased thruway tolls. Yet, Klink will continue to fight, even though he could take steps locally that would make our Town more of a hassle for them to drive through.

Here is a list of their campaign issues to garner votes:

‘Starting January 1st, 2006, employee changes in the Town office brought chaos to the residents with inaccurate water bills (that looks minor in comparison now), frustration for employees with payroll problems (a couple of times checks were not ready at the stroke of 9am and there was one incorrect check that was quickly taken care of), and embarrassment for Owasco as bills or late payments were made to vendors (is it not MORE embarrassing to be caught pumping sewage, firing an employee & rigging a job so a crony with a history of signing his name to work he didn’t do can get it? How about reappointing a Deputy Supervisor who should have been censured by the board for an ethnic slur, supporting bizzare resolutions, incorrect tax bills, falling short of budget by over $200K for sewer & water districts, an ongoing criminal investigation & the much anticipated comptrollers report.)

Makes us wonder if Klink & the decepticrat cronies would like to revise their definitions of chaos & embarrassment?

Waiting & Waiting

2008-01-29T05:18:00.000-05:00

What is happening with the criminal investigation? Why aren’t the elected officials urging this to be cleared up once & for all, rather than having it hanging as a dark cloud of suspicion over our Town? What happened to restoring the integrity & reputation of Owasco? We seem to recall from campaign season that charges of favoritism were one of the items turned over to investigators. Since this case is still open maybe they should ask to see ALL the applications for the Code Enforcement job. The investigators could determine if there were more qualified candidates or if the Dem leadership has fallen back into it’s past practices of cronyism.

Maybe the Investigators should check out Civil Service Law Article 7:
4. Prohibition against promise of influence. Any person, who while holding any public office, or in nomination for, or while seeking a nomination or appointment for any public office, shall corruptly use or promise to use, whether directly or indirectly, any official authority or influence, whether then possessed or merely anticipated, in the way of conferring upon any person, or in order to secure or aid any person in securing any office or public employment, or any nomination, confirmation, promotion or increase of salary, upon the consideration that the vote or political influence or action of the last-named person, or any other, shall be given or used in behalf of any candidate, officer or party, or upon any other corrupt condition or consideration, shall be deemed guilty of bribery or an attempt at bribery. Any public officer, or any person having or claiming to have any authority or influence for or affecting the nomination, public employment, confirmation, promotion, removal, or increase or decrease of salary of any public officer, who shall corruptly use, or promise, or threaten to use any such authority or influence, directly or indirectly in order to coerce or persuade the vote or political action of any citizen or the removal, discharge or promotion of any officer or public employee, or upon any other corrupt consideration, shall also be guilty of bribery or of an attempt at bribery. Every person found guilty of such bribery, or an attempt to commit the same, as aforesaid, shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

When will we see the report from audit & control? How that compares to the independent audits should be VERY interesting.
What about the Bookkeeper/Budget Officers failing to budget properly and the ‘clerical error’ that resulted in new tax bills. The irony is had this happened in 2006 there would have been all kinds of allegations of incompetence and plenty of other less kind comments. There are two public hearings planned to inform the public as to how their water & sewer rates will be increasing. (we understand this could be as much as a 50% increase when they finally figure it all out!)

Will the DEC impose hefty fines on Owasco so the taxpayers can pay for elected officials misconduct? How will the officials be held accountable? The officials involved were well aware what they were doing was against the law and still did it using the reason ‘ it was that or allow residents basements to fill with sewage.’ At what point do we residents call a stop to paying for elected officials actions that are clearly not in the best interests of our Town? Under Penal Law 195 they could be held personally accountable.

Penal law 195: § 195.00 Official misconduct. A public servant is guilty of official misconduct when, with intent to obtain a benefit or deprive another person of a benefit:
1. He commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized; or 2.He knowingly refrains from performing a duty which is imposed upon him by law or is clearly inherent in the nature of his office. Official misconduct is a class A misdemeanor.( Come to think of it this could apply to Buchanan for terminating the Code Officer)

The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back...

2008-01-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

Patrick Doyle?!?! A violation of their own code by the way.

§ 50-4. Restrictions on Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspectors.
The Code Enforcement Officer or an appointed Building Inspector shall not engage in any activity inconsistent with his duties; nor shall he, during the term of his employment, be engaged directly or indirectly in any building business, in the furnishing of labor, materials, supplies or appliances for or the supervision of the construction, alteration, demolition or maintenance of a building or the preparation of plans or specifications thereof within the Town of Owasco, except that this provision shall not prohibit him from engaging in any such activities in connection with the construction of a building or structure owned by him for his own personal use and occupancy or for the use and occupancy of members of his immediate family and not constructed for sale.

Guess Klink will have to find a new roofer, right? What will Doyle & Wilson do if they can’t take construction jobs in Owasco?

A selection committee of TWO, what is that? Klink & Wagner! What qualifies them to decide what is needed in a Code Officer, they both have so much experience in building & fire prevention regulations right? They apparently don’t even know their own code. Why were the planning & zoning board chairs not included, they are the ones who will work the closest with the codes officer.

Thank You Mr. Buchanan, for taking it upon yourself to illegally fire VeVone! Had you not done that then he would have been in the running for re-appointment and the republicans may not have found themselves in the position to choose Doyle over another candidate. Has Klink tossed you yet? Must be if you are not getting information before the meetings anymore. YOU, Mr. Buchanan, owe Mr. VeVone a HUGE apology above & beyond the pitiful ethnic slur apology you made to your constituency at the 1/10/08 meeting.

This is going to come back and bite the officials in a big way; a zebra doesn’t change its stripes and Doyle could very possibly be one of those investigated by the State Police. Remember this from the republican party election literature, read it again and decide how much of it falls onto the bookkeeper or water billing appointee, since there is some question as to what it was exactly Mr. Doyle did for the Town.

The following is a list of what was turned over to NYS Police & NYS Comptrollers offices:
· 2005/06 COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield billing records
· Individual payment records for the COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield account showing underpayment
· Charges of official misconduct against former appointed official involving homes built without permits, no accounting of payment of fees, documents stating inspections done by employee while employee was out of town, certificates of occupancy not issued in many cases, falsifying documents, destruction of government records ( A fine tradition to return to)
· Failure to tax water & sewer districts prior to 2006 on hundreds of properties
· Town employee & elected officials water bills that had zero usage meter readings
· Overpayments of water & or sewer bills not credited to residents statements
· Water lines extended without public hearings & then not taxed
· Numerous Water & Sewer connections without proper permits or accounting
· 2003/04/05 Record of elected official longevity pay & clothing allowance claims, paid by bookkeeper without Town Board approval
· Requested 2006 employee unemployment claims be investigated
· 2005 payroll with the questionable holiday pay & hours that did not match paycheck
· 2006 highway department time sheets showing pay for part-time employee that was not present
· FOIL response stating a former elected official’s town owned computer records was destroyed. A computer he had at his residence to do town business at home.
· Photographs of accounting records removed from file cabinets, boxed and piled on the Supervisors office floor.

