Town of Mount Hope Town Board Meeting Sep 23, 2019
The town board budget meeting & town board meeting of the Town of Mount Hope was held at the Mount Hope Town Hall on Sept. 23, 2019 at 6:00pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Chris Furman, Councilman Jim Jennings and Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief Rickard, H’way Supt. Hassenmayer.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. Town Clerk gave board members their 2020 tentative budget packets. Supervisor Volpe noted the public notice was available on the desk for anyone who wants to see it.
POLICE:
Chief Rickard came before the board to discuss his 2020 budget request. He reminded everyone that in the (.1) $52,416 will come off that because we will get reimbursed for the SRO. You’ll see this in the revenue line as well. The .4 line is less than this year. It’s only $897 more than it was in 2012. Equipment line is for a car fully outfitted. It will replace 152. That includes red lights/sirens and we need a new printer. That explains the number in the budget. The big request is to create a new position to hire a FT police officer. We already have one created, this would make 2. This is to actually have 2 FT police officers. We have a need for it. We have issues with coverage. To date we have about 91 shifts we’ve been unable to cover. We did some #’s. The top salary we pay is $29.04. The starting pay is $25.29. It’s a difference of $3.75 multiplied by 2080 hours you see a savings of $7,800. The healthcare that Chad priced out is $10,109. You could hire 2 people for an additional cost of $4,618. That would be the total for 2 FT officers. It doesn’t reflect in my budget because the additional cost is in healthcare which Chad accounts for in the healthcare line. Councilman Howell asked about overtime. Chief: in theory there wouldn’t be overtime. If there’s overtime, it would be things that fall into other categories. PT officers here get overtime. It doesn’t happen all that often. Councilman Carey asked how he thinks the current officers working PT here are going to feel about FT because there’s a pay difference. Chief: the pay will be the same. If you’re a starting officer, you’re gonna make that and go up the ranks. There’s no difference in pay. We’re looking to implement the current pay structure just for a FT person. Supervisor: you’ve all been here for us appointing a new officer. They’re always appointed as non-competitive because they’re not taken off the list. Replacing Jim Corcoran had to be replaced with someone off the list. It became different. The list is pretty old. The new exam happened last Saturday. The results will be out probably March-ish. Hypothetically, the new list comes out, & like Paul said John Skoufis/Bob Decker are not going to be on the list, you’re gonna end up with an officer that’s potentially between 21-24 years old just starting out. They’re gonna be at that lower thing but hired off a list. When we make a motion then it’ll be a competitive hire off a list. They’re gonna be at that lower pay. The changes will be in the health insurance. Just as when Dean goes – Dean doesn’t figure out the health insurance part of it. A lot goes in to that. Things could change as health insurance goes up. Chief gave the Steve Brescia motto example. He also explained if someone leaves, it’s pro-rated, we can re-coupe any costs that we expended from the full timer and then they go and you just hire a full timer. The benefit to that is it gives you the opportunity in 2-3 years to say we don’t really like it. Supervisor Volpe asked if the board ok’d the hires, how would he work it. Chief: they would work Wednesday through Sunday schedule. One would work 8-4 the other would work 4-12. They would rotate back & forth. The fixed days off would be Monday, Tuesday. That would give us the best coverage. Councilman Carey asked about coverage after midnight. Councilman Howell asked if it is a scheduling issue, why don’t we schedule the part timers. Chief stated that would have to be negotiated with the union. He tried the last 2 contracts – he tried that 2 times per year; he could tell them when they had to work and they said no way we can’t do it. Part timers all have jobs. Supervisor: I don’t know what kind of recourse we have with discipline. Howell: the employees are running the department. Chief agrees. Supervisor: the flip side to that is if you need 3 (8-4) shifts and 3 (8-midnights), they put down for it and they if they end up getting it, they call in. Chief explained how the officers put in for their shift availability. He explained that officers look to go to the school district for the resource officer’s position as it pays more than our top person. Councilman Carey added he is not far off from what you’re asking for – he would personally like to see an overnight police officer 12-8. He understands he’s asking for an 8-4 – isn’t that when you’re working, Anna is working – there’s supervisors working the 8-4 shift. If there’s a bank robbery at noon, the call goes in. Wouldn’t 9-11, if they’re involved with this phone call, wouldn’t they dispatch, if need be, the T/O Deerpark to come here which has come before & state police? Chief: if nobody else is around. Carey: I’m not saying there’s a lot of crime happening 8-4, I think there’s more stuff happening overnight & I think there’s opportunity to catch drunk drivers. He added the incident that happened in front of his house back in June happened at 11:15pm – he would like to think that different things would have happened if we had someone else on. He is 100% behind going fulltime. It’s 2019.
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POLICE CONTINUED:
Chief: My #’s and Chad’s #’s, if we went live with this Jan. 1st, reality would be closer to June, the savings wouldn’t be this whole amount and the health care wouldn’t be this whole amount. He explained shifts calls between midnight -6am when they are not there. If you give me the money for it, I can do the best I can to cover as many hours as you want. He’d rather have 2 people on Friday/Saturday night than one person or no persons than have somebody out there once every 4 days a call. If you want to take the savings from the 2 full-timers and use some of that money and try over the summer months – he broke it down by months. Carey: if you had a FT person $52,000/year & there was 1 medical call at 1am and that police officer got there before all the firemen got up – it would be well worth the $52,000. Chief: you’re right. Carey: how does it work for alarm calls? Chief: all these calls are called in for by 9-11 call center. He explained the benefits to the FT’s are huge. We would see better accountability & tracking. It would cost about $6,000 to have someone from midnight -8 between Memorial Day to Labor day 2 days/week during the summer months. We could try that. Councilman Furman asked how many part timers we have. Chief: 22. Councilman Jennings asked about the 11 shifts. Chief: each officer has to give 11 days of availability per month. There’s 32 work hours/day for the month. Howell: do we have to have something specific in the union contract for the 2 new people? Chief: we’d have to negotiate with them the impact. Supervisor: we would always reserve the right to eliminate FT positions. Chief: any academy costs we would get back. What we did with Nigel we would like to do with everybody. Discussion continued.
