Absentee ballots made available for Jan. 29 vote

ST. JOHNSVILLE — Oppenheim-Ephratah and St. Johnsville residents who will be out of the area or unable to vote in person on the Jan. 29 Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville board of education referendum may now request an absentee ballot.

District officials advise residents that, as this is a New York State Department of Education referendum, the state Commissioner of Education has established a different absentee voting procedure for the revote than for regular school budget and board of education votes.

Applicants should note that each absentee voting packet will include an application together with the ballot. The packet will also include detailed instructions for completing and returning both the absentee ballot application and the ballot together. Failure to follow those instructions may result in a ballot being disqualified.

To obtain an absentee ballot, Oppenheim-Ephratah residents should contact District Clerk Anna O’Connell at (518) 568-2014. St. Johnsville residents should contact District Clerk Elizabeth Battisti at (518) 568-2622.

Voters may pick up ballots in person at the district offices until Jan. 28. Voters can also request ballots be mailed to them. Permanently disabled residents will receive a ballot automatically. Completed applications and ballots must be received by the district clerks no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

New York State Department of Education representatives will tally all votes, including the absentee ballots, on Jan. 29.

Timbs to detail proposed fiscal plan for Fort Plain

FORT PLAIN — Dr. Richard Timbs, executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium, will present an outline for a proposed five-year fiscal plan for the Fort Plain Central School District at its regular Board of Education meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.

The outline incorporates the components of a corrective plan that has been submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller. In the fall, state auditors found the district has been holding more money in fund balance than is allowed by law.

District leaders took multiple steps to make adjustments in reserve funds to accurately reflect the district’s liabilities and its long-range educational and fiscal plans. At a special meeting on Dec. 19, the board approved the corrective plan, and Superintendent Douglas C. Burton documented the steps in a letter to the Comptroller’s office.

“The entire fiscal plan will also bring the district’s unrestricted fund balance below four percent of the general fund budget and into compliance,” wrote Burton.

“District management and the Board of Education will continue to tighten estimates for expenditures and appropriated fund balance for proposed annual budgets to try to hold district property tax levy as appropriate for our educational obligations to students and fiscal obligations to residents.”

The board also approved a voter referendum for Tuesday, Feb. 12, with three propositions on the ballot, including creating a bus/transportation purchase reserve fund and transferring $409,631 from the Capital Reserve Fund to the newly-created fund.

The letter also included the following steps taken by district leaders:

• Reallocation of $575,927 from the (ERS) Retirement Contribution Reserve to the fund (EBALR) Employee Benefit Accrued Liability Reserve. In addition, the Board of Education approved the reallocation of $67,956 into the (ERS) Retirement Contribution Reserve from the Unassigned/Unexpended Fund Balance bringing the total to $102,029, effective June 30, 2012.

• The district has planned to utilize the funds in the EBALR to cover the cost of making cash payments to employees for accrued or accumulated leave time owed to those employees leaving employment with the district.

• In addition, the EBALR will be adjusted at the end of every fiscal year (with available funds as needed) to maintain a level commensurate with that of the amount of “Compensated Absences” reflected in the Statement of Non-Current Governmental Liabilities at that time.

• By June 30, 2013, the Board of Education will reallocate $387,000 from the Unemployment Reserve, which will reflect an adjustment in that reserve to an amount necessary to cover the cost of maximum benefits for two individuals, which will leave $43,000 in this reserve.

• These funds would be used to defray the cost of increases in that assessment in future years that exceeded the annual budgetary appropriation.

• In addition, the Unemployment Reserve will be adjusted at the end of the fiscal year (with available funds as needed) to maintain a level commensurate with current maximum benefits for two individuals.

• By June 30, 2013, the Board of Education will establish a new Reserve for Workers’ Compensation in the amount of $37,500, which will be transferred from the Unassigned/Unexpended Fund Balance.

• By June 30, 2013, the Board of Education will approve the reallocation of $278,953 from the Unassigned-Unexpended Fund Balance into the (ERS) Employee Contribution Reserve, for a total of $380,982, which will cover the cost of the projected 2013-14 payments.

Trucker charged with hitting plow

PALATINE — An Ilion truck driver was ticketed by a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy after rear-ending a state Department of Transportation snowplow with his semi-truck on Dec. 30.

David H. Gay, 61, of 17 First Ave., Apt. 1, was charged with speeding, following too closely and a log book violation. Deputy Michael Spaulding said Gay hadn’t made a log book entry in a week and the last entry still showed Gay was on-duty and driving.