In addition to Mr. Doyle being appointed, here is another tidbit for residents to chew on. The tax levy is STILL $100,000 short to pay the City for sewage treatment! Great financial planning there guys, thought the bookkeeper was SO COMPETENT! $250,000.00 short on the tax levy and to add insult to this they had to get an outside agency to identify this shortage.

Oh, there is also no money coming from environmental facilities right away because the paperwork was inaccurate and until it is corrected they can’t move to the A-List. See the Town stated the sewer serviced thousands of properties (are there even that many in Town on sewer lines) when Sewer district #1 only serves a little over 700. Oops!

Keep going Klink, if you were the ‘experienced’ choice, maybe Badman should come back! There has been a whole lot of talk about karma in our comment sections in the past, any of you care to change your stance on that?

Also, in looking up the town code for the enforcement officer, we noticed that the draft minutes of the January meeting are on the town website.

Until the next faux-paux occurs- have a good one…

Like A Bad Penny...

2008-01-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

According to Gossip Central yesterday Mr. Doyle is looking good to be appointed to the Code Enforcement position. Our first comment on this is he must be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. working for the Town he has been a Councilman, Bookkeeper, Water Billing Clerk, and Deputy Supervisor. Now he wants to be Code Enforcement Officer?

Our current supervisor is determined to bring his co-committeeman back into the fold. Why is this of such importance? Could it be that our supervisor needs his ‘experience’? Is it partisan politics or repayment for political support during the campaign?

That he is even under consideration is appalling. A campaign ‘promise’ our supervisor is now breaking and is looking to appoint not on competence, but political affiliation. A competent Codes Officer was removed for political reasons despite the zoning & planning board chairs apparent respect for his knowledge by seeking his advice in updating the town codes prior to his termination date, per January 2008 meeting reports. Now we get to pay to train yet a third Codes Officer in 2 years ( Mr. Walker to be re-certified after he was terminated, Mr. VeVone and if appointed, Mr. Doyle)

Lets look at the facts as we know them; in 1998 Mr. Doyle plead guilty to a falsifying business records, he was not re-elected to the Town Board in 11/2001, but was appointed as Deputy Supervisor by then Supervisor O’Leary in 2002. Now it gets odd, according to newspaper accounts (3/2007) of Ms. Wilson's appointment to bookkeeper it was written that controversial appointee Patrick Doyle had replaced her in 2002 as bookkeeper. Yet, in a Jan 2007 newspaper account it states that Patrick Doyle, a former Democratic Town Councilman worked part-time in the water billing department until the administration change in Jan. 2006.

Now at the Jan. 2007 meeting Mr. Doyle told the public that he had been on the water billing system on Dec. 30th 2005 and ‘there were no problems.’ So he was according to his own statement the last person to access the system prior to the administration change that was wrought with water billing issues. In yet another article on 10/12/2007 our now supervisor stated (in reference to the audit reports),’ that if the bookkeeper they had had for 18 yrs. had been present… We don’t know about you the readers, but somehow the math just isn’t working out. 2002 until 2005 is three years, not eighteen, yet he was also working as a water billing clerk during that time. Appears to be some fuzzy math going on or employees were doing multiple jobs, rather than the job they were appointed to. Is it any wonder that our Town records are such a mess?

Owasco residents, considering our Town remains under a criminal investigation, we have yet to hear from the comptroller, this person has plead guilty to falsifying business documents in the past, is it really in OUR best interests to have him appointed to ANY position?

There is a 'workshop' aka meeting 3PM on 1/22/08, maybe the public should be there to voice their opinion on this matter since applications were due Friday 1/11/08, the position will no doubt be up for discussion.

Jan. 10 Town Meeting

2008-01-13T01:17:00.000-05:00

Where to begin…

Mr. Klink opened the meeting by introducing the Board and telling a bit about himself. Of note was his comment that this was his 28th year on the Town Board and how different being Supervisor is when compared to a council position. He stated that he is, ‘Learning as fast as he can.’ (Informer Note_ We must ask where is the claimed experience of the campaign? To quote the Democrats campaign literature, ‘… competent leadership to SECURE OWASCO'S FUTURE.’ Or from Mr. Shaw & Mr. Wilson; ‘Our years of experience in the town did not matter…’ It is purely an observation but Owasco only appears to be progressing in debt, continued decline in reputation and increased legal problems that can only end up costing us the taxpayer more.)

Mr. Buchanan read an apology to the Italian populace stating that,’ he should not have used a slur word & from the bottom of his heart he was sorry.’ The meeting then opened to public comment.

Prior to the public comments, Mr. Klink read the rules of public comment, which include:
The public is allowed to speak only during public comment period or during a public hearing. They may speak at other times if recognized by the majority of the board. The presiding officer must recognize the speaker. Use the microphone provided. (NO microphone was indicated at the meeting). Give name address and organization if any. Time limit of 5 minutes. All remarks are to be to the entire Board and not any one member. Speakers may not read verbatim a prepared statement, but summarize it. Communications in writing to address the Town Board should be delivered to the clerk. (Informer Note- This is a great plan except that there is seldom a summary of what was sent. All communications as well as full text of resolutions and the claims & payments should be included in the minutes for the month. The monthly reports that the different departments submit are never included in the minutes either).
*Mr. Kukiela spoke on his concern over the hunters on Owasco Lake shooting towards the road or the pier. He also stated that the lights on the pier have been on during poor weather conditions until very late, yet off when conditions were favorable for walking. He also expressed concerns over the speeds of vehicles on Oakridge Rd.
*Mr. VeVone addressed the Board stating that they as a whole should apologize for the ethnic slur and take out a full-page ad to do so. Mr. Buchanan started to state that most of his friends were Italian and was interrupted by disgruntled sounds and mumblings of the public. Mr.VeVone stated that was hard to believe. At that point Mr. Klink indicated to Mr. Buchanan to sit down and effectively ended any further comment on the topic.
*Ms. Daily asked about what was happening on Melrose Rd. as far as the sewage overflows she has been dealing with for three years. Mr. Klink told her that would be addressed in his report.
*Mr. Drennan asked when the new tax bills would arrive and was told they had been mailed today.
*Ms. Riley asked who was affected by the error and was told by Mr. Klink he would address that in his report.

Zoning Board- Slow time of year. They are in the process of updating the zoning code.

Highway- has been picking up leaves & brush left over from before snowfall. Everything is running smoothly.

Water & Sewer- received the report from the Health Department (annual). Need to have worker (s) certified as backflow providers, will do this as soon as a course comes up.

Recycling- converting to one way traffic and have 8 signs that will be placed to direct the flow of traffic. Have noticed 6 new people at the center, but it is unknown if they are Owasco residents or from other municipalities.

Assessor- if there are questions on the tax rates or amounts contact the county treasurer. If there is a problem with exemptions contact the Town Assessor. Exemption forms have been mailed.

Historian- Lower workload because of all the snowstorms. Has been working with a Mr. Nye from Moravia & is now currently working on WW2 veterans. Also She has logged pictures of homes sold so that if there are changes made to them in the future we will have a historical log of what they once looked like.

Planning Board- reviewed 1 minor subdivision. Met with Jerry (Mr. VeVone) at the end of Dec. to get input on updating the zoning codes. In the Future we might be looking for pictures of Life in Owasco as a student may possibly be working on this project here in Town. (Informer Note- We find it interesting that Mr. VeVone was consulted by both the Planning & Zoning Chairpersons as to updating the codes. We wonder if their input was considered prior to terminating him? They obviously worked well together so we would think their opinions carry a great deal of weight in the decision. Who knows, maybe in this case politics came before what is best for the Town.)

Water Billing- Smooth progression & A’s have been mailed bills. Currently working on policies for the billing dept.

Website & Newsletter- Website was updated to reflect recent changes in office. Next newsletter usually goes out in March, but will see what occurs.

Financial report- there are copies of the budget broken down. The tax bill was under billed in the sewer & water districts. Letters were sent to residents & mortgage companies. An Advertisement was placed also. Time to pay taxes was extended to Feb. 20th, 2008. Mr. Klink stated this was our mistake & a clerical error. The new bill will be on yellow paper. (Informer question- Why was everyone sent notices when not all were effected? This was an error of the sewer/water levy, we have to wonder where the approx. $2,500.00 dollars to notify & correct the taxes will be billed as it is not legal to bill people for services they do not receive. The notices should have ONLY gone to those affected and the cost of correction billed to the sewer/ water funds. Now we wonder if this ‘mistake’ will be billed to the general fund.)

Dept. of Environmental Conservation- Mr. Klink explained that the meter on Havens Ave. normally runs at about 90,000 gallons per day, at 2pm on the 23rd it was registering 280,000 gallons. A manhole was pumped for about 3 hrs. At Archie & Havens Ave there are 2, 8” lines that enter into a 15” line to the City. One line is from Owasco the other from Sennett. Mr. Klink, Councilman Wagner and Mr. Wilson met with the DEC on Thursday & took them to the site. "They will get back to us (the Town). A fine is expected & hopefully a consent order. We hope to pass a resolution tonight for Barton & Loguidice to do a study." (Note from the Informer- A consent order involves the municipality admitting the violation, paying what is usually a reduced fine and submitting a detailed plan of correction. What was not mentioned is what the amount of the fine is. We have discovered that the usual fine is $37,500.00 per day that the municipality is out of compliance. Also there was no mention of the potential criminal charges that could be brought against the officials involved, as it is a felony to knowingly discharge effluent onto the ground or into a waterway without the required permits.)

Resolutions- 08-004 thru 08-021 pass these resolutions as a group. (Note from the Informer- this practice is quite unsettling as the public is left in the dark as to what is being voted on. This closes government to the people in what we can only determine is an effort to save time or forestall criticism for a month.)

Mr. Galbato requested that resolution 08-003 be corrected to read ‘group & approve.’
*005- Naming Tompkins Trust as depository with Mr. Alberici Abstaining. (Note from the Informer- According to a report in the Citizen of October 2007 Mr. Alberici is on the Tompkins Trust Co. Business Board.)
*007- naming the Supervisor Financial officer to utilize funds (except media) with Tompkins Trust. Mr. Alberici abstained.
*021- Supervisor with the consent of the Town Board may appoint an Acting Code Enforcement Officer. Appoint Paul E. Weiman as Temporary Code Enforcement Officer until a permanent replacement is hired.
*023- Sign agreement with Barton & Loguidice for feasibility study cost of $15,100.00.
*024- Cuddy & Ward to perform an audit of 2007 not to exceed $4,500.00. ( Informer note- we would have liked to have seen a different auditing firm perform the audit. However, at some point we will no doubt learn the results of the Comptrollers report that can act as a double check of the work.)

Payment of Claims- Paid Claims. (Informer Note-Again, What was paid would be good to know. It is taxpayer dollars being expended and in light of recent expenditures that were rather excessive the public should know how their tax dollars are being handled.)

Adjourned to executive session at 7:40 to discuss litigation issues.

Human Error OR Incompetance?

2008-01-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

Today's Citizen has an article about the incorrect tax bills. read here:
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/01/08/latest_news/latestnews02.txt

What is interesting is Mr. Klink's comments that it was 'human error'. That is supposed to forgive all? We don't recall Mr. Klink and the employees being nearly as forgiving when there were errors under the last Supervisor. as a matter of fact in their very own campaign letter it states, " Since the last election we have heard your concerns and share with you the frustrations and embarrassment that fiscal irresponsibility, incompetence, inexperience and poor communication can bring upon a Town and its people. We believe this election is very important to regain Owasco's reputation, integrity, and respect."

Fiscal irresponsibility, incompetence:
Expensive ad nobody understands, sending out incorrect tax bills & duplicate notices of the fact, placing an ad in the paper 'for good measure' then there is a free article done on the topic. Mr. Klink, how can, 'As a result, every Owasco property tax bill was skewed.' ? There are numerous homes that do not have water or sewer service are you implying that people are being charged for services they don't receive? That is illegal is it not? Did you explain to the resident who contacted you that the water & sewer bill should be somewhat lower do to the addition of 200+ residences that were not paying in previous years? Though it may not be that much of a reduction due to the bank note that was taken to pay the City of Auburn for the nine months Owasco did not pay the sewer bills to them.

Dumping sewage into a brook to Hoopes park. Had they not been caught in the act, we are certain they would have NEVER communicated it to ANYONE.

Firing a Town employee without giving a reason (civil service requires a hearing to dismiss for incompetence or misconduct ONLY) the day after an elected official made an ethnic slur towards him and another employee. Way to communicate! One would think after 30 years Mr. Klink would know what the protocols for civil service are.

We cannot comprehend HOW with all the years you have in as a councilman, the fact that you are surrounded by your "totally competent experienced" employees such grievous mistakes can be made. Eight days in and the public is more frustrated and embarrassed than ever. Keep up the good work and you will be a one term wonder if YOU make it that far. Human error doesn't cut it when the Democrat candidates billed themselves as the experienced choice for Owasco, the choice to restore the town's reputation, integrity & respect.

Ah Yes, The Glory Days.....

2008-01-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Seven days into a new administration and holy moly, can Owasco just get it together? This is how trust is restored and how we repair Owasco's allegedly 'sullied' reputation ?

1. Tax Bills are not correct, there was a significant underbilling ($150,000)of the water levy, so expect a new bill with a higher amount owed. Taking a look at what this error cost taxpayers in duplicate postage postcards- $874.00, Mailing of incorrect bill (if .26 cents each) $437.00, ad in the paper giving a rough estimate $250.00, mailing correct tax bills $437.00. Total - $1998.00 !! That is not even taking into account printing & paper. Who will pay for this? That's right the taxpayer! Maybe they should modify the budget to include a budget line for wasting taxpayer dollars.

When is the audit of 2007 going to be done, with a mistake like that who knows what else has been 'overlooked' and not caught yet. How about we get a different firm to do the audit , it's always good to get a second opinion, checks & balances.

Happy New Year From The Informer

2008-01-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

Here we have a chance at a new beginning and on this first day it would appear to be the worst start to a year (administration) thus far. Our Town Board does have its work laid out before it.