COURT:
Justice Goldsmith explained he did 3% for employees. I took out $46084 out of my budget. Supervisor added it back in. Justice Goldsmith said he took it out because his understanding is that it represents money they take in fines and then we write checks to take to the town. Is that correct? Supervisor: some of it. It pays for Lisa’s mileage, Otisville Hardware, court petty cash, New York State. Goldsmith: I thought that was the $46084. Supervisor: no. Goldsmith: is there a # we can give to those types of additions to the budget like petty cash, mileage? Supervisor: like every other department it would be (.4). Your court fees vary depending on how many court cases you have. Goldsmith: no, I’m talking about the $ that gets reimbursed, the extra money that comes back in terms of mileage etc. You said the $46,000 is the money we write out to the town in checks. In other words, money we take in for fines..Howell: that then would be paid to the county & state. Supervisor: no. Everybody has a profit & loss. On the other side of the court there’s revenue which is based off last year. The easiest way – if you went to ’A’ revenues, everything through the comptroller’s office has to show ins/outs. Supervisor explained how court fines are applied to budget. Justice Goldsmith asked for a 2nd egress out of the building.
TOWN CLERK:
Town Clerk spoke to board re: budget request. She would like to have a 5 hour/week increase in hours for the deputy due to gaining the tax collector position. This will be an increase in work load and would be beneficial to the office. Supervisor wants the (.1) line combined into one salary. The (.4) will remain separate. Councilman Howell confirmed request for 5 hours/week for Paula. Town Clerk: yes. He asked if this was just for the tax season or? Town Clerk: for the year. There will be other things that come up – I usually go to one or 2 conferences/year. But now I may need to go to a tax collector one at least for the 1st couple years. Supervisor: asked if everyone is ok with keeping .2 & .4 separate. All agreed yes. He would like to see Paula’s pay increased $1/hour to $16.45. She’s gonna have more duties and with the heightened minimum wage – I think we’ve got a good employee. I won’t be asking this board for this again. This will be a one-time fix & get her #’s where I want to see it. Especially after hearing amount they were paying the deputy clerk in the village. It’s still $2/hour more than Paula will be making.
BUILDING INSPECTOR:
Building inspector (Julie) passed out productivity chart to board members. She knows there’s quite a jump for her department but our #’s will support our increases. Heidi got her certificate to be CEO/building inspector for our town. Completion date was August. Julie would like to put Heidi’s salary up to what she was her 1st year as BI – which was like $29,000 3 years ago. Julie’s increase is to get her in line with other BI’s in the county – it’s usually between $55-64,000. I adjusted it for my hours and that brings me to like $30/hour which is what most BI’s get. That’s what Laurie gets for the village. I feel I am just as qualified, doing a good job, increased our revenues & output for the department. The clerk’s position she wants to increase to $5000 from $2000 & that would be to continue with another assistant in our office. Both Heidi and I are pretty busy right now. Just to do the filing, letters, property searches & backlogging of the new system. Our new system is actually in & we are up and running as of last week. It’s fantastic. This is all the stuff from our old system but none of that system was ported over to the new system because it would cost them to do it. It would cost us to do it. Councilman Jennings asked what the cost would be. She can find out. He suggested it would be easier than having someone manually type that. Councilman Carey confirmed that they are using both systems right now. Julie: yes. This is all the stuff from the old system that would have to be put in the new system to get it all on one system. This amount is figuring a person for 6 hours/week from 5 hours/week.
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The person I have now comes in for 4 hours on Monday and then comes in for 1 hour another day in the week is silly so I added another hour to make it 6 hours/week. She went over her report with the board. Everything else stayed the same. Last year we collected $133,000 & net profit for department was $72,000. This year we’ve collected to date $187,719 & our profit to date is $109,000. The orange column, this was the average of the department before I got there $29000 – taking into account ‘17/’18 my average is $99000. Their average was 68 permits/year; my average is 200/year. Violations’ was 17/year; mine is 65/year. Their average profit/loss per year $26000 lost; mine is increase of $38000. For ‘17/’18 my average is $64000. Certificates they did about 55/year. I issued/completed 141. They did on average 4 house permits/year; I average 9. This year is 13 and I anticipate another 3. The trend is that people are hearing that our town is more receptive to builders being available to the builders for inspections. Councilman Carey asked when the 4H came into effect. How many solar farms do we have? Julie: Pierson’s, Willis, Howell. Jennings: so there’s 2 this year? Out of the 187 how much is solar farms? Julie: last year, we brought in $133000. If you take out both the solar – our profit was $81120. Ours this year, is $54000 and it’s September. We are about $10,000 ahead this year. Councilman Furman confirmed that out of the $187000 for 2019, approx. $90,000 is for solar. Julie: yes. That’s not entirely true because $16000 of that was the 4H. Jennings: to date – you’ve brought in $54000 out of the $187,000. Jennings asked long it will take to put these in the system. Julie: no idea. We really just started. We still have1 training left. Jennings: what’s better with this program that the other 1 didn’t have? Julie showed him her tablet and how everything works. There are 2 tablets and 2 desk tops that all talk to each other. Jennings: what took so long to get this done? Julie: Scheduling the time to sit down with her to do it. Supervisor: we actually ordered it almost a year ago. Julie: I had to provide her with information that took me – I’m just always so busy. Carey: part of your budget – you get cell phone reimbursement. Supervisor: it comes out of your (.4). Discussion on FOIL-able information with regard to tablets/cell phones. Howell: what was the increase for her salary for last year because it was more than our standard raise value. Julie: last year asked for $46,800. Howell: 2 years ago was $33,916, went to $42,500.
Julie: I’m doing the job and I should be comparably paid to other BI’s being paid in the county. I don’t take benefits because I am part time and my husband has benefits. I don’t request that I get benefits. I do as good a job as any other BI in the county & should be paid comparably.
HIGHWAY:
Supt. Hassenmayer came before the board. I work every year to try to stay within our budget. I lowered a lot of items. I increased some items. We did add a FT person. Back to a crew of 8 which we used to be years ago. It would be another FT person, have to have CDL. Pay would be comparable to their experience between $16.25-$25. It is in the union contract. Supervisor pushed Dean for the 8th person. We all met over at the park for the playground equipment. We have the walking trails across from the park for the seniors. The youth center is coming together. We talked about putting volleyball back over there. He’d like additional trails across from the 4H. We can’t earmark somebody to live at the park. There’s a lot of work there to maintain it. We have a beautiful park. When you average out 5 guys with vacation/personal days etc. leaves potentially 1 year without one guy. He would like the new guy to be 5 days/week not 4. Councilman Jennings brought up about hiring someone for the parks like he brought up last year. Discussion occurred on plowing & maintaining our different town properties. Supervisor: basically 2020 increases are due to union contract, union pay already negotiated. Dean: the 2nd truck gets picked up tomorrow morning. The one we got about a month ago is ready to go to paint. The pickup probably about 4-6 weeks. Supervisor asked board about hiring an 8th guy in January. Everyone is on board.
**TWO MINUTE RECESS BEFORE TOWN BOARD MEETING**
All board members were present for the Town Board meeting at 7:30pm.
Officials present: Attorney D. Bavoso, H’way Supt. Hassenmayer.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the Town Supervisor called the town board meeting to order at 7:30pm.
MOTION TO ACCEPT THE PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to accept meeting minutes as presented from September 3, 2019. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Sexual Harassment policy for approval
- Court Clerks Seminar request
- Resignation from PO Nicole Dolan effect 9-30-19
- Supervisors report August 2019
- Signed SRO’s agreement received
- Police report August 2019
- Free rabies clinic 10-20-19 @ T/O Wallkill Community Center
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- Free rabies clinic 9-22-2019 at Huguenot firehouse
- from OC transfer station #2/Newburgh Transfer Station closure for reconstruction
- Community Advisory minutes from July 16, 2019
- Letter from concerned citizen re: bus garage on Mount Hope Avenue
- Otisville fire calls from July 2019 & August 2019
BOARD REPORTS:
Councilman Howell: Fall clean up days 10-9-2019 through 10-19-19 no Sunday or Monday hours. Veterans parade is Nov. 9.
Councilman Carey: Otisville little league 2020 registration opens 10-1-2019. Otisville fire company blood drive 9-25 from 1:30pm-7:30pm. Mount Hope historical society Harvest Festival is Oct. 6 from 12-3:30pm. Orange Regional recently became a ‘Level 2 Adult Trauma Center’. They join 11 other hospitals in NYS with this title.
Councilman Furman: MVYFL this weekend will have 2nd home game. He asked Chief Rickard to put the speed trailer at the football field.
Councilman Jennings: Village board meeting 10-5-19 at 7PM. Fire house roof is completed. Town planning board will meet 10-16-19 at 7PM.
Supervisor Volpe: We have a lot of people signed up for AED/CPR/NARCAN classes already. Newsletter doing it’s job getting the info out to people. People at Devan’s Gate did not get newsletter. We will make sure they get them. Aileen Gunther’s representative was here today. The ribbon cutting for the new walking trail on Mount Hope Avenue is 10-1-2019 at 4PM. He would like board recommendation for allowing dogs at this new walking trail on Mount Hope Avenue. Dean has the waste baskets with the bags built in. Councilman Carey asked about signage for this. Supervisor: we can do it as a pilot. Everyone agreed.
Supervisor spoke re: sexual harassment policy; everyone has a copy of it. It needs to be approved and in our handbook once it is approved.
MOTION TO APPROVE 2019 SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the 2019 Sexual Harassment Policy as presented – copy at end of these minutes. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer has a quote from Brian for cameras at the park. Currently we have 8 at the park & only 3 work. Quote is just under $5,000. He has a quote from Westar for bathroom fans in the new rec center. He thinks the price is high. His opinion is to try to price it out. He also has prices/ideas for appliances & bathroom facilities sinks/toilets. He’d like to talk to board after the meeting to see if it is ok to order. He’ll also be ordering counter tops and kitchen cabinets. Sheetrocker is about ½ done. Mike is doing electric this week. Insulation will be done once Mike is done. Playground was laid out today. We have 4 of 8 of the holes laid out. Tomorrow we can start digging and start building it. We painted yellow lines. We used up the yellow paint we had. The federal prison bought the 2 barrels of white paint with the agreement that we paint their 2 Mile Drive. He also painted white lines on Finchville to the 4H park. In the past, he’s told, it is one way to calm traffic. They’ve been screening sand. Salt bids are out. We won’t purchase salt until after clean-up. They’ve received a lot of calls about clean-up. Supervisor Volpe verified that they will table the exhaust fans decision. He verified going with camera quote. Supt. agreed. Cameras $4895.
MOTION TO APPROVE CAREYS SECURITY SOLUTIONS CAMERA QUOTE:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to accept quote from Carey’s Security Solutions for $4,895 for cameras for the town park. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; ABSTAIN: Carey; motion carried.
Dean introduced Chris Santos to the board as the potential new hire for the highway department effective 10-7-2019. He applied last November. He would like approval for him to be hired. Councilman Carey noted that Chris is on the Board of Assessment Review. He called the Assoc. of Towns to see if this would be a conflict of interest. He gave a scenario where it may be a conflict of interest. Attorney Bavoso explained it would be appropriate for a recusal if the situation occurred as stated. The board can request that he resign that position. Councilman Jennings asked what his experience is. Mr. Santos drives a truck for Kolmar. Dean would feel better if he resigned the position from the BAR. Councilman Furman agrees.
MOTION TO HIRE CHRISTOPHER SANTOS AS MOTOR EQUIPMENT OPERATOR:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to hire Christopher Santos as Highway Motor Equipment Operator effective 10-7-2019 with stipulation that resigns the BAR position. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
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MOTION TO APPROVE COURT CLERK’S REQUEST TO ATTEND CONFERENCE:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Jennings to approve court clerk request to attend conference in East Syracuse NY 9-29-19 through 10-2-2019 total cost $1315.76. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven noted the fire house roof is complete. Next will be the bathroom renovations and replacing all the lights with LED’s. She shared some experiences with signage at the park with regard to dogs. You need obvious signs for leashes. The new deputy clerk for the village is Kate Schupner.
MOTION TO ACCEPT RESIGNATION FROM POLICE OFFICER NICOLE DOLAN:
MOTION offered Councilman Jennings 2nd Councilman Furman to accept resignation from Police Officer Nicole Dolan effective 9-30-2019. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT SUPERVISOR’S REPORT:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to accept the Supervisor’s report for August 2019 as presented. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT AMANDA DAVIS AS DEPUTY HIGHWAY SUPT.:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to approve appointment of Amanda Davis as deputy highway superintendent effective 9-18-19. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT TASHIBA PATRICK AS COURT ATTENDANT:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to appoint Tashiba Patrick as Court Attendant effective 9-23-19. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
RE-APPOINT DEB TAYLOR AS CLERK FOR BUILDING DEPARTMENT:
Supervisor called for a motion for this appointment as the other one ran out August 31st. Councilman Jennings asked if this position was posted. We discussed this at one of our meetings. Supervisor did not post. Jennings: that’s what we agreed on – posting it. It was temporary until it’s posted. Councilman Howell confirmed this appointment was temporary until August 31st. Councilman Carey (to attorney) read from Assoc. of Towns the 2002 opinion from Attorney General with regard to compatibility of ZBA member & assistant to code enforcement officer. ‘While the title of the positions may be slightly different in the city vs. town, the reasons would be the same.’ She sent me this specific example because I asked the question: would the building inspector ever have to go to ZBA meeting? The question would be absolutely. If someone is working under the building inspector/s and also sits on the ZBA, how does that person give fair judgement while sitting on the board if her boss/es comes in and gives her opinion on or gives her part of it on different codes that the town may have. That’s the example she gave. Atty. Bavoso: that’s a more difficult situation than the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) & the highway department. The building dept. is really only 1 of 2 entities in the town that can refer to the ZBA. They would have much more direct knowledge. The question is can they separate their duties in one position from their duties from the requirements of a different position. I think it’s a more difficult conflict than the one previously raised. Councilman Carey: Deb Taylor is a temporary secretary for the building dept. but also sits on our ZBA. In my mind there is a conflict. Bavoso: I don’t think that’s unreasonable at all. BI Musial: I would suggest to her that if she is appointed to be our part time person that she recuse herself from the board. Bavoso: or resign. She will check with Mrs. Taylor.
SHANG UP CERTIORARI:
Attorney Bavoso: Glenn had been in negotiations with the plaintiff in that particular matter and Dennis. They came to an agreement as to what they found to be a reasonable resolution to the matter. He had presented it to the board and recommends approving entering into that agreement. I don’t know the exact details. Glenn tends to handle those on his own. He does an excellent job
RE-APPOINT DEB TAYLOR AS CLERK FOR BUILDING DEPARTMENT: Continued
Julie: she is good with that. Councilman Jennings asked if this position was posted. Julie: we didn’t but we can. Councilman Carey: this was supposed to be posted and ending at the end of August. Julie: Heidi & Deb just got back from vacation. I can post it. We need to discuss what I am going to post. Councilman Furman: agrees. He would like to have it posted. Julie: she will do it tomorrow. Councilman Carey: how long do you think it’s going to take to post? How long do you think you’re gonna need until you get that interview process going? Julie: I’m gonna do it immediately – less than a month.
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MOTION TO RE-APPOINT DEB TAYLOR AS CLERK FOR BUILDING DEPARTMENT:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to re-appoint Deb Taylor as building department clerk temporarily until 10-31-2019. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
SHANG UP CERTIORARI continued:
Councilman Furman asked Attorney to explain what this means. Attorney Bavoso explained that the petitioner filed a tax certiorari. A resolution has been negotiated. The assessor & Glenn recommend resolving this.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE CERTIORARI WITH SHANG UP ENTERPRISES:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to approve the tax certiorari and authorize the attorneys firm to execute the contract with Shang Up Ent. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MASTER PLAN:
Supervisor confirmed with Town Clerk what we needed with regard to Barton & Loguidice. We need the final copy so that we may forward to website. The one we have now says draft. Attorney will get this. Supervisor explained that a question came up about signs. The board had a discussion about 1 ½ years ago about how long signs can stay up. We have a copy of the village law. We went 2-3 meetings and made no determination on what to do with it. He was told by building dept. that in the new master plan (inaudible). Councilman Howell: referenced signs to do with a certain event. There’s a duration of before/after. Bavoso: it’s a certain # of days prior and after. Councilman Carey asked how this is enforced. Bavoso: building inspector drives around and sees that the signs are still up. Councilman Carey gave example of Moon Festival signs still being up and/or state and county level signs still being up. Attorney: ultimately what is on the property owners property is their issue. We can do our best to hold a particular candidate responsible. But the property owners are responsible to follow the law. They can be cited for it if they don’t take them down. Political signs draw the most attention.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Jennings 2nd Councilman Furman to pay the following bills:
ABSTRACT 26:
GENERAL A: #556-569 $58032.11
GENERAL B: #69 $ 2793.60
HIGHWAY: #119-122 $81372.24
SEWER: #73-77 $ 3954.34
ABSTRACT #27:
GENERAL A: #570-589 $19769.73
GENERAL B: #70-73 $ 3362.04
HIGHWAY: #123-128 $40491.18
SEWER: #78-81 $ 2009.03
AND
ABSTRACT #28
GENERAL A: #590-598 $52120.60
GENERAL B: #74-75 $ 3800.15
HIGHWAY: #129-130 $30659.88
SEWER: #82 $ 1048.76.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT RESIGNATION FROM CHRISTOPHER SANTOS FROM BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to accept resignation from Christopher Santos from the B.A.R. effective immediately. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT RESIGNATION FROM DEBORAH TAYLOR FROM ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to accept resignation from Deborah Taylor from the ZBA effective immediately. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; motion carried.
CHARTER AGREEMENT:
Councilman Furman had received emails from residents on Kohler Road re: no service. Attorney Bavoso stated he is trying to work with Spectrum Charter at the moment.
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CHARTER AGREEMENT continued:
Attorney Bavoso cont.: The franchise agreement between the town and Charter – there’s a provision saying they’re not required to provide 2 areas that have a smaller density than 25 homes per linear mile. They measure that from the nearest hook-up point. The issue with the Kohler Road houses is that from the nearest hook-up point when they measure a mile, there’s 9 residences. It’s below the density requirement. The next provision in that agreement is that they are not allowed to unreasonably withhold access & they would have to contribute to any new infrastructure. They are working on getting me what the rough cost would be. Councilman Carey asked if all those 9 people are looking to hook-up to Spectrum. Attorney: my understanding is that Diane gave me a list of those interested and that was the basis of what I’ve gone to Charter with so far. Steve Sinsabaugh: they created the distance that we are not the density. They only came down the road so far and left a ½ mile out. We abut up to Greenville. I’m closer to Greenville. They shouldn’t be charging the town to do it – the town should have it in the contract that they have to wire everybody up every so often. They’re a monopoly. I can’t go to another cable company. They created this situation and now they’re using it to say they don’t have to fill this. Supervisor: on the Greenville side – is that a different cable company? Attorney: yes, Optimum. Discussion ensued. Attorney: what had happened previously was the state was giving incentives to wire out to more rural areas that don’t meet the density requirements. Part of Kohler Road was part of that. They did it as part of that program. Mr. Sinsabaugh stated that Kohler was done ages ago. He thinks it was on Mountain Road. He uses Frontier now and is not pleased. The line is antiquated. It was over 11 years ago that they came out with the incentive to extend Kohler Road. Attorney will look in to this and will go back to them with this. Mrs. Sinsabaugh appreciates anything that can be done and they don’t want to be forgotten. Attorney: there are 7 years left on the contract.
Ms. Loeven: of the 9 properties not serviced, she thinks there’s one fairly large parcel that’s not developed. The development of that parcel – people can’t say there’s cable service available – is at a real disadvantage. I’m not saying those 9 people are gonna be hooked up immediately. I know these 2 aren’t. Krogslund’s have to pay to be a hot spot. Sinsabaugh: less than ½ mile would have everyone hooked up. Attorney will keep on them.
Cesar Rodriguez: (Maureen Drive) I have a problem. At 5:00am there’s trucks starting from Spruce Road. He thinks it’s from 94 Spruce Road. When they applied for a permit, I was told it was for farm equipment – repair farm equipment. They’re driving tandem dump trucks & semi’s. They’re driving on the road and don’t care how they drive; on the wrong side of the road. My front bumper is partly detached because I was pushed off the road already. Councilman Carey: Mr. Rodriguez spoke to Councilman Furman and I over the weekend. He suggested he come to the meeting. Mr. Rodriguez: if it is a farm repair place it’s one thing. There are a lot of dump trucks coming out of there every morning. You can get run down. You can hear the engines idling for 45 mins. to an hour. Councilman Carey asked other of his neighbors to come to a meeting to express. Attorney: suggested giving a complaint to the building department. If they’re driving recklessly, contact the police as well. There may be a potential of a noise ordinance violation. Councilman Howell added that they were issued some type of special use permit for what they call earth moving equipment. This was a long process with the planning board at the time the former attorneys decided to take it upon themselves to do it to accommodate the applicant. You’re not the only one that has an issue with them. There was an issue when it originated in the planning stages before it was constructed and used. Attorney: should have Julie take a look at the file and see what was approved.
Diane Loeven: noted the letter from the resident complaining about the bus garage on Mount Hope Avenue.
Supervisor added there’s no way to correspond with the person because there’s no return address. Ms. Loeven stated that the majority of that property is on the town but the access is through the village. Supervisor: there’s no way to contact the person that wrote the letter – no return address. Diane requested a copy of the letter. She reported that tomorrow Aileen Gunther will be at the senior meeting. If anyone wants to stop in, please do. Community Advisory Board meeting for October was rescheduled to October 29th. She asked about the keys for the senior center. She knows the complete change over isn’t done yet. Supervisor: we have keys now. But the keys are going back to the old key. Dean hopes to get the locks changed over in the morning. Supervisor added that in 1 ½ weeks it will be the card system.
Mary Maurizzio asked about the solar farm on Mount Hope Road. A lot of people are complaining about the removal of all those trees for the solar farm. Supervisor: the planning board required a berm and trees to be planted. Councilman Howell: the better answer would be for the planning board. The planning board had stipulations as to what they required. She further spoke re: Chad being Supervisor (democrat), your wife is a building inspector with Julie Musial (republican), Deb Taylor (democrat) is one of your close friends is temporary building inspector clerk. There was not an ad placed for that position. Dean is republican. Your deputy h’way supt. Amanda is your daughter? How long has she worked for the highway dept.? Dean: since the 18th. Maurizzio: in what position? Dean: deputy h’way supt. (At this time Councilman Carey informed her that 3 minutes were up.) Dean: Deputy h’way supt. is appointed by me. If I don’t pick somebody – the board after 5 days can appoint somebody. I had a person who resigned on 9-4-19.
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- Maurizzio continued:
The week of Sept. 9 – I appointed Amanda because I was going to school on the 18th. I needed somebody that could cover and I could trust. She serves me and me only. It’s an appointment that’s mine only. It’s not the boards. Maurizzio: as long as you feel that she’s qualified to handle that position. She’s only worked since Sept. for the town in that capacity? Dean: she worked in that capacity. If she had any questions…she worked 2 hours a day the 18th & 19th and one hour on the 20th. She works per diem at my discretion and was in contact with me as needed. Maurizzio: is she fully qualified to be in that position? Dean: if something happens to me – I don’t know. I won’t care. Maurizzio: your wife is your secretary. Dean: that’s an appointment that serves directly to me. Maurzzio: Mr. Santos is Deb Taylor’s son-in-law. That’s 5 either relatives/friends of Chad & Dean. Supervisor: did you see the applications that came in for the highway department? Did you sit in on interviews for the highway department? Maurizzio: no, I did not. It has to do with possible appearance of favoritism and/or nepotism. Supervisor: your 3 minutes is up.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Jennings: (to Dean) – asked about the volley ball set up and people going back and forth across the road. He didn’t know the board’s feeling on that. He noted the upper ballfield is not being taken care of. Grass is growing on the dirt up there. Dean: I saw that today. Jennings: it’s just something to think about.
Councilman Furman: Come out Saturday and support the football league. The blood drive is Wednesday.
Councilman Carey: He noted that in one of the bills signed, if anyone needs to travel from this building as far as mileage goes, there’s a vehicle here to be used. Supervisor: there is a vehicle here & we will have a 2nd vehicle. Carey: it’s not only the building inspector’s vehicle. Town Clerk: is everyone gonna have keys for the vehicle. Supervisor: of course.
Councilman Howell: (to Mrs. Maurizzio): political affiliations are not a requirement for being hired at the town. The town board makes the decision on hiring not an individual.
Supervisor Volpe: Need to adjourn this meeting and continue the budget meeting.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to adjourn the meeting at 8:55pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
9:10PM Budget Meeting continued:
Supervisor Volpe: spoke re: his goal is to put an addition on the town hall next year. He spoke with Metzger & Aileen Gunther to see if there’s grant money. He’d like an addition off the back. He would like for the building office now to be council chambers for board to have desks to work at & board can have executive session there. He would like for board members to have a small filing cabinet and small desks. He won’t do this if we have to raise taxes. He’s hoping for the ribbon cutting for the youth center in the near future.
