This page contains the lastest Articles by Mayor Elder.
If you'd like to see others not included below, please email
amchampagne@villageofwebster.com
and include the date you wish to see.
Until then...see you in the papers!
March 23, 2011
Accessing your Village Government
Last year, the Village Board approved my initiative to post Village Board meetings online. Since that time, Carol Moranz, in our Village office, has faithfully taken the digital copy of our Village Board meetings and posted them, along with the agenda and minutes from the same meeting. I am proud to report that this effort to open up Village government has been a phenomenal success. We have countless hits on our website, and many of you are watching us online.
Though we have trumpeted that effort, I do not want to forget to mention the huge utility you can find in the Village of Webster’s website: villageofwebster.com. On the front page are many important public notices such as public hearing information, and hydrant flushing schedules. Using the website, you can immediately see a calendar of meeting dates, which is constantly being updated by Ann Marie Champagne, this column, and Carol Klem’s “Village Focus.”
Delving into the site, you can find the names, addresses and contact numbers of the Village Board members, our administration, information about the Planning Board, Zoning Board and all our other citizen boards. If you have questions about our budget, it’s there. If you want maps of the Village, they are there as well. You can read about our history, local attractions, the Webster Museum, our parks, community services and Village water. You can even use the website to pay your water bill online.
But what if you don’t have access to the internet? You can still access all of this information by coming into Village Hall. The information on the website is available to you anytime during office hours. Remember Village Hall is open every Thursday night until 7:00pm. Don’t be shy: this is your government and your Village Board and our employees encourage you to know more. If you can’t make it to Village Hall, call me or any of the Trustees: we can help you. The best part of local government is that we are right here, ready to answer your questions and lend you assistance.
If you have any concerns I can assist you with, please call me (anytime) at 662-9906 or email me at pelder@villageofwebster.com.
March 9, 2011
Budgeting Your Money
Kathy Vendel knows her numbers. For eight years, she has composed a budget for our General and Water Funds. Kathy is most known as our Village Clerk, and in that position she is responsible for the records of the Village and the operation of our office. It is, however, in her other title – Treasurer – that she manages the Village Budget. And every year, she has the responsibility to compose a new budget for the Village Board to scrutinize and then, eventually, approve.
Village Law 5-504, 506 and 508 governs how the budget process takes place. On or before the 20th day of March, Kathy must prepare a tentative budget. She has typically prepared the tentative budget with some very basic input from the Board. For instance, she will ask us about our desire to increase taxes. And while she always takes our opinion into account, her most important responsibility is to take the spending requests from Village departments like the Department of Public Works and attempt to balance them against projected revenue.
This year, the Village Board has given the Kathy the clear message that we wish to see a budget that does not include any increase in the tax rate. Should we be able to hold to that desire, this will make the seventh straight year the Village has seen no increase in the tax rate.
The Village Clerk is required to present the tentative budget to the Board at a Board meeting before March 31st. Kathy has always met this deadline which is why the Village Board begins our budget discussions in March. We will be discussing the General Budget after our Regular Meeting on March 24th and the Water Budget at our workshop on April 5th. At these workshops, the Board goes through the budget line by line and asks Kathy questions about why the numbers are projected as they are. Jake Swingly, our Superintendent of Public Works, is also present so we can ask him questions directly about the Department of Public Works, the Sewer Department and our Water Company.
You are welcome at these informal meetings. We want to hear your comments and questions about the budget. This is probably the most important responsibility the Village Board has: to approve how we spend your money. You are invited to be part of that discussion.
The Village Board has set our goal to vote on the General and Water budgets at the April 14th meetings. If you can not attend one of the workshops, you can still give your input at the public hearing. The Board can still make changes to the budget on April 14th. By law, the budget must be approved by May 1.
If you have any concerns about the budget, please call me (anytime) at 662-9906 or email me at pelder@villageofwebster.com .
February 23, 2011
The Village Planning Board
New York State Village Law, section 7-718, establishes the laws that govern the performance of planning boards for New York State Villages. Only through passage of a local law can a planning board be established. The Village of Webster established its planning board decades ago. The Webster Village Planning Board consists of five members selected by the Webster Village Board from village residents who are 18 years or older and US citizens. Planning board members are required to complete formal courses in Land Use Law and attend various seminars to keep current in new developments relative to zoning issues. This requirement was passed by the Village Board only three years ago. Like all boards, the planning board has an attorney assigned to it to help guide the board in their decision making process.
Planning boards may advise the Village Board on proposed zoning district changes, opinions on the Comprehensive Plan, or any other matter the Village Board determines warrants planning board input. Since its creation, the Village Board has granted extensive powers to the planning board that duplicate many of the same responsibilities possessed by planning boards in other villages and towns. For instance, the planning board is the primary board that performs subdivision review and site plan review. The planning board has specific powers to grant sign permits and issue special use permits. The Webster Village Code provides laws governing the conduct of the Planning Board.
State statue sets forth a comprehensive procedure that must be followed by the planning board engaged in subdivision and site plan review. Strict compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) is also an integral component of any subdivision review procedures. The planning board must consider subjects such as sufficient street accessibility, suitable drainage, compliance with zoning regulations, mitigation of adverse impacts, and conformity with the character of the surrounding area when doing site plan review. The planning board often reviews parking, means of access, landscaping, architectural features, location and the dimension of buildings, adjacent land uses, and other elements required by Village Code.
The Planning Board meets the first Thursday of each month in a formal session to conduct public hearings. All meetings of the planning board are open to the public, unless the planning board votes to go into Executive Session. Additionally there are informal meeting from time to time when necessary, which are also open to the public.
Being a planning board member can be a demanding and difficult job. The planning board sometimes considers controversial matters that members of the community will disagree on. However, by giving proper and thorough consideration to each application, the planning board gives a fair hearing to each applicant. I extend to each member of the planning board, and especially Peter Adams, Chair of the Planning Board, my deepest appreciation for their dedication and commitment to our Village.
If you have any concerns over a specific project or the Planning Board, please call me (anytime) at 662-9906 or email me at pelder@villageofwebster.com.