Dec. 23 rains & snowmelt causing multiple sewage problems. What was Mike Wilson thinking pumping raw sewage into a ‘ditch’? He knows the laws in regards to dumping sewage. What is wrong with our elected officials that they, according to DEC reports “ officials told the DEC raw sewage has been diverted a couple of times a year in recent years.” All those campaign ‘goals’ & promises about protecting the watershed and the lake are just more meaningless,’ get me voted’ words. If the sewage doesn’t flow directly into Owasco Lake it’s OK to pollute other bodies of water. The Cayuga County Health Department should also be involved with this; they were key in forcing repairs & compliance early this decade. The City of Auburn should be pretty ticked off too. Hasn’t the quality of Hoopes Park pond been progressively deteriorating in recent years? Wasn’t there a rather expensive dredging recently? Auburn officials need to hold Owasco officials accountable for their actions.
In a related Letter To The Editor (The Citizen) Mr.’s. Wilson, Alberici & Church were praised for their quick response to a sewage problem at a private residence. We do question why Mr. Church was called in as he is retired and not a currently employed, union protected worker.
There is still the matter of the now $600.00 farce of an ad placed by then Deputy Supervisor Buchanan. If he felt so strongly, he needed to get this message out to Owasco’s children he should have paid for it himself. This is a grievous misuse of taxpayer money.
Our Town will still have to deal with the fallout caused by Mr. Buchanan’s mouth, rather than his ‘poetry’, as there is a great deal of anger harbored over his lack of cultural diversity. This anger over-flows to the entire board because of the condoning remarks made by Mr. Alberici and the lack of comment by the other board members. We don’t think the board has heard the last of this faux-paux from the way people are still talking about it.
Results of criminal investigation will hopefully be known to all very soon. Accountability and honesty, that’s what Mr. Buchanan wanted if we are able to translate the meaning of his resolution.
Results from the State Comptroller should also be forthcoming; the report should be interesting in light of the Post Standard article stating that they ‘ had shared some information with the State Police.’
Appointments should be interesting since one employee has already been terminated and The Informer has heard that Mr. Klink is desperately trying to get his co-committeeman Patrick Doyle back into the fold. NOT a wise move considering Mr. Doyle’s past history and Mr. Klink would not want to appear to be partisan or doing political favors.

So, here we are at the dawn of a New Year, which will be interesting to say the least. Just for the record, the public NEVER considers an ‘honorable government’ a gift. Honesty is expected of officials and workers ALL THE TIME, failing that, accountability is then expected when actions or words have been less than honest.

The Night Before Christmas

2007-12-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Town
Not a Board Member was stirring, not even he of nose so brown;

The ‘bipartisan’ pink slips were printed with care,
In hopes that John Klink soon would be there;

The Board Members felt much nonsense be said,
While visions of $2,500.00 ads danced in their heads;

And left residents speculating, of to many nightcaps,
Surely the only way, they could ALL be such saps,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
The Town Board sprang from their chairs to see what was the matter.

Away to the window they flew like a flash,Climbed upon chairs to peek ‘or the sash.

There walking in the new-fallen snow
Were picketers marching below,

When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But children, trees, and several deer,

Marching with steps so lively and quick,
The Board felt for a moment it must be a trick.

More rapid than eagles, the protestors they came,
And they marched, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Doug! Now, Art! Now, Gino and John!
Our money’s been wasted, ethnic slurs have gone on!

Residents yelled as the marched round the Town Hall!
Now resign! Resign! Pay us back, one and all!"

When met with this obstacle, the Board prepped their lie,
They knew these accusations they must deny,

So to the attorney’s they flew,
With a bag of tricks, most would never resort too.

And then, in the New Year, residents learned the truth;
The Investigators had found the proof.

As TV news channels taped, there was nary a sound,
Into festively lit cars went many, hands bound.

Town residents need not fear,
The promise of a truly honorable government is here.

Our Town will recover, government will have tact,
And the children of Owasco will have real role models, that is a fact.

Our tax dollars finally secure,
We wish you all Happy Holidays & New Year!

What In The Sam Hill?!!!

2007-12-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

What NOW.......

A full page ad in the sports section geared to the children of Owasco with another printing of the nonsense resolution that no adult to date has a clue what it means. According to The Citizen said ad cost in excess of $2,500.00! A.k.a taxpayers noted as paying for the very possibly illegal ad. Anyone else notice a distinct similairity to the Democratic Parties billboards, campaign ads & literature? We MUST demand Buchanan's resignation.He is a serious liability to our Town. Who knows what his pious eloquence will cost us.

We tried to decipher the resolution and comments in said ad, but it really doesn't make much more sense even with definitions(in italics).

SUBJECT, Equalization (To make equal) on Equalitarian (a person who believes in the equality of all people)of the present sitting Owasco Town Board.
WHEREAS, Viewing with appreciation (Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things): that the present Owasco Town Board, by virtue (Effective force or power) of their administration, have moved forward with profound (Unqualified; absolute) credence (Acceptance as true or valid) of their mission; and
WHEREAS, fully believing we have been honest with each other, truly sharing our goals with our Towns People for a supreme (Greatest in power, authority, or rank; paramount or dominant) government (Exercise of authority in a political unit; rule). and
WHEREAS, noting with satisfaction: delegation, government ethics, reaching our goals, accepting our responsibilities and being very open with our people
RESOLVED, as elected officials we must remember that ultimately the political authority belongs to the people; and be it further
RESOLVED, that Democracy: government of the people and for the people will continue; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the council chairs remain as status quo and remain a Union in Body; and be it further
RESOLVED, let us establish a forum for public input. By virtue of our pious (Professing or exhibiting a strict, traditional sense of virtue and morality; high-minded) eloquence (The quality of persuasive, powerful expression), that the board be resolutely known as a pro - union board, rather than a political board. And be it further
RESOLVED, urging myself and my colleagues to never apply a supine (Marked by or showing lethargy, passivity, or blameworthy indifference) subservient (Subordinate in capacity or function) form of government to our people; and are it further
RESOLVED, let us never act in an inner taciturnity (the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary) way, but let our Owasco government (elected and appointed) speak out to pursue this mission of GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

So to try & give meaning to the blather, the town board will now begin every meeting with a rousing rendition of "Kumbaya". While they are holding hands & singing their praises, residents will be singing the song, "They Don't Care About Us." We recommend that when they attend the NYC trip this year they take courses on open meetings law and freedom of information laws. They could also benefit from some sensitivity training so as not to offend any more people with what can only be described as hateful ignorance.

Another Item addressed in this ridiculously pitched ad was wind power. Do the elected officials even read their own zoning before they write their nonsense? From the Town codes website:

Wind generator, subject to the following provisions:
Such structure shall not be located in any front or side yard.
Such structure shall not be located closer than 30 feet to any rear yard line.
Such structure shall not exceed a height of 20 feet.
We looked into wind generators and could NOT find one under 35 ft. high. Most TREES are taller than 20ft! Maybe they should look into putting a couple generators down at the Town Hall, there is enough hot air coming out of that place to power our whole Town and still have NYSEG pay us for unused electricity!

