fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Lloyd Town Board reorganizes

by Terence P. Ward
April 19, 2016
in Politics & Government
0
Left to right: Town of Lloyd councilman Kevin Brennie, councilman Jeffrey Paladino, supervisor Paul Hansut, councilman Mike Guerriero and councilman Joseph Mazzetti. (photo by Lauren Thomas)
Left to right: Town of Lloyd councilman Kevin Brennie, councilman Jeffrey Paladino, supervisor Paul Hansut, councilman Mike Guerriero and councilman Joseph Mazzetti. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

The Lloyd Town Board held its reorganizational meeting on January 6 at 5 p.m., an hour later than the workshop meetings typically scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month. The time of those workshops was one of the areas where the new board’s fault lines showed, as now there are two Democrats sitting to supervisor Paul Hansut’s left and two Republicans to his right.

“During the election,” said new board member Joseph Mazzetti, “we talked about transparency and a small-town feeling.” Holding official meetings so early in the day, he felt, made it difficult for those working traditional hours or retrieving their children from after-school activities to participate. He even researched what happens in neighboring towns: “New Paltz holds their workshops at 7:30, Marlborough at 7,” he said. “None hold them at 4 p.m.”

Hansut explained that workshop meetings in Lloyd are held at that time so that department heads — who are expected to attend and report on their areas — can appear during the regular work day, which ends at 4:30 p.m. for most town employees. “They don’t have to leave and come back,” said Hansut. “Four o’clock seems to work. We live stream the meetings, and the recording is broadcast on the Friday, Wednesday, and Monday of the following week.” While votes are occasionally taken, Hansut said that it’s limited to those situations which must be acted upon before the next regular meeting.

Mazzetti wasn’t convinced. “There’s nothing like people being in attendance at a real meeting,” he said. “The department heads understand that they must show up, and we can’t cater to the few. Why not hold them at seven?”

“It could lead to overtime in some cases,” said Hansut, a point which Kevin Brennie agreed with.

“That could be expensive for the taxpayers,” Brennie pointed out.

Hansut also mentioned that the board’s present schedule — holding meetings in the first and third weeks of the month, rather than two weeks in a row as is done in other towns — has led to smoother governance. With workshops two weeks before the regular meeting, it gives council members ample opportunity to get feedback from residents and other stakeholders regarding any business being undertaken; in Hansut’s estimation, holding meetings in quick succession makes that process much more difficult to manage.

Neither Guerriero nor Mazzetti were convinced, and both voted against continuing to hold workshops at 4 in the afternoon.

There was no dissent about appointing Planning Board alternate member Peter Brooks to complete the term of Scott Saso, who has resigned; Brooks will now be on the board at least through 2020. Dave Plavchak was unanimously approved to replace Saso as chairman.

When it came to the ethics committee, however, another partisan split occurred when Hansut proposed naming attorney Peter Cordovano to that body. Guerriero was not concerned by the fact that Cordovano is a Republican, but that he is an active member of the party who works on campaigns. In the past, Cordovano also was chairman of the New Paltz Republican Committee. Jeffrey Paladino saw things differently, saying that Cordovano is an attorney, “an upstanding guy” and would be “an asset.”

“The point is that he is heavily involved with the Republican party,” said Mazzetti, after which he and Guerriero voted against the nomination.

The two Democrats also demonstrated an interest in reining in spending, questioning the amount earned by the recreation director and a raise — from $21.75 to $25 per hour — for court officers. In the case of the recreation director, the reason for his salary was explained as being because he has assumed some duties formerly performed by an outside cleaning service. Court officer positions, the board members were told, can be difficult to fill, and the raise was at the request of the town justices. In the past, police officers fulfilled those duties, and hiring dedicated court officers saves tax money.

Other routine motions to designate such things as official banks and newspapers, salaries of certain appointed employees and representatives to the annual statewide meeting of elected town officials were passed without comment, but those votes for which questions arose could be a harbinger of a different tenor in Lloyd Town Hall for 2016.

 

 

Tags: npt governmentnpt lloyd government
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Shandaken board clashes over reorganization appointments

Next Post

Letters: Thanks, Shayne Gallo; solar options; economic development

Terence P. Ward

Terence P Ward resides in New Paltz, where he reports on local events, writes books about religious minorities, tends a wild garden and communes with cats.

Related Posts

Congressman Pat Ryan receives committee assignments
News Wire

Congressman Pat Ryan receives committee assignments

January 27, 2023
Calls for transparency on county’s redevelopment of former TechCity building
Business

County and town governments seek state funding to help iPark 87 pay for building repairs  

January 25, 2023
Town of Hurley declares highway department garage unsafe
Politics & Government

Town of Hurley declares highway department garage unsafe

January 24, 2023
Saugerties celebrates Independence Day with parade and fireworks
Politics & Government

Saugerties Town Board adopts property tax reduction for firefighters

January 24, 2023
Sowing seeds of community: The New Paltz Rescue Squad
Politics & Government

New Paltz Rescue Squad asks for more financial support as employees leave for better-paying jobs

January 23, 2023
Ulster County Legislator and New Paltz alumnus Abe Uchitelle appointed to the College Council
Politics & Government

Ulster County Legislator and New Paltz alumnus Abe Uchitelle appointed to the College Council

January 20, 2023
Next Post

Letters: Thanks, Shayne Gallo; solar options; economic development

Trending News

  • Onteora faces “unfathomable” choices as district’s enrollment dwindles 1.5k views
  • Stockade FC will play at Marist College’s Tenney Stadium while Dietz Stadium is being renovated 888 views
  • Who is Howard Harris, and why is he so angry at Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna? 833 views
  • Hunter Mountain’s ski weekend nightlife is staging a post-pandemic comeback 702 views
  • Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5 644 views
  • Top 10 free sledding hills in Ulster County (if it ever snows) 579 views

Weather

Kingston
◉
37°
Partly Cloudy
7:13 am5:04 pm EST
Feels like: 34°F
Wind: 5mph SW
Humidity: 60%
Pressure: 30.08"Hg
UV index: 2
SatSunMon
46/30°F
46/28°F
39/28°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing