Town Board
Town of Oswego
Town Board Organizational Meeting Minutes
January 10, 2011
Supervisor: Victoria M. Mullen
Town Board Members: Tim DeSacia, Greg Herrmann, Margaret Mahaney, Daniel Shaver
Attorney to the Board: Stephen C. Greene, Sr.
The organizational meeting of the Oswego Town Board was held on January 10, 2011 at town hall. Supervisor Mullen opened the meeting at 7:05 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was taken with the following members taken:
Supervisor: Victoria Mullen
Councilor: Tim DeSacia
Councilor: Greg Herrmann
Councilor: Margaret Mahaney
Councilor: Dan Shaver
Attorney to the Board: Stephen C. Greene
Town Clerk’s Report: December fees paid to the supervisor were $111.89 with a total for the month of $380.50. The annual fees collected in my office were $42,929.74, 575 dog licensed, 66 building permits, 47 marriages, 3 demolition permits, 2, fence permits, 1 junkyard permit and 7 special permits, 213 copies, and $20124.00 in hunting licenses. Of those fees last year $899.73 was paid to the County Treasurer for dogs but this year we will not be paying the County Treasurer. Town taxes collected to date $267,530.28.

Supervisor's Report: As we begin a new year I would normally give a state of the town address, but tonight I would like to say a few words about the situation we found ourselves in regarding the apparent lack of mutual aid for emergency ambulance back up. Oswego County Ambulance Service, (Mentor) intends to locate in the Town of Oswego. This investment in our town helps our tax payers while providing a critical service to our people. A proposal was made to the Oswego Town Board by Mentor, 3 ambulances would be located in the Town of Oswego, providing paramedic level service. The Town has a 29 mile radius with a population, according to the 2000 census, of 7247 people. That number includes the population of the State University College.

The City has 5 ambulances who service approximately 40 thousand people, including the city residents, and the towns of Oswego, Minetto, and Scriba, in about a 90 miles radius, and now the city also transports patients to where they want to go, potentially taking them out of our area more often.

The town board has always looked at response time as a major factor for our residents in need. This was not the first time the town considered moving to Mentor, all three towns did so in ‘05; however, Mentor was stationed in Fulton at that time and the town chose to stay with the “closest ambulance service” and that was the city.

The ambulance rates that were proposed to the town by Mentor were lower than the 2011 city rates. Also, OCAS (Mentor) would not be charge the town an “annual agreement fee” resulting in a saving to the town. These are some of the reasons we considered transitioning from Oswego City Ambulance to a private service.

When the attempt was made to locate 3 Mentor ambulances in our town for efficient service, and responsible use of our taxpayer’s money, the mayor’s immediate response was to deny us the same mutual aid that they take advantage of to operate their “ambulance business”. In other words the city would still expect to receive emergency backup however they would refuse to give emergency back up to any Oswego Town ambulance provider, however the city would still give aid to other towns that do not have an agreement. The Mayor or his designee did not inform the Town of Oswego of this move on his part. Of course the response to this threat to our residents and anyone traveling though our town was at first, disbelief followed by horror.

At that point Mentor did the ethical and honorable thing. They withdrew their offer of primary ambulance service, refusing to put patients at risk, without emergency back up, mutual aid from the city. The mayor responded in the exact opposite way, taking advantage of the opportunity to double our agreement fee with his threat to the town, under duress we agreed. This agreement with the city of Oswego has never guaranteed the town’s an ambulance and has always stated the following...”the city from time to time, on an emergency basis when requested, and IF the city has an ambulance available, may provide ambulance service to the residents of the Town". And for this we will pay them a fee, while the city collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in ambulance bills from our town residents who pay much higher rates than the city residents. The question that arises from this experience is how our town, can ever hope to better protect our people when our only choice is the mayor’s “deal we can’t refuse”. This will not go unchallenged.