Encourage ethanol production? Weelll… from reports, the Town is currently in the first steps of another assessment. According to our competent assessors figures farmland is the MOST UNDERASSESSED property in the town. Lets raise the assessments and the taxes, reduce government subsidies,fuel prices are up, cost of living is ever increasing how long before the farms fold to developers?Perhaps the farmers would be interested in putting in wind farms instead of corn, alfalfa and soybeans.

They feel that our children are our greatest assets, and they are. Maybe they would consider putting in sidewalks and insist the crossing guard WE PAY FOR actually show up at the corner of Adams and Letchworth so no more of our children get hit in their ‘assets’ while walking to school.

Residents of Owasco, we MUST write to and call the board members to let them know their actions are not acceptable! We must write letters and attend town board meetings to remind them that it is OUR money they are so blissfully spending and that no further BS ads will be tolerated. The Town Board should dip into their own pockets and each pay $642.25 for the ad to reimburse us for the irresponsibility with OUR tax dollars.

Wow... a neo-Nazi attitude, spending money hand over fist, developing a pseudo-tree-hugger philosophy to attempt to placate the masses while allowing deforestation in federally protected wetlands for developers all adds up to one thing> They are hypocrites who will say what they think we want to hear & continue to do as they please in the Kingdom of Owasco!

Mr. Klink, all we can say is how true the 'be careful what you wish for...' theory is.

Someones laughing, Kumbaya.........

Restoring Owasco's Image...NOT!

2007-12-16T19:01:00.000-05:00

The Informer has been withholding judgment on the upcoming changes due to the election results, in an effort to give the officials a chance to prove themselves. Well, their suitability to hold public office is now in question.

At NO point in time is it acceptable to use racial slurs in reference to people or categories of people, The Informer has, in the past, referred to Deputy Supervisor Buchanan as a buffoon for his apparent inability to put a brake on his mouth. We have often been criticized for those references with many saying we have turned on him or were throwing him under the bus. Those of us at the Informer prefer to think of it as subtle warnings to Mr. Buchanan that he was being used and not following through on his campaign platform and representing the people who voted for him.

Now, Mr. Buchanan's frequently nonsensical comments have reached a breaking point. This is unacceptable in general, much less from a public official at a public meeting in reference to two Town employees of Italian heritage.

Mr. Alberici cannot brush this under the rug with the comment,’ Town board member Gino Alberici said the town board discussed VeVone's job in executive session. He confirmed Buchanan used a slur but meant nothing by it.
' "Just knowing the way Doug is, there certainly was no animosity to the comment," Alberici said. "Should the comment have been made? Probably not. But was it said in malice? Definitely not." '

The FACT is not whether Mr. Buchanan meant anything by the comment, it matters that someone found it offensive. For Mr. Alberici to ‘condone’ the comment because that’s ’just the way Doug is’ is equally offensive. People in public office are held to a higher level of accountability as we all know, and the Town Board MUST be held accountable for their words, actions and decisions. The officials of this town have gotten away with too much for far to long and it is time for the nonsense to STOP!

Does Mr. Buchanan’s comment, ‘"This guy is whatever he is. He's got problems,’ indicate that he the slur WAS intentional? It only leads to the question, exactly what IS he (VeVone)? What did Buchanan mean by that statement? Mr. Buchanan certainly did not have a problem with Mr. VeVone or the father of the other employee circulating petitions for him, placing his signs, or supporting him in his bid for re-election. Is this Mr. Buchanan's idea of 'supreme government', of being open, honest & non-political? If it is he follows a pretty warped ideal.

John Klink, our soon to be sworn in supervisor, should have taken immediate action and insisted that Mr. Buchanan apologize at the time the comment was made. We wonder why he is so quiet on this subject? His inaction indicates a ‘silent approval’ of Doug’s’ comment, not a very good way to begin a promised ‘bipartisan’ administration – but then terminating the guy isn’t either.

The Informer would like to bring forth a few points and perhaps reminders to our elected officials:
1. §106. Minutes. 1. Minutes shall be taken at all open meetings of a public body which shall consist of a record or summary of all motions, proposals, resolutions and any other matter formally voted upon and the vote thereon. Minutes shall be taken at executive sessions of any action that is taken by formal vote which shall consist of a record or summary of the final determination of such action, and the date and vote thereon… Obviously, if as Mr. Alberici stated to news-reporter Jon Stith that the employment of Mr. VeVone was discussed in executive session, why is it not reflected in the minutes as required by law? Since a termination notice was issued the following day there was a decision made during the executive session and should have been stated upon reconvening the regular meeting. This decision should also be reflected in the minutes of the executive session.

2. The letter was signed according to newspaper account, by Mr. Buchanan, the code officer/building inspector is a TOWN BOARD appointment, therefore he cannot terminte Mr. VeVone without a formal board decision per Town law § 138. Building inspector. The town board of any town which shall have adopted a building code, plumbing code, electrical code, housing code, or ordinances, rules and regulations for fire prevention, or for the removal or repair of unsafe buildings or collapsed structures, or for any of such purposes, pursuant to the provisions of this article, may appoint a town building inspector.

3. There was no apparent reason given for the termination of Mr. VeVone, a violation according to Civil Service Laws, we must question the intent & action of the termination. There have been NO public complaints at meetings about the individual, NO mention has been made by ANY individuals at meetings that Mr. VeVone has not been doing his job. How hypocritical (or political) is Mr. VeVone’s termination when there were droves of residents demanding the Town Board remove the assessor for her documented incompetence and reprehensible treatment of town residents, yet she was reappointed to a six year term. She has to take classes on dealing with the public as part of her appointment agreement.

4. Mr. Buchanan violated his own gobbled-gook Elizabethan resolution, voted on & passed at Decembers meeting, with this decision. …RESOLVED, let us establish a forum for public input. By virtue of our pious eloquence, that the board be resolutely known as a pro – union board, rather than a political board. And be it further RESOLVED, urging myself and my colleagues to never apply a supine subservient form of government to our people; and be it further RESOLVED, let us never act in an inner taciturnity way, but let our Owasco government (elected and appointed) speak out to pursue this mission of GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

5. What was the last name of the person who’s land the board took? The person who successfully appealed the board’s actions? The Town Boards defiance and targeting of this resident resulted in Sewer District #1 now paying the better than $150,000.00?

This is a wake up call to Mr. Buchanan that the ‘ circle the wagons & deny, deny deny’ philosophy does not carry over to him, he is not really accepted-just being used as we have pointed out all along. Mr. Alberici threw him under the bus by admitting to news reporters that the ethnic slur was made.

Doug, you were elected by THE PEOPLE, not the other officials that you have aligned yourself with. Now you have proven yourself to be a liar in your denials, a racist because according to Mr. Alberici and others present at the meeting you did make said ethnic slur and what was the point and purpose to your resolution if your intent was to not follow the boards ‘pious eloquence’ in making the resolution.

