Village Board looks at 2021 election, tentative budget

MILLERTON — Starting promptly at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Millerton Village Board reviewed its priorities for 2021, including the upcoming Village Election and the tentative 2021-22 village budget.

Welcoming the entire board and Village Clerk and Treasurer Kelly Kilmer, the meeting was live streamed to the “Village of Millerton VOM” Facebook page due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a reminder to start thinking about this year’s elections, Kilmer said she sent in a legal notice to The Millerton News to show what village positions will be up for election. This year there is an open seat for mayor and the two open seats on the Village Board, all of which involve two-year terms. With caucuses anticipated for April, Kilmer said the earliest date for holding a party caucus is Tuesday, April 20, the last date for a party caucus is Tuesday, April 27, and all information must be sent to her by Thursday, April 29.

Because of COVID-19, Mayor Debbie Middlebrook said the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) appointments were moved back and appointments for the positions of chairperson for both boards were extended. For each person Middlebrook planned to appoint that evening, Kilmer said they’d serve on their respective boards from June 2020 to July 2025. Middlebrook appointed Lance Middlebrook to serve on the Planning Board and Kristin McClune to serve on the ZBA.

Additionally, because the village moved its elections due to COVID-19, Kilmer said the Village Board’s reorganization meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 6, during which time anyone who is newly elected will officially take the oath of office.

Moving on to the tentative 2021-22 village budget, Kilmer guided the board through the budget lines to point out where she had made markups, highlighting salaries, supplies, travel training, the village attorney, Village Hall utilities and repairs, the Police Department, highway expenses, recreation and other related budget components. As the trustees posed their comments, questions and suggestions for the tentative budget, Kilmer asked that they keep in mind that the budget is a work in progress, though she added that she’d like them to think ahead.

Along with focusing on specific components in the tentative budget — such as grants, incumbent accounts and expenses, insurance and salaries — the trustees discussed areas and accounts where funds could be allocated to benefit the village.

Once the trustees finished their first review of the budget, Middlebrook told Kilmer that if she was going to run it through so “we have a real idea of where we stand,” she suggested that, for full-time employees, they include a 2% salary increase. For anyone who’s getting paid but not working full-time, she suggested giving them what their hourly rate is. If Kilmer were to include that information, Middlebrook said the board would get an overall idea of where it stands with the budget.

Trustee Jenn Najdek suggested having a separate budget meeting to discuss health insurance. Middlebrook agreed and asked Kilmer to find out how much it would cost to get village employees health insurance when they buy in when she gets the insurance rates. Kilmer agreed to get the rates so the board can budget accordingly.

Kilmer noted that she has to have a tentative budget in her hand on record by Wednesday, March 31. As trustees still need to get through budget lines related to the water department, revenue and expenses, the board plans to continue its budget development at its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16.