Resolution 2011-1 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board opens the public hearing on Local Law1-2011 at 7:05 PM to hear all interested parties for or against eliminating the position of elected assessor in the Town of Oswego and establishing the position of sole appointed assessor effective January 1, 2012.
Moved by Councilor DeSacia, second Councilor Shaver all ayes motion carried.

Local Law Public Comment: Town Resident Doug Malone asked if the town could handle the work with one assessor? Will we be reassessing the town every three years? Town Resident Earl Engle asked if this is going to cost more, will it be a full-time position and will the person be within the community? Town Resident Chip Pelton asked when will you know if this will be a full time job?
Resolution 2011-2 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board closes the public hearing on Local Law 2011-1 at 7:12 PM.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor Mahaney all ayes motion carried.

Public Comment: Town Historian George DeMass gave the following annual report:
The 2010 year concentrated on three areas, education, inquiries and accessions.
The area of education consisted of exhibits at the town hall, pictures and artifacts of people, places and events in the town’s history. One of the most popular was the town race drivers displayed by Joe Oleyourryk.
Various topics of historical interest in co-operation with the town historical society. The Rural Cemetery walk proved to be a popular event. Working towards the completion of the Dr. Mary E. Walker statue and it’s dedication.
There have been about 40 inquiries concerning some area of Oswego Town history including six student inquiries concerning Dr. Walker from as far away as Kansas.
About twenty-five items of history have been accessed into the archives, and of special interest Alvah Walkers’s journal c 1870 who was Dr. Walker’s father, District 3 (now Minetto) attendance records from the Oswego City Board of Education and a picture of Bunker Hill school families at a picnic with Dr. Walker present.
Organization and storage of the archives has also been a primary effort of the year.
Town residents asked about the letter sent to the city regarding ambulance service, why didn’t the town residents know about this, is Mentor as qualified as the city ambulance workers? Supervisor Mullen welcomed Earl Engle as our newly elected town assessor.

Resolution 2011-3 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the minutes from the December 27, 2010 town board meeting.
Moved by Councilor Herrmann, second Councilor Mahaney all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-4 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the bills on abstract #1 as follows:
General Fund
Highway Fund
Franklin/Baylis Lighting District
Edgebrook Lighting District
Sleepy Hollow Sewer District
$23,555.09
$22,073.21
$ 128.16
$ 75.10
$ 74.00
v1-v20
v1-v26
v1
v2
v3
Moved by Councilor DeSacia, second Councilor Shaver all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-5 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the appointments in Attachment A. Be it further resolved that these appointments shall run until December 31, 2011.
Moved by Councilor Shaver, second Councilor Mahaney all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-6 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the schedule of salaries of elected and appointed officials for 2011 found in Attachment B.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-7 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board designates the Palladium Times as the official town newspaper.
Moved by Councilor Herrmann, second Supervisor Mullen all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-8 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board designates JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. as the town’s depository for 2011.
Moved by Councilor Mahaney, second Councilor Shaver all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-9 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board imposes on the Supervisor the powers and duties of administration and supervision of the town or special improvement district functions to be performed on behalf of the board.
Moved by Councilor DeSacia, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-10 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board establishes a Town Clerk,
Highway Superintendent and Supervisor’s Petty Cash fund of $100 each.
Moved by Councilor Mahaney, second Councilor Shaver all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-11 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the 2011 Payroll
Schedule identified as Attachment C.
Moved by Councilor Herrmann, second Councilor DeSacia all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-12 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the 2011 Holiday
Calendar identified as Attachment D.
Moved by Councilor Shaver, second Supervisor Mullen all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-13 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to
pay in advance of audit of claims for public utilities services such as gas, electric, water,
sewer, fuel oil and telephone service as well as for postage, freight, express charges and health insurance. Claims for these payments shall be presented at the next regular meeting for audit.
Moved by Councilor Mahaney, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-14 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board adopts the Code of Ethics as in Attachment E.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor DeSacia all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-15 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board adopts the Rules of Order of the Town Board of the Town of Oswego as found in Attachment F.
Moved by Councilor DeSacia, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-16 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board adopts the 2011 voucher calendar as listed in Attachment G.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor DeSacia all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-17 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board approves the monthly town board meeting and workshop schedule identified as Attachment H. Meetings will be held at 7:00 PM at the Oswego Town Hall.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor Shaver, all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-18 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board hires Craig R. Gilbert CO. for yearly copier maintenance contract at $750.00.
Moved by Councilor Mahaney, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-19 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board contracts with G&G Wastewater for the operation and maintenance of the Sleepy Hollow Sewage Treatment Plant.
Moved by Councilor Shaver, second Supervisor Mullen all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-20 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board appoints Catherine K. Mears, JoEllen Smith and Joe Oleyourryk to the Ethics Committee. Be it further resolved these appointments shall run until December 31, 2011.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor Herrmann all ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-21 Motion by Supervisor Mullen and second by Councilor DeSacia to add an item to the agenda. All ayes motion carried.