Mr. Klink, is this your idea of restoring the ‘fine’ reputation Owasco has? Is this a dignified, bi-partisan’ manner to begin your administration? Why was it wrong, according to you and Mr. Alberici, for people from Mr. O’Leary’s administration to be let go for alleged political reasons but this activity is OK? You need to take a public stand and show your ability to be the ‘bi-partisan leader Owasco needs’ as you claimed during your campaign. There were people who voted for you because you implied you were NOT going to take office & make partisan decisions. Under the circumstances you should re-think the decision to terminate Mr. VeVone or place the town in jeopardy of another expensive lawsuit the taxpayers will end up paying. More tax dollars thrown away because the Town Board cannot seem to conduct itself in a proper & legal manner, though we cannot fathom why Mr. VeVone would WANT to work for a racist Town Board.

Residents should contact the board members and express their feelings on the comment and how poorly it was addressed. They should write letters to the newspapers so that at least the public will be privy to them and the ‘open’ Town Board won’t squash them. Write to our senators and ask that NO grants or assistance be given to the Town until the ever-increasing impropriety is dealt with in a satisfactory manner. Contact the DA’s office, State Police and Audit & Control and ask that they expedite the results of the investigations and take immediate action on those findings. This town needs cleaning up and the people MUST take action!

Mr. Buchanan should resign from the board, as should Mr. Alberici for trying to make light of the comment. It is regrettable that already it appears that our town is back in the retaliatory business Ala' O’Leary administration and that hypocrisy rules.

Disgusting...absolutely disgusting!

Election News

2007-11-14T03:27:00.000-05:00

In an interesting turn of events Mr. Klink has taken the lead by 5 votes. A recount has been requested. In the event he does hold on to the win, we can only hope that he realizes that he did win by ONLY 5 votes and that there are serious problems within our Town. There are the results of the criminal investigation to deal with, and the report from NYS audit & control.

We will also see if he sticks with his promises of 'bi-partisan' cooperation he campaigned so valiantly on, or will past employees be brought back? The ones with 'checkered' pasts & the ones being investigated. Time will tell.....

Election News Update

2007-11-05T19:15:00.000-05:00

Several reports of phone calls from the Democrat party asking for votes. No big deal except that they showed up on caller ID's as from DICKMAN FARMS! No conflict there- except in the Town's own code of ethics, derived from the state laws code of ethics -He shall not directly or indirectly solicit any gift or accept or receive any gift having a value of $25 or more, whether in the form of money, services, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or any other form, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that the gift was intended to influence him or could reasonably be expected to influence him in the performance of his official duties or was intended as a reward for any official action on his part. In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision of law, any person who shall knowingly and intentionally violate any of the provisions of this code may be fined, suspended or removed from office or employment, as the case may be, in the manner provided by law. Well since the Democrats wrote the codes (they should be aware of the appearance of impropriety) and think they need to be enforced in a stricter manner, but then they're democrats so it's OK in their eyes.. There is still that whole criminal investigation thing too- this error in judgement should be added to the list. We feel that people who are advertising themselves as 'experienced' should be able to follow laws, especially ones they wrote!
Today's letter from the Dems. Several comments that they only reinforced what the Republicans have been trying to tell the public. Several of the audit findings state, "unchanged from previous year." Knaul & Klink both stated ( Klink repeatedly) that there were NO problems in 2005. The Republicans owe them a Thank You card for sending more supporting evidence to town residents. The most common comment is that Klink & Alberici were on the board at the time of both audits therefore they are just as responsible.
The tactless use of children in their political ads. Teachers should know better! If they can't stand on their own platform and credentials, they don't deserve to win. To have small children pleading in political ads to secure Owasco's future is reprehensible and again lacking judgement. The desperation shows!
REMEMBER- Get out and vote Tuesday Nov.6th!

Letters, letters ........

2007-11-04T14:47:00.000-05:00

On the first letter from Ms. Barbara Ann Clary-

To begin with Ms. Clary was NOT a Republican councilwoman for 12 yrs. the last election she ran in she was endorsed by the democrats. NOT the Republicans when it became apparent that her loyalties were not with her registered party. In a letter she wrote Oct. 11th 2001 she stated," The "so-called" Owasco Republican Committee was a hastily formed group..."Gee Barb, were you not the Chairperson of that 'hastily formed group' until they felt you were supporting the democrats rather than your committee? Perhaps you did not officially change your party but everyone in Town knew where your loyalties were and they were NOT with the people of Owasco.

Ms. Clary, we wonder if your ideas of working with the DEC & Health Department in endorsing Mr. Klink included your memory of the Owasco Town Board ignoring DEC consent orders and health department regulations until the $6,000.00 per month fines were imminent and it necessitated the Sewer district #2 and #1 rehab debacle?
No on the job training? Were YOU lost in the system when you won your first election? All that is needed is on the job cooperation, failing that, there is plenty of assistance out their for new leaders from the association of towns, the state auditors who are presently in the building, and numerous other elected officials.

We do agree that administering a $3.5 million a year budget is serious business. In 3 short years that budget is going to increase by nearly $2 million dollars because of the democrat led administrations' ( of which YOU were a part) failure to properly plan for the future. Bond after Bond was sought and issued, and as with any borrowed money, it comes due. There are so many bonds coming due at once that the residents in the utility districts are going to be devastated by the increases. Exactly HOW is a retired History teacher qualified for that? A man who at public meetings stated he knew nothing about making up the budget, Mike (O'leary) would do it and they just voted on it. Mr. Klink does not have the experience, nor the education to properly handle the funds or administration of our town.

The next letter from Mr. David Ranauro-

This letter made some very valid points. How did a password protected program become corrupted? Could it have been by the ONE person in the building who had the access to the system according to the Williamson ( software company) representative, one of those who found themselves to be without that particular job after Jan.1st 2006? How can Mr. Klink be trusted when the cloud of the ongoing criminal investigation, which we now know WAS begun because of inappropriate activities discovered prior to 2006, and the presence of the state auditors. Both agencies have been actively investigating the activities and decisions of the prior administration inside the town hall for FOUR MONTHS now, they have been aware of the accusations and holding meetings since FEBRUARY.

Mr. Ranauro asks the question , " Who would benefit from the destruction of Town records?" Since the discovery was on Jan. 1, 2006 and shortly thereafter, it's pretty obvious. The town clerk is the records retention officer, and was negligent in his duties to protect the towns records. Of particular concern is the 'stripping' of former Supervisor O'Leary's computer of all files & software. Video taped accounts from late 2000 to early 2002 show Mr. O'Leary asking if board members had gotten e-mails from him and his statements of e-mails received from attorneys and engineers.

Another letter from Ms. Vrooman also raises the valid question of why didn't Mr. Klink insist corrective action be taken immediately after the results of the 2005 audit? She also brings to the forefront that there is far more partisanship amongst the Democrat leadership. We agree that Mr. Klinks prior letter was ineffective for his purposes & very effective at driving home the point that anyone of an opposing party is fair game for attacks.