In a bigger town you’re not gonna see the town supervisor delivering lunch to summer camp or flipping burgers. We all pitch in. With the youth center that’s another building to be checked. It’s great that all this stuff is happening but it’s gonna put more stuff on all of our plates. We talked about additional walking trails he wants to put up on another part. He would like to maybe have the website re-done. Councilman Carey: our website is horrible. We were fortunate enough to be able to do newsletter internally. It came out great.
We are still waiting for the rest of the funding for the locker rooms for the police. He can make adjustments on the budget. He wants to do what the board wants. The original packet sent to board members reflects a 13% increase. He wants 0%. Councilman Carey asked what the ultimate goal is for the money we have in the bank. Supervisor explained the capital accounts and how they are used. Councilman Furman thinks we should go with FT police officers. With how budget is explained he has a hard time not understanding why we wouldn’t have FT officers. Supervisor: suggests doing this year as a pilot. He has mixed feelings. But also we may realize this is easier for us. Councilman Howell thinks the only variable is the overtime and what happens if the PT calls in and the FT would have to stay to work. Councilman Carey explained a story that Chief Rickard told him how a lot of officers left here about 10-15 years ago because they were no longer allowed to double-tin. Why would you come work for us for $20 something/hour when you can work for the school for $30 something/hour? Discussion continued re: police department. Supervisor in favor of going FT for next year. Councilman Carey has issue with FT on 8-4 shift. Supervisor: Wednesday through Sunday one person will work 8-4. The other FT will work 4-12. And either every week or every month they are gonna alternate. The person that works 8-4 will also have a PT from 6-2 that day. On the 4-12 – one person Wed-Sunday. Councilman Jennings would like to see the FT extended to 2am. All agreed the Supervisor should budget for 2 FT officers.
Supervisor asked what board thought of tax collection with regard to combining the (.1) and leaving the (.2 & .4) separate. Councilman Carey: there was a reason we decided to eliminate tax collector position….he agrees with separation. Remaining board members agreed.
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Town clerk reminded Supervisor that Paula will need to be appointed as deputy tax collector.
Supervisor next spoke re: town clerk position. Councilman Carey asked how long are taxes collected for? Town Clerk: 3 months. January 1 through March 31. After March 31 payment are made to county. Councilman Carey asked about town clerk comparable salaries. Supervisor has a comparison. Town Clerk has a comparison. Councilman Carey asked re: 5 extra hours for deputy. Discussion ensued. Supervisor changed 2 things on Kathleen’s sheet. Kathleen has her salary going from $48000 to $49440. Supervisor changed it from $48000 to $50500 which is basically 3% salary increase plus $1000 for tax collection. Councilman Carey doesn’t feel that the tax collector’s salary is comparable to what the board makes for making decisions for the town. Supervisor: Paula’s going to $16.45 for 200 hours. Councilman Carey asked about the comparison list he is looking at and if the town clerk salaries are included in that. Supervisor is not sure about all of them. Councilman Furman: there was $7320 that was paid to tax collector. Kathleen is gonna be responsible for collecting those taxes. I think her salary should be put to $53000/$54000. Supervisor tabled this. He went through the budget line by line from here. He put town board at $8500 each. Attorney line is staying the same. I made changes to Assessor line because he left a lot of things open. His salary is $35626. Data collector is $832. Angie’s 520 hours at $9558. His total (.1) is $46066. We have $210,000 for a reval. He zeroed out (.1) for tax collector. Increased (.4) due to stamps. Buildings he has the same. Town board is staying the same. Justices (.1) staying the same. The (.4) being cut. Salary for supervisor the board will go over. For Angie he is looking for 3.25% to keep in line with Dean/Amy. Personal svcs. for supervisor (go to sheet) is Angie & supervisor. Independent auditing: Kelli went in to Chad’s office. She said she is underpaid. Asked for $3,000 raise. He has problem with it. When you look at the # of hours she is here… He recommends going up $1000. Budget officer is up to board. Police (.1) staying the same.
Equipment $37158. Control of dogs is 3%. Supt. of Highways: Dean put in for $4000 for deputy. Supervisor cut it $1000. Total (.1) $104,757. Councilman Howell asked how deputy would be paid: stipend or hourly up to that amount. Supervisor: opinion of Assoc. of Towns is that if it is one of his workers it has to be a stipend. If it’s an outside person, it can be hourly or salary. Councilman Jennings asked if there was a job description for the deputy. Supervisor: I don’t think there’s really a job description for the highway supt. It doesn’t require experience. He doesn’t think it should be one of the guys because it causes animosity. ‘Today I am your boss, tomorrow I’m not your boss’. State law – that’s his appointment. His recommendation is we cut it $1000. Veteran’s services he changed to $1150. He continued through the end of ‘A’. He then explained General A revenues.
He asked to go to building department. Councilman Howell asked about the revenue side of building department – safety fees in 2019 amended $65,000 – is that their total gross or is that their net? Supervisor: do we take money away from the court every year that they go down in sales? I don’t think the revenue..I’d like to see the permits that we’re issuing. I don’t think we need a number tag. Her sales are through the roof.
Next year if we don’t have any solar farms, nobody builds – are we gonna take a pay cut. My opinion is – do I think you’re doing a good job. Absolutely. He doesn’t like the sheet. It’s not about how many violations you write. Councilman Carey: this building department came from – it was horrible. Last year when we went through this, I didn’t hear their spiel. I was a big advocate. We brought them up to a point where I think they should be. After doing the math last year, I think that we brought them up to where they needed to be. Councilman Howell: I think the 47 & 30 is another big step like last year. I think it’s a little too big of a step. If things start to trickle down… Councilman Carey: I think they’re doing a phenomenal job. With Heidi being a BI now that the #’s are gonna go up because they’re doing double the work. What are your numbers? Supervisor: less than 1/2. I think I did to be able to do my budget, like 25 – 25 and I left the clerk. Councilman Jennings: how many hours for the clerk? Supervisor: 5/week. Jennings: are we looking to upgrade that? Howell: 6. Jennings: we gave them a big jump last year. Howell: 3% for Julie is $1275. 3% for Heidi is $750. Carey doesn’t disagree with 3%. He asked what Julie’s title is. Howell: building inspector. Supervisor added and fire inspector. Carey: what is Heidi? Supervisor: same exact thing. We haven’t done fire inspections in 10 years. Devan’s Gate needs to be fire inspected & Pizza Mania. Carey: did we come up with a starting salary for building inspector? Supervisor: that was last year because she didn’t have her training done and we based it off hours. You guys did it last year. I’ll give you my input. Discussion on salaries. Jennings: 3% for Julie. Carey is fine with 30 for Heidi. Howell: for Julie we are at $43,775. Supervisor recommends 3.25% = $43881. Clerk is good for 6 hours.
