The Lockport US&J offers this report....
ROYALTON — Residents will be given another chance to extend the terms of key town officials to four years from two in the November election. Townspeople voted against the measure in 2004, and the current town board has decided to put the question on the ballot again this year. Separate propositions will seek voters’ permission to increase the terms of the supervisor, tax collector, town clerk and highway superintendent.
A public hearing on the proposal drew some outspoken critics Monday night. “I’m against it,” said Molly McGirr, who described herself as a voter who cares. “We’ve had problems with the supervisor in the past. We didn’t care for the way he didn’t keep the books. And we had a lot of problems in the town. The oversight of the supervisor is so important and the only (people) to do that are the voters.”
Councilman James Budde noted that he doesn’t have a horse in this race, since council members already have four-year terms, but feels the voters should get a chance to decide.
Deputy Supervisor Jennifer Bieber concurred. “It’s not a decision I should be making,” she said. “It’s a decision to go to the voters. If they don’t want it, so be it. The option should be theirs.” Bieber noted, however, that the positions of the town clerk and tax collector are better served with continuity. She said most clerks in the state have four-year terms.“Your clerk is pretty consistent and it’s a job that’s very regulated,” Bieber said. “She has specific things she has to do and she can’t do. The tax collector is also very regulated.” Bieber added she thinks it will be up to the supervisor, tax collector, town clerk and highway superintendent to campaign to extend their own terms.
Al Wroblewski of Royalton Center Road doesn’t favor increased terms of office.“If you’re doing your job, you’ll be re-elected. It should not be on the ballot.”
McGirr insisted oversight comes from the voting booth.“If the supervisor is not honest and forthright, we don’t know that until we discover them. The only way to get rid of him is to vote him out of office. I don’t want him sitting there for four years making trouble. ... The last four years, it reinforced the reason for turning it down.”
In other town business:
Bieber reported that copies of the annual Financial Report Update Document for the 2007 fiscal year have become available to the town. The 123-page AUD will be available through the town’s Web site, TownofRoyalton.org; and paper copies will be available at the town hall for $10.The town has been criticized by auditors for its bookkeeping procedures. “We had so much trouble this year. We’re just getting our AUD in August,” Bieber said. “Really, we’re not in that bad of shape, thankfully.”
Dennis Kalbfleish complained that some ditches in the town have not be cleaned in 30 years and asked about eminent domain. He said he’s been trying to get the main line ditch cleaned from Chestnut Ridge Road through several farm properties to the reservoir on Freeman Road, but not all affected landowners will consent to the cleaning.
“We have to go around to our neighbors and con them into it,” Kalbfleish said. “As a taxpayer, I don’t think I should have to go to my neighbors to sign petitions. If he doesn’t want to do it, we’ve got a problem.”
Royalton is a relatively flat town and drainage is a major concern with all the rain this summer. Farmers can’t harvest hay because the fields are too wet.
“He has a ditch he needs cleaned out,” Bieber said. “It would be nice if everybody was neighborly. We want the water to flow right. We get people who are opposed and don’t want to sign an easement.”
Kalbfleish said the ditch on one side of the road has not been cleaned in 35 years and he suspects the other side has never been cleaned.“I’ve got hay I can’t get off my fields,” he said. “I buried a tractor. The ground is too soft to cut hay. It’s grown up and died off.”
Source: http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_225102654.html
ROYALTON — Residents will be given another chance to extend the terms of key town officials to four years from two in the November election. Townspeople voted against the measure in 2004, and the current town board has decided to put the question on the ballot again this year. Separate propositions will seek voters’ permission to increase the terms of the supervisor, tax collector, town clerk and highway superintendent.
A public hearing on the proposal drew some outspoken critics Monday night. “I’m against it,” said Molly McGirr, who described herself as a voter who cares. “We’ve had problems with the supervisor in the past. We didn’t care for the way he didn’t keep the books. And we had a lot of problems in the town. The oversight of the supervisor is so important and the only (people) to do that are the voters.”
Councilman James Budde noted that he doesn’t have a horse in this race, since council members already have four-year terms, but feels the voters should get a chance to decide.
Deputy Supervisor Jennifer Bieber concurred. “It’s not a decision I should be making,” she said. “It’s a decision to go to the voters. If they don’t want it, so be it. The option should be theirs.” Bieber noted, however, that the positions of the town clerk and tax collector are better served with continuity. She said most clerks in the state have four-year terms.“Your clerk is pretty consistent and it’s a job that’s very regulated,” Bieber said. “She has specific things she has to do and she can’t do. The tax collector is also very regulated.” Bieber added she thinks it will be up to the supervisor, tax collector, town clerk and highway superintendent to campaign to extend their own terms.
Al Wroblewski of Royalton Center Road doesn’t favor increased terms of office.“If you’re doing your job, you’ll be re-elected. It should not be on the ballot.”
McGirr insisted oversight comes from the voting booth.“If the supervisor is not honest and forthright, we don’t know that until we discover them. The only way to get rid of him is to vote him out of office. I don’t want him sitting there for four years making trouble. ... The last four years, it reinforced the reason for turning it down.”
In other town business:
Bieber reported that copies of the annual Financial Report Update Document for the 2007 fiscal year have become available to the town. The 123-page AUD will be available through the town’s Web site, TownofRoyalton.org; and paper copies will be available at the town hall for $10.The town has been criticized by auditors for its bookkeeping procedures. “We had so much trouble this year. We’re just getting our AUD in August,” Bieber said. “Really, we’re not in that bad of shape, thankfully.”
Dennis Kalbfleish complained that some ditches in the town have not be cleaned in 30 years and asked about eminent domain. He said he’s been trying to get the main line ditch cleaned from Chestnut Ridge Road through several farm properties to the reservoir on Freeman Road, but not all affected landowners will consent to the cleaning.
“We have to go around to our neighbors and con them into it,” Kalbfleish said. “As a taxpayer, I don’t think I should have to go to my neighbors to sign petitions. If he doesn’t want to do it, we’ve got a problem.”
Royalton is a relatively flat town and drainage is a major concern with all the rain this summer. Farmers can’t harvest hay because the fields are too wet.
“He has a ditch he needs cleaned out,” Bieber said. “It would be nice if everybody was neighborly. We want the water to flow right. We get people who are opposed and don’t want to sign an easement.”
Kalbfleish said the ditch on one side of the road has not been cleaned in 35 years and he suspects the other side has never been cleaned.“I’ve got hay I can’t get off my fields,” he said. “I buried a tractor. The ground is too soft to cut hay. It’s grown up and died off.”
Source: http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_225102654.html
