The State of the Village

April 18, 2011(click here for earlier columns)

(April 12th Column follows the message below)

Peter D. Elder

Village of Webster Mayor

Neighbors and Friends,

Last year at this time, I spoke about the importance of hard work. I promised you that this Village government - this Board - and I - would work as hard as we could to keep our Village a place Where Life is Worth Living.

I am proud to report that over the last year, I have confirmed what I already thought - that our Village is a tremendously vibrant place with dozens of groups and hundreds of people striving to make it better. It is the partnerships we form that move us forward – the common goals that make progress. We may not always agree, but look what we accomplish: marvelous festivals attracting thousands of people to this Village; parks that are improving year to year, new businesses locating on our Main Street, residential neighborhoods that are second to none. When we roll up our sleeves and work together nothing really seems impossible.

The last year has seen many accomplishments including the expansion of our Business Improvement District, the completion of our design element document (which will soon be given to the Village Board), the completion of a Water Report, the posting of Village meetings online and the installation of more signs to identify our parks. Of course, there are even more essential projects, the repaving of Corning Park, for instance, or the installation of new water mains, or the continued efficiencies we reap at the sewer treatment plant. 2010 was also the first year in many years where development in the Village resulted in an increase in assessed valuation.

Tonight, for the sixth time in as many years, the Board will consider keeping the Village tax rate stable at $2.22 per thousand. At a time where municipalities from the State level down are struggling to maintain even the most basic services, we have been able to protect our tax payers and enhance our services. In this tough economy, you will paying the same Village taxes as you paid last year. The 2011-2012 budget continues the tradition by being even leaner than its predecessors.

We will do more with less. We will work harder with what we have. Village government must set the example moving to the future that government must be limited in its scope but expansive in its vision.

What is that vision?

Within the next 60 days, the new Comprehensive Plan, a product of over two years of toil from an outstanding group of Village residents, will be before the Village Board for consideration. The Plan contains the kernel for an even more vibrant Village with recommendations for new land use patterns, traffic, woodlot conservation, parks, sidewalks, pedestrian access, parking, commercial development, and much more. In that same time period, we will begin to review the recommendations of the water department analysis of the Water Report to come up with a master plan for the future of Village water.

But in addition to those issues, we must also work to address the vacant storefronts within the Village, expand access to Village Board meetings through a home audience call-in, work to reduce graffiti, especially in our parks, and work with the Business Improvement District to beatify the BID sign on North Ave and the Village business corridor in general.

In a few minutes, the Village Board will begin our Organizational Meeting by making appointments and designations. In the midst of that, you will hear a list of organizations that Village Board members are liaison to. It is a long list - a long list of partners to help improve our community.

But the longest list of partners are you, our residents. This Village Board - the Mayor and Trustees – and all of our village employees – pledge our work on your behalf.  We welcome your help, your comments, your participation.

Have you gone to a concert in the Veterans Memorial park on a warm Friday evening? Or enjoyed the wonderful music of the Village Band at the Band shell at Harmony Park? Or enjoyed our premier Summer Celebration at Village Days? How about coming to a meeting of the Village Board and giving us your vision? Or walking down Main Street and stopping at Nest Things, or Performance Hobbies? How about dinner at Webster Hots, Streppa’s, the Prime Steakhouse or Shema Sushi? 

If you have not, join us. Join me.

This is your Village. The Board and our employees are just stewards. We arrive one hundred years into the future of our founders and must leave a Village with even more purpose and prosperity.

My fellow Village residents, this Village is strong and vital. With your help and involvement, working diligently together, this Village will continue to be a place where Life keeps getting better.

Thank you.

Welcome to the Village’s New Year

April 12, 2011

In ancient times, people celebrated the New Year at various times of the year. The most common time was that period where the frost of the harsh winter was overcome by the warmth of spring. As the cold, unyielding ground of March yielded to the new life and plants sprouting in April, so did the New Year begin.

We still retain some of that old style calendar. We might call it a fiscal year, or remember it only as the time when taxes become due. For Village government, however, we celebrate it with our Organizational Meeting. The meeting is a time to swear our newly elected Board members into office, set our policies for the coming year and make appointments. This year, the meeting will be on Thursday, April 14th at 7:30pm at the Community Meeting Hall, 29 South Avenue.

Village law is very clear, a candidate that has won election takes their seat on the first Monday of the official year following the Village Election. In the Village of Webster’s case, that was Monday, April 4th. The new official must sign their oath of office within 30 days. The actual swearing in process is really a formality – a reminder of the time when your word meant even more than your signature. That is why we always begin Organizational Meetings by swearing in our newly elected board members.

The newly formed Village Board will then begin a process of appointments. All of the other boards like Planning, Zoning, Historic Preservation, Parks and Recreation, Comprehensive Plan and Seniors and Disabled, will have one or more members to appoint. A Chair-person for each of these boards is also appointed. Terms for board members vary but the Chair-person serves only one year. The Village Attorneys, Village Clerk and Village Deputy Clerk may also be appointed.

The board must also set policies. These include purchasing, investment, and who can sign Village checks. The Employee Handbook and Elected Officials and Public Officers Code of Conduct are also considered for approval. The Village fee schedule, how some employees receive certain other compensation for special work done, when Village Board meetings and workshops will occur, when planning, zoning and other boards will meet, and how public comment should be given at Board meetings also must be approved by the Village Board.

Finally, Village Board members are assigned liaison duties to other Boards and organizations such as the Village Planning and Zoning Boards, the Business Improvement District, the Village Band, the Farmers Market, the Webster Museum and many other organizations. Each board member is assigned between three and five organizations to be liaison to and they are expected to frequently attend meetings of those organizations.

The Organizational Meeting is one of the busiest of the year. In addition, after we dispense with all of those issues, we enter into a regular Village Board meeting. So Board members always plan a long night.

Please join us as we celebrate the Village’s New Year on April 14th. If you have any concerns I can assist you with, please call me (anytime) at 662-9906 or email me at pelder@villageofwebster.com