Gay was released on tickets and is to appear in Palatine Town Court on Jan. 17 to answer the charges.

Canajoharie makes annual appointments

CANAJOHARIE — Last Thursday evening, the Town Board of Canajoharie made their annual organizational appointments, including: Douglas Landon, town attorney; Amy Kretser, bookkeeper; Les Hassan, code enforcement and zoning officer; Kathy Hanford, historian; Ivor Jones, planning board chairman; Steven Fredenburg, animal control officer; Rodney Young, deputy supervisor; Lois Manzi, deputy town clerk; Sherry Donnenwirth, deputy registrar; the Recorder and C-S-E, official newspapers; and NBT Bank, official depository.

When asked who he’d like to appoint deputy highway superintendent, Superintendent of Highways Eric Bowerman asked to table the appointment until next month’s meeting.

The health officer spot was left vacant.

The board also agreed upon mileage reimbursement rates, per IRS rules, as altered throughout the year; that the highway superintendent may purchase snowplow blades, not to exceed $6,000, without prior board approval; that the highway superintendent, per CSEA contract approval, may offer additional time off in recognition of extra duties of his deputy; that utility bills may be paid ahead of the monthly council meeting; and that postage for the postage meter may be paid ahead of the monthly council meeting.

— Joshua Thomas

Town discusses CHIPs paving, land purchase

CANAJOHARIE — During the monthly report by Superintendent of Highways Eric Bowerman at last Thursday’s Town Board of Canajoharie meeting, the first of 2013,  it was noted that $61,200 CHIPS money has been budgeted.

Bowerman said the highway department is probably going to pave Old Fort Plain and Sprakers roads with the funding, as he explained, “they’re basically my two worst roads in town right now”.

Bowerman noted that New York State has come up with a new formula for awarding CHIPS funding, by which eight lane miles of road was taken from the town of Canajoharie. Anything 14 feet wide or less is classified as a single lane road. Following the ruling, Bowerman measured the roads in question, finding some to be wider than 14 feet, earning back 3.5 lane miles.

The board briefly discussed their future goal of purchasing land to build a new highway garage on, with Supervisor Herbert Allen noting that there are many things to take into consideration, such as the possibility of being close enough to the village that the building could have water and sewer service.

He also explained that in choosing a location, shared services are being kept in mind, “and possibly at a later date, having the village and town go in together on a salt building.”

Councilmember Rodney Young questioned if there is a checklist available of things to consider when searching for a plot, so that the town doesn’t purchase land and run into problems later.

Bowerman said that one of the main concerns in purchasing land will be the sight distance from the driveway, stating, “Because of what we’re coming out of our driveway with, I would want as much sight distance as possible.”

Another consideration would be the land’s proximity to water. Bowerman said if the land classified as a wetland, is near a wetland, or even by a stream or pond, the village should refrain from purchasing it.

— Joshua Thomas

Residents of new district to vote

ST. JOHNSVILLE — Residents in the newly merged Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville School District will head to the polls Tuesday, Jan. 29 for the first of two referendums that will decide the makeup of the district’s new board of education.

The Jan. 29 referendum will ask voters to decide how many members should be on the new board of education (5, 7 or 9), and how long the members should serve per term (3, 4 or 5 years).

On Tuesday, March 19, voters will elect members from a slate of board candidates.

All voters will cast ballots at the D.H. Robbins Elementary School in St. Johnsville.

Once elected, the new board of education will select a superintendent, begin working on contracts with all bargaining units and craft the district’s first budget. Residents will vote on the budget May 21.

Polls for the referendum will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Jan. 29 at the D.H. Robbins School in St. Johnsville. By law, all voters must be U.S. citizens, age 18 or older and residents of the district for at least 30 days prior to the vote.

On Dec. 20, the Oppenheim-Ephratah and St. Johnsville boards of education held a joint meeting to discuss the transition process. The boards have another joint session planned for Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Oppenheim-Ephratah School.

“We’re in the process now of assembling budget information for the new board of education so it can hit the ground running once elected,” said Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES District Superintendent Patrick Michel, who is guiding the new district as it merges operations. “People undoubtedly have a lot of questions. I encourage people to keep an eye on the district websites. We’ll post information as soon as it becomes available.”

St. Johnsville was a component district of HFM BOCES, while Oppenheim-Ephratah was a component of Herkimer BOCES. The state Education Department has determined the new district is a component of HFM BOCES.