Resolution 2011-22 Be it resolved the Oswego Town Board adopts Local Law 1-2011 which eliminates the position of elected assessors in the Town of Oswego and establishes the position of sole appointed assessor effective January 1, 2012.
Moved by Supervisor Mullen, second Councilor Shaver all ayes motion carried.

Motion by Councilor Mahaney, second by Councilor Shaver to adjourn the meeting at 7:29 PM all ayes motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Theresa A. Cooper, CMC
Oswego Town Clerk
Attachment A.
2011 Appointments
Job Title Name
Attorney to the Oswego Town Board Greene Law Office
Attorney to the Planning Board Stephen C. Greene, Jr.
Attorney to the ZBA Kevin Caraccioli
Budget Officer Richard Hogan
Cemetery Superintendent John Knopp
Chief Assessor Richard Hogan
Clerk to the CEO/ZEO Theresa Cooper
Code/Zoning Enforcement Officer Wayne Newton
Court Clerk Myrtis Sterio
Custodian – Town Hall Maureen Polky
Deputy Highway Superintendent Frank Ferguson
Deputy Registrar Debra Hogan
Deputy Supervisor Timothy DeSacia
Deputy Town Clerk Carol Todd
Dog Control Officer Daniel Sullivan
Snow Removal Laborer (Town Hall) Joseph Oleyourryk
Marriage Officers T Cooper & V Mullen
Secretary – Planning Board and ZBA Noreen Ruttan
Senior Court Clerk Patricia Jung
Registrar Theresa Cooper
Town Constable Frederick Ferguson
Webmaster Jeff Adkins
Attachment B.
2011 Salaries by Position
Position Salary
Assessment Board of Review $141.40 per day/ea.
Assessors $6,601.00 Annually
Assistant Cemetery Superintendent $11.52/hr.
Budget Officer $1,866.00 Annually
Cemetery Laborer $7.43/hr.
Cemetery Laborer + 2 yrs. $7.58/hr.
Cemetery Superintendent $13.17/hr.
Chief Assessor $7,264.00 Annually
Clerk to the CEO/ZEO $874.00 Annually
Code/Zoning Enforcement Officer $10,485.00 Annually
Custodian $3,937.00 Annually
Deputy Highway Superintendent $0.50/hr.
Deputy Registrar $0.00
Deputy Supervisor $625.00 Annually
Deputy Town Clerk $9.58/hr.
Dog Control Officer $9,572.00 Annually
General Laborer (Snow Removal) $10.60/hr.
Historian $251.00 Annually
Registrar $260.00 Annually
Secretary - Planning Board and ZBA $13.25/hr.
Justice Clerk $8,822.00 Annually
Town Justice $16,796.00 Annually
Senior Justice Clerk $9,044.00 Annually
Supervisor $15,000.00 Annually
Town Board Members $4,245.00 Annually
Town Clerk $40,932.00 Annually
Town Constable $10,045.00 Annually
Highway Supt/Super Bldg. & Grounds $60,391.00 Annually
Attachment C.
2011 Employee Pay Schedule
From
-
To
Pay Date
01/01
-
01/08
1
01/13/11
01/09
-
01/22
2
01/27/11
01/23
-
02/05
3
02/10/11
02/06
-
02/19
4
02/24/11
02/20
-
03/05
5
03/10/11
03/06
-
03/19
6
03/24/11
03/20
-
04/02
7
04/07/11
04/03
-
04/16
8
04/21/11
04/17
-
04/30
9
05/05/11
05/01
-
05/14
10
05/19/11
05/15
-
05/28
11
06/02/11
05/29
-
06/11
12
06/16/11
06/12
-
06/25
13
06/30/11
06/26
-
07/09
14
07/14/11
07/10
-
07/23
15
07/28/11
07/24
-
08/06
16
08/11/11
08/07
-
08/20
17
08/25/11
08/21
-
09/03
18
09/08/11
09/04
-
09/17
19
09/22/11
09/18
-
10/01
20
10/06/11
10/02
-
10/15
21
10/20/11
10/16
-
10/29
22
11/03/11
10/30
-
11/12
23
11/17/11
11/13
-
11/26
24
12/01/11
11/27
-
12/10
25
12/15/11
12/11
-
12/24
26
12/29/11
12/25
-
12/31
27
12/31/11
Attachment D.
Town Holidays 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
New Year’s Day Observed
Monday, January 17, 2011
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Monday, February 21, 2011
Presidents Day
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day
Monday, July 04, 2011
Independence Day
Monday, September 05, 2011
Labor Day
Monday, October 10, 2011
Columbus Day
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Election Day
Friday, November 11, 2011
Veterans’ Day
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas Day Observed
(Teamsters ONLY)
Friday, February 11, 2011
Lincoln’s Birthday
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
Attachment E.
Code of Ethics
1. Definition. As used in this section: The term “Town Agency” shall mean any department, division, board, commission, or bureau of any department or office of the Town of Oswego, New York. The term “Board” shall mean Town Board of the Town of Oswego, New York.