Supervisor next discussed planning board. He rounded to $22000.
Supervisor explained refuse/garbage. He explained General ‘B’ revenues.
Supervisor explained ‘Highway Townwide’.
Supervisor explained “Highway Outside Village’.
Supervisor explained fire protection. There’s not much he can do with it.
Supervisor next spoke re: sewer district. Councilman Furman went over to sewer plant with Dean. That building is worse than they thought. On the back side of it – the whole roof is falling in. They built that extension on it but don’t know what for. Mike said the same thing – close it off. There’s already a door there. We could put in some windows. Put a door way on this side for the lab. Move everything in that building. There would be a brand new lab. And then just take that building down. Supervisor: we could probably do a lot of that internally.
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Supervisor: our guys framed out the whole entire youth center. Furman: I was thinking and Dean, it’s probably $50-60,000 deal. Pour concrete floor, insulation & framing that space. Mike said it would help in the winter because the wind wouldn’t be blowing through. We gotta address it. Supervisor: Three houses of Lazier – 2 have driveway permits – once they hook up they owe us $6000 in addition to the building permit. Mr. Lin is hoping to do 30 houses. 30 houses at $6000 = $180,000. Carey: maybe we can Jason up the to do a temporary fix, give suggestions.
Supervisor next needs die-hard numbers for A. All agreed to hiring a new highway guy effective January 1, 2020. He next spoke re: Town Clerk: Councilman Carey stated $51000. Jennings: $52000. Furman: $53000. Howell: $51000. Supervisor: $51500. Discussion: Supervisor, Howell, Carey agreed $51500. Jennings: $52000. Furman: thinks it should be more. Supervisor: we need hours for Paula. All agreed on 4 more hours a week extra for Paula.
Town Board was next discussion. All agreed to $9000 each, no cell phone reimbursement.
Discussion next was for supervisor budget line. (Supervisor Volpe left the room for this discussion.) Councilman Carey recommends supervisor increase to $33000 and deputy to $600. Howell: agreed with Councilman Carey but wanted to add $750 more to supervisor to get same percentage as board members. The rest of the board agreed. Supervisor came back in. Board noted the changes for his budget. He will make changes to budget as discussed.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to adjourn the meeting at 12:00 midnight. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 30, 2019 at 6:00pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk
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Discriminatory Harassment
316.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to prevent town employees from being subjected to discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment and retaliation (Labor Law § 201-g). Nothing in this policy is intended to create a legal or employment right or duty that is not created by law.
316.2 POLICY
The Town of Mount Hope is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating and maintaining a work environment that is free of all forms of discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment and retaliation. The Town will not tolerate discrimination against a member in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, fringe benefits, and other privileges of employment. The Town will take preventive and corrective action to address any behavior that violates this policy or the rights and privileges it is designed to protect.
The nondiscrimination policies of the Town may be more comprehensive than state or federal law. Conduct that violates this police may not violate state or federal law but still could subject an employee to discipline.
316.3 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include:
316.3.1 DISCRIMINATION
The Town prohibits all forms of discrimination, including any employment-related action by an employee that adversely affects an applicant or employee and is based on the actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and other classifications protected by law.
Discriminator harassment, including sexual, harassment, is verbal or physical conduct that demeans or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual based upon that individual’s protected class. It has the effect of interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating a hostile or abusive work environment.
Conduct that may, under certain circumstances, constitute discriminatory harassment can include making derogatory comments, crude and offensive statements or remarks; making slurs or off-color jokes; stereotyping; engaging in threatening acts; making indecent gestures, pictures, cartoons, posters, or material; making inappropriate physical contact; or using written material or department equipment and/or systems to transmit or receive offensive material, statements, or pictures.
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Such conduct is contrary to town policy and to a work environment that is free of discrimination.
316.3.2 RETALIATION
Retaliation is treating a person differently or engaging in acts of reprisal or intimidation against the person because he/she has engaged in protected activity, filed a charge of discrimination, participated in an investigation, or opposed a discriminatory practice. Retaliation will not be tolerated (Labor Law § 201-g).
316.3.3 DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT
The Town prohibits all forms of discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment (Labor Law § 201-g). It is unlawful to harass an applicant or an employee because of that person’s sex.
Sexual harassment includes but is not limited to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
(a) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly as a term or condition of employment, position, or compensation.
(b) Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct is used as the basis for any employment decisions affecting the employee.
(c) Such conduct has the purpose of effect of substantially interfering with an employee’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
(d) Any other act or conduct deemed sexual harassment under the state sexual harassment policy (Labor Law § 201-g).
316.3.4 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Discrimination and discriminatory harassment do not include actions that are in accordance with established rules, principles or standards, including:
(a) Acts or omission of acts based solely upon bona fide occupational qualifications under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Equal Opportunity Development guidelines.
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(b) Bona fide requests or demands by a supervisor that an employee improve his/her work quality or output, that the employee report to the job site on time, that the employee comply with the Department Head, the Town Supervisor and/or rules or regulations, or any other appropriate work-related communication between supervisor and employee.
316.3.5 SEXUAL HARASSMENT AGAINST NON-EMPLOYEES
Sexual harassment of non-employees in the workplace or while on-duty (including contractors and persons conducting business with the department) is prohibited (Executive Law § 296-d). All complaints or information indicating sexual harassment by or against a non-employee will be investigated according to this policy (Labor Law § 201-g).
316.4 RESPONSIBILITIES
This policy applies to all town employees, who shall follow the intent of these guidelines in a manner that reflects town policy, professionalism, and interest of the Town and its mission.