Now to a letter from Mr. Klink himself-

We don't know how the newspaper came up with the headline they did because there is absolutely NO recent success to build upon, the word success is not even mentioned in his article. What's noticeably missing is the Badman bashing & praises of Deputy Supervisor Buchanan & Councilman Richardson. What caused that to stop? Is this a sign that he has acknowledged his nepotistic side?

The campaign has been spirited & competitive? Mr. Klink YOU have been down-right NASTY! You refuse to accept your responsibility in the current problems facing Owasco, you have attacked residents in the papers and in campaign media.

You claim 'experience'. Did your 'experience' allow you to over-look a grant the town received for sewer district #3, the one the town is attempting to get back? Did your 'experience' in strict enforcement of housing codes allow the building of several homes with NO permits, permits issued while the inspector was in Florida, no inspections or certificates of occupancy? What individual citizen are you after now? Who has had the nerve to want to build that YOU don't personally approve of? The older RESIDENTIAL areas of town need protecting, but precious farmland can be relegated to development?

Working with Federal, State and Local officials? HELLO.... What about working with the RESIDENTS of the town, representing THEM. You can schmooze on your own time, RESIDENTS want to be heard they want to have a voice. They want to know what is happening in town and be a part of the decision making process. We know you have experience as a follower, a blind one at that. You and your supporters have mislead the poeple of Owasco over & over. Nothing you or any of them say is credible and switching horses mid-stream in an attempt to present a 'gentler' persona is about as fake as a Dollar Store diamond ring. Did the democratic party hold a symposium prior to the election on 'how to mislead the public"? Between the Owasco candidates and that Bass character the democrats credibility has been shot. Save your committees money and ax your final letter, it would be a waste of time, money and paper.

Democrat candidates:

It's About Time

2007-11-02T14:56:00.000-04:00

A message from the Republican Committee:
By now, the majority of you have either heard or read the rhetoric of the Democratic Candidates attempting to demonize Republicans within our Town.
Rather than inundate you with letters, we have chosen this method of communicating with you, Owasco’s citizens. We ask that no matter your affiliations, or what you have been led to believe, you give us a moment to present you with the truth. We will explain many of the allegations of the current opposition and give you an answer to the question foremost in all your minds, what is really happening in this investigation?

Issues Facing Owasco Leaders On Jan. 1, 2006
1. Multiple lawsuits – one of which ultimately cost those in Sewer district 1 well over $100,000.00.
2. Bills had not been paid & accounts not reconciled since November.
3.Piling of invoices, accounting records, etc… into cardboard boxes placed in Supervisors office.
4. Disassembled computers hidden away in closets. Computers erased & tampered with.
5. Health insurance of employees changed against Union contract.
6.Employees not forwarding mail or messages to the Supervisor or his appointees in a timely manner.

What is The Investigation About And What Started It?
Upon taking office in Jan. 2006 it was apparent that there were serious problems within our town hall. Many actions were taken immediately from contacting NYS audit & Control to hiring a CPA used by a neighboring town to reconstruct the accounting records for 2005. A computer company was brought in to restore files deleted on a town computer. Falsified government documents were discovered, there were notices of cancelled policies and computers were disassembled and stored in closets. Beer was discovered in the refrigerator located in the courtroom area.
In the fall of 2006 communications began with the NYS Comptrollers office due to many years worth of errors and discrepancies in town water & sewer billing accounts.
On February 21, 2007, then Supervisor, Merrill Badman authorized documentation be turned in to the NYS Police.
The following is a list of what was turned over to NYS Police & NYS Comptrollers offices:
· 2005/06 COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield billing records
· Individual payment records for the COBRA Blue Cross/ Blue Shield account showing underpayment
· Charges of official misconduct against former appointed official involving homes built without permits, no accounting of payment of fees, documents stating inspections done by employee while employee was out of town, certificates of occupancy not issued in many cases, falsifying documents, destruction of government records
· Failure to tax water & sewer districts prior to 2006 on hundreds of properties
· Town employee & elected officials water bills that had zero usage meter readings
· Overpayments of water & or sewer bills not credited to residents statements
· Water lines extended without public hearings & then not taxed
· Numerous Water & Sewer connections without proper permits or accounting
· 2003/04/05 Record of elected official longevity pay & clothing allowance claims, paid by bookkeeper without Town Board approval
· Requested 2006 employee unemployment claims be investigated
· 2005 payroll with the questionable holiday pay & hours that did not match paycheck
· 2006 highway department time sheets showing pay for part-time employee that was not present
· FOIL response stating a former elected official’s town owned computer records was destroyed. A computer he had at his residence to do town business at home.
· Photographs of accounting records removed from file cabinets, boxed and piled on the Supervisors office floor.

Please read on, it is our hope that by the end of this communication you will find that your vote is best utilized by the Republican candidates.
Thank You,
The Owasco Republican Committee

Addressing the Accusations of Partisanship

The democratic candidates have made a very big issue over alleged partisanship on the part of republicans. We as you to judge for yourselves who is partisan.

Relationships of Owasco’s elected & appointed officials.

John Klink- Elected Councilman, Democratic Committee Member, truck traffic committee
Sue Klink- Wife of John and Democratic Committee Member
Tom Klink- Brother of John, Democratic Committee Member & Appointed to zoning board

Fred Westover- elected Justice
Sharon Westover- wife of Fred and appointed Deputy Town Clerk
Robert Westover- Brother of Fred Appointed to Planning Board

Mike Wilson- Elected Highway Superintendent, appointed to Supervisor of water, sewer, recycling & playgrounds.
Elizabeth Wilson- Wife of Mike Appointed Bookkeeper, Justice Clerk & Deputy Town Clerk
Scott Wilson- Son of Mike Formerly employed by the Highway Department.

Gino Alberici- elected Councilman, audit committee
Jeff Alberici- appointed Recreation Director, Hamlet playground study group

Patrick Doyle- Democratice Committee Member former elected Councilman, appointed Deputy Supervisor,
bookkeeper & water billing clerk.
John Doyle- Father of Patrick- former appointed town attorney

Robert Shaw- elected town clerk, appointed registrar vital statistics
Pat Shaw- wife of Robert, Democratic Committee Member
Rich Knaul- former business partner of Robert, Appointed Planning Board Chair & water billing clerk
John Abbott- Democratic Committee Member, Appointed to Zoning Board

Mike O’Leary- Democratic Committee Member & former town supervisor
Beth Bowman- Husband worked with Mike at Union Springs High School. Appointed Deputy Town Clerk, Planning Board & Zoning Board Secretary, deputy registrar vital Statistics.

We would like to point out that the Democrat Candidates idea of returning to “bi-partisan” cooperation is a minimum of 27 democrats , 8 republicans & 1 independent in elected or appointed positions. Conversely, under Mr. Badman the numbers changed to 22 democrats, 17 republicans, 4 of no registered party, 1 conservative and 1 independent. The difference in total numbers is the creation of new committees & splitting job duties. The positions open from 2006 on were advertised the majority of the time, another difference from the prior “bipartisan” cooperative arrangement. So we ask who is more partisan?