2. Rule with respect to conflicts of interest. No officer or employee of a Town Agency or member of the Board should have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional activity or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of duties in the public interest.

3. Standards.

a. No such officer or employee or member of the Board should accept other employment which will impair independence of judgment in the exercise of official duties.

b. No such officer or employee or member of the Board should accept employment or engage in any business or professional activity which will require disclosure of confidential information gained by reason of official position or authority.

c. No such officer or employee or member of the Board should disclose confidential information neither acquired in the course of official duties nor use such information to further personal interests.

d. No such officer or employee or member of the Board should use or attempt to use an official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemption(s) for anyone.

e. No such officer or employee or member of the Board shall engage in any transaction as representative or agent of the Town of Oswego, New York, with any business entity in which the individual has a direct or indirect financial interest that might reasonably tend to conflict with the proper discharge of official duties.

f. An officer or employee or member of the Board should not by his conduct give reasonable basis for the impression that any person can improperly influence his or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of official duties, or that he is affected by the kinship, rank, position or influence of any party or person.

g. An officer or employee or member of the Board should abstain from making personal investments in enterprises which he has reason to believe they may be directly involved in decisions to be made by him or which will otherwise create substantial conflict between duty in the public interest and private interest.

h. An officer or employee or member of the Board should endeavor to pursue a course of conduct which will not raise suspicion among the public that the individual is likely to be engage in acts that are in violation of the public interest.

i. No such officer or employee or member of the Board employed on a full-time basis nor any firm or association of which such officer or employee or member of the Board is a member nor corporation a substantial portion of the stock of which is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by such officer or employee or member of the Board should sell goods or services to any person, firm, corporation or association which is licensed or whose rates are fixed by the Town Agency in which such officer or employee or member of the Board serves or is employed.

j. If any such officer or employee or member of the Board shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, having a value of ten thousand dollars or more in any activity which is subject to the jurisdiction of a town regulatory agency, a written statement must be filed with the Town Clerk attesting to such a financial interest in such activity, which statement shall be open to public inspection.