Employees are encouraged to promptly report any discriminatory, retaliatory or harassing conduct or known violations of this policy to a supervisor. Any employee who is not comfortable with reporting violations of this policy to his/her immediate supervisor may by pass the chain of command and make the report to a higher ranking supervisor or manager. Complaints may also be filed with the Department Head or the Town Supervisor.
Any employee who believes, in good faith, that he/she has been discriminated against, harassed or subjected to retaliation, or who has observed harassment, discrimination or retaliation, is encouraged to promptly report such conduct in accordance with the procedures set forth in this policy.
Supervisors and managers receiving information regarding alleged violations of this policy shall determine if there is any basis for the allegation and shall proceed with a resolution as stated below.
316.4.1 QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATION
Members with questions regarding what constitutes discrimination, sexual harassment or retaliation are encouraged to contact a supervisor, Department Head, or Town Supervisor for further information, direction or clarification.
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316.4.2 SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities of each supervisor and manager shall include, but are not limited to (Labor Law § 201-g):
(a) Continually monitoring the work environment and striving to ensure that it is free from all types of unlawful discrimination, including harassment or retaliation.
(b) Taking prompt, appropriate action within their work units to avoid and minimize the incidence of any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
(c) Ensuring that their subordinates understand their responsibilities under this policy.
(d) Ensuring that employees who make complaints or who oppose any unlawful employment practices are protected from retaliation and that such matters are kept confidential to the extent possible.
(e) Making a timely determination regarding the substance of any allegation based upon all available facts.
(f) Notifying the Department Head or Town Supervisor in writing of the circumstances surrounding any reported allegations or observed acts of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation no later than the next business day.
316.4.3 SUPERVISOR’S ROLE
Because of differences in individual values, supervisors and managers may find it difficult to recognize that their behavior of others is discriminatory, harassing or retaliatory. Supervisors and managers shall be aware of the following:
(a) Behavior of supervisors and managers should represent the values of the Town and professional standards.
(b) False or mistaken accusations of discrimination, harassment or retaliation can have negative effects on the careers of innocent employees. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent supervisors or managers from discharging supervisory or management responsibilities, such as determining duty assignments, evaluating or counseling members or issuing discipline in a manner that is consistent with established procedures.
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316.4.4 COMPLAINTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Members making a complaint of sexual harassment should be encouraged to use the state’s standard complaint form. If an employee making a complaint chooses not to use the form, supervisors or managers should document the complaint on the state’s standard complaint form with the information provided by the complainant.
316.5 INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS
Various methods of resolution exist. During the pendency of any such investigation, the supervisor of the involved employee should take prompt and reasonable steps to mitigate or eliminate any continuing abusive or hostile work environment. It is the policy of the Town that all complaints of discrimination, retaliation or harassment shall be fully documented and promptly and thoroughly investigated.
316.5.1 SUPERVISORY RESOLUTION
Employees who believe they are experiencing discrimination, harassment or retaliation should be encourage to inform the individual that his/her behavior is unwelcome, offensive, unprofessional or inappropriate. However, if the employee feels uncomfortable or threatened or has difficulty expressing his/her concern, or if this does not resolve the concern, assistance should be sought from a supervisor of manager who is a rank higher than the transgressor.
316.5.2 FORMAL INVESTIGATION
If the complaint cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the supervisory resolution process, a formal investigation will be conducted.
The person assigned to investigate the complaint will have full authority to investigate all aspects of the complaint. Investigative authority includes access to records and the cooperation of any members involved. No influence will be used to suppress any complaint and no member will be subject to retaliation or reprisal for filing a complaint, encouraging others to file a complaint or for offering testimony or evidence in any investigation.
Formal investigation of the complaint will be confidential to the extent possible and will include but is not limited to details of the specific incident, frequency and dates of occurrences and names of any witnesses. Witnesses will be advised regarding the prohibition against retaliation, and that a disciplinary process, up to and including termination, may result if retaliation occurs.
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Employees who believe they have been discriminated against, harassed or retaliated against beaus of their protected status are encouraged to follow the chain of command but may also file a complaint directly with the department Head or the Town Supervisor.
316.5.3 ALTERNATIVE COMPLAINT PROCESS
No provision of this policy shall be construed to prevent any employee from seeking legal redress outside the Town. Employees who believe that they have been harassed, discriminated, or retaliated against are entitled to bring complaints of employment discrimination to federal, state, and/or local agencies responsible for investigating such allegations. Specific time limitations apply to the filing of such charges. Members are advised that proceeding with complaints under the provisions of this policy does not in any way affect those filing requirements.
Complaints at the state level may be filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) or the New York State Supreme Court pursuant to the requirements of Executive Law, art. 15 § 290 et. seq. Complaints at the federal level may be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pursuant to the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 USC (§ 2000e et. seg. More information regarding filing complaints under state and federal law can be found at the websites for DHR and the EEOC.
316.5.4 INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
All complaints of or information indicating sexual harassment should be thoroughly investigated pursuant to the requirements of the State Sexual Harassment Policy for All Employers in New York State (Labor Law (§ 201-g).
316.6 DOCUMENTATION OF COMPLAINTS
All complaints or allegations shall be thoroughly documented on the appropriate forms and in a manner designated by the Department Head. The outcome of all reports shall be:
(a) Approved by the Department Head, or the Town Supervisor, depending on the ranks of the involved parties.
(b) Maintained in accordance with the established records retention schedule.
316.6.1 NOTIFICATION OF DISPOSITION
The complainant and/or victim will be notified in writing of the disposition of the investigation and the actions taken to remedy or address the circumstances giving rise to the complaint.
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316.7 TRAINING
All new employees shall be provided with a copy of this policy as part of their orientation. The policy shall be reviewed with each new employee. The employee shall certify by signing the prescribed form that he/she has been advised of this policy, is aware of, and understands its contents and agrees to abide by its provisions during his/her term with the Town.
All members shall receive annual training on the requirements of this policy and shall certify by signing the prescribed form that they have reviewed the policy, understand its contents, and agree that they will continue to abide by its provisions.
316.7.1 SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING
All employees should also participate annually in sexual harassment prevention training. The Sexual Harassment Officer should develop this training consistent with the sexual harassment prevention training program established by the Department of Labor and the Division of Human Rights (Labor Law (§ 201-g).
316.8 POSTING OF POLICY
This policy and the standard complaint form should be available in all work locations (Labor Law (§ 201-g).
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