Issues In Owasco’s Future
· Another town-wide assessment is in the planning stages, as the equalization rate has returned to pre-2004 level.
· Fiscal responsibility and financial planning is an absolute MUST! Annual debt service (bond payments) requirements for year ending 2010 are $ 372,000.00, *2011-2015 they are $ 1,785,000.00 and 2016-2020 they are $1,430,000.00 (source Cuddy & Ward 2005 audit). These increases are nearly 4 & 5 times more than current debt service. Not properly planned for these bond payments, primarily from those in water & sewer districts, will cause enormous tax increases.
· It is necessary to work with legislators to encourage a countywide assessment program so that ALL municipalities are assessed equally.
· We MUST ensure that town employees always treat residents with dignity & respect. Town employees should act as liaisons, assist and be sources of accurate information for own residents.
· Securing the Towns records and data. Until 2006 the town had no firewall protection or security features on its computers, and has no dedicated server to store the data on. The computer systems & programs are outdated and not networked to access or input data from each other.
· The town’s Zoning & Planning boards need to be evaluated and placed on the correct appointment schedule. Currently appointments have not occurred in 2 years on either board, this is a violation of Town Law Article 16 sections 267 & 271.
· There needs to be a system of checks & balances at the recycling center. An accounting of cash receipts is needed
· Consider roadside pickup as in the Town of Niles at a cost of $100.00 annually to each taxpayer
· Owasco Lake: Maintain ongoing communication with all municipalities and organizations in the watershed to protect the watershed and sustain the quality of our water.
· Proper recreational areas for the population (green space)
· Continue to look into options for increased public safety

We want to thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. ALL of our candidates’ opponents have given Deputy Supervisor Buchanan & Councilman Richardson a great deal of credit in their letters to you. October 26th edition of the Citizen Mr. Klink is stated as, ‘giving the most credit {for getting the Town in order} to Deputy Town Supervisor Douglas Buchanan, a Republican who succeeded Badman.’
The situation at the Town Hall was not a matter of partisanship, but of cooperation. Those who had held an office or ran unsuccessfully for office made every day as difficult as possible, allowing problems to build so as to have the best set-up for their run for office.

The Republican candidates are qualified, committed and eager to start work for YOU the Town residents. We respectfully ask that you allow them the opportunity to work with Mr. Buchanan & Mr. Richardson in correcting the issues facing our town and planning for our town’s future. The opposition has credited the Republican’s abilities to identify problems and work cooperatively towards a better future. We hope that you share their opinion and support the REPUBLICAN candidates this November 6th. Please vote *ROW B REPUBLICAN* to ensure that progress will continue towards honest, cooperative & organized leadership in our town.

*ROW B*Republican- IS THE PLACE TO BE FOR FORWARD THINKING, RESPONSIBLE & ENTHUSIASTIC LEADERSHIP! Thank You!

Make The ScaryRepublican Go Away

2007-10-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

Letters To The Editor
Vrooman is wrong and Owasco audit proves it
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:19 AM EDT

Owasco Republican committeewoman Lonna Vrooman's letter to the editor (10/17/07) concerning the 2006 Cuddy and Ward Audit is written to confuse Owasco residents.It is shocking to me that an individual such as Ms. Vrooman, an employee of the town, appointed by former Supervisor Badman, would either by virtue of intention or ignorance interpret the very same document available to the public and town officials in a manner to portray her partisan politics.Try as Ms. Vrooman may to muddle this issue, the fact is that prior to Jan. 1, 2006, the Town of Owasco never received an audit as devastating and embarrassing as the 2006 review reported by Cuddy and Ward.The audit identified 19 examples of the incompetence of the previous administration. Included in the review were reports of fundamental accounting errors.Others were appalling and embarrassing to the Town of Owasco. Water and sewer accounts were not accurately or timely billed, and employee accounting records and software were removed from the town hall.It was also reported that the supervisor signed blank checks, and unauthorized payments were made to the bookkeeper.

These fiscally irresponsible errors, unlike any financial recommendations made at any other time were grievous and costly to the residents.The current town board, led by Deputy Supervisor Buchanan has worked together to correct the errors sited in the 2006 Cuddy and Ward audit.The 2006 audit is available at the town hall. I would encourage our residents to request a copy of the audit and decide for themselves.
John Klink
Auburn
Klink is Town of Owasco councilman

The Truth Hurts

2007-10-18T20:33:00.000-04:00

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/10/17/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letters02.txt
Owasco needs Beck's experience as supervisor
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 12:03 PM EDT
Recent comments claiming Owasco was free of fiscal issues prior to 2006 shocked me.

In January 2007, the public was presented with an audit report, for the year of 2005 that listed nine items requiring council attention. The report closed with, “it is imperative that these and other potential problems be addressed immediately by the Town Council.”The State Comptroller made similar statements in a 1999 audit; “We believe prompt action by town officials will help improve the town's financial operations, protect the town's resources from possible loss or improper use.” The long history of non-compliance with recommendations of auditors within our town leadership is evident.

Everyone is aware that Owasco has some significant problems as indicated in both audits, by the ongoing investigation of the state comptrollers office and the criminal investigation by the state police.Leadership to move Owasco forward is more crucial than ever.

The supervisor's job in today's world requires more than a desire to be the leader. A strong financial background, education and experience in public administration are essential. Ellie Beck has 30 years of professional accounting experience and will address the problems with the accounting system. She has the much needed management skills and a plan of action to ensure that financial reporting; billing and spending are done with professional competence.

She will work with the town board and residents in continued efforts to protect our lake, work for fair and equitable taxation, work to improve flaws in our current zoning, and address the traffic and safety concerns facing our town.

Owasco is truly fortunate to have a candidate of her caliber and I would urge everyone to vote for Ellie Beck this Nov. 6.
Lonna Vrooman
Auburn

Wow, from the personal attacks on another forum, the Democrats didn't like the truth getting out!
The Democrat campaign plan: lie, attack, lie some more, call names, hide the truth, attempt to discredit, get someone to lie on your behalf, CHANGE NOTHING!

What a Fraud

2007-10-13T12:48:00.000-04:00

John Klink needs to be honest with the residents of Owasco. Take note of how he makes a false statement then tries to cover it up when he is caught, then he can't even get how long the bookkeeper worked for the town correct. We don't need any more lies. If the republicans had not won the majority, there would NEVER have been audits nor would the public be aware of any problems within the Town operations.

Paraphrased from a post on syracuse.com by learyowl. Very interesting , very true observations.

Yesterday's day's citizen says, “If the bookkeeper we had for 18 years would've been here to sit down with Cuddy & Ward, it wouldn't have looked like this,” Klink said, adding that while both audits shared some problems..."
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/10/12/news/local_news/news05.txt

Yet an article in March states, " After holding the post for more than a decade, Wilson was replaced by controversial appointee Patrick Doyle in 2002."
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/03/01/news/latest_news/latestnews02.txt

Letter to the Editor from Mr. Klink where he states, " That is simply not true. The grievous problems outlined in the 2006 audit did not exist prior to January 1, 2006. And, " These problems are new for the town,.."
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/10/08/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letters01.txt

Mr. Klink can't even keep track of his lies, how does he expect to keep track of the operations of Owasco??