4. Violations. In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision of law any such officer, member or employee who shall knowingly and intentionally violate any of the provisions of this section may be fined, suspended or removed from office or employment in the manner provided by law.
Attachment F.
Rules of Order of the Town Board of the Town of Oswego
1. The Supervisor shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall preserve order and decorum in the conduct of the meeting.

2. The Supervisor, immediately following the opening of every regular meeting of the Board, shall proceed to the regular order of town business as follows: Roll call, Town Clerk Report, Supervisor report, reception of petitions and other communications addressed to the Town Board, reports of committees, reports of officers and department, and introduction of resolutions and motions.

3. The Supervisor will hold a public comment prior to the resolutions and motions. At this time the public will be invited to comment.

4. Every resolution or motion must be seconded before being put to a vote by the Supervisor and all resolutions or motions shall be recorded in their entirety in the official minutes of the Town Board.

5. The Supervisor may offer or second a resolution or a motion and need not relinquish the chair for such purpose.

6. No motion or resolution may be brought to a vote except by the majority consent of those Town Board members present unless printed or typewritten copies thereof are presented to each member of the board 48 hours prior to the opening of the meeting at which such motion or resolution is offered.

7. No Town Board member shall speak more than once on any question until every Board member choosing to speak shall have spoken.

8. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be entered unless (a) for an adjournment or recess, (b) for the previous question to lay on the table, (c) to postpone to refer to a committee, or (d) to amend. These latter motions are neither amenable nor debatable.

9. No motion shall be made to offer an amendment to an amendment already before the Board on any proposition.

10. A majority vote of all the members of the Board shall be required to suspend these rules of order. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

11. If the above rules are or become at any time in conflict with the statutory law, the statutory law shall take precedence.

12. No member of the public shall engage in any demonstration, booing, hand clapping or otherwise disrupt the town board meeting.

13. Any person speaking to the town board with the consent of the supervisor shall address his/her remarks to the town board, no to the other members of the audience in the form of a debate or otherwise.

14. The public will be invited to comment on any motion or resolution not listed on the publicized agenda that is brought before the town board during a meeting.
Attachment G.
Voucher Calendar 2011
Vouchers should be submitted before or on the scheduled dates below to the Supervisor’s office.
Submit by:   TBM
February 7, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Feb 14
March 07, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Mar 14
April 04, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Apr 11
May 02, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 May 09
June 06, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Jun 13
July 01, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Jul 11
August 01, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Aug 08
September 02, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Sep 12
October 03, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Oct 11
November 07, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Nov 14
December 05, 2011
payment to be made the week of
 Dec 12
December 19, 2011
Final payment for the year 2011
 Dec 27 (T)
The Town Board will review vouchers at the Town Board meeting. Payment will be made on all approved vouchers.
• The Town of Oswego will not pay any finance or late charges that conflict with this payment schedule.
• Please note all municipalities are tax exempt for State and Local Taxes. The State requires all tax-exempt organizations to file a form ST-119.1 with all vendors, yet does not require local government agencies to file any such forms. NYS is trying to correct the use of these forms. If you have any questions or need further assistance you can contact the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance at 1-800-462-8100, please select # 3, when prompted, if you have a touch-tone phone.
Attachment H.
Town Board Meetings and Workshops Calendar 2011
Workshops:
Town Board Meeting:
January 24, 2011
January 10, 2011
February 28, 2011
February 14, 2011
March 28, 2011
March 14, 2011
April 25, 2011
April 11, 2011
May 23, 2011
May 09, 2011
June 27, 2011
June 13, 2011
July 25, 2011
July 11, 2011
August 22, 2011
August 08, 2011
September 26, 2011
September 12, 2011
October 24, 2011
October 3, 2011 (special meeting)
November 28, 2011
October 11, 2011

November 14, 2011
December 12, 2011
December 27, 2011
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