Draft Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes Halcott Grange
August 21, 2023, 6:00 pm

Present: Town Supervisor Innes Kasanof, Council members Alan Reynolds, Judy DiBenedetto, Highway Superintendent Russell Bouton, Town Clerk Patricia Warfield, ZBA & LUC Chair Karen Rauter, Planning Board Chair Nancy Reynolds. Absent: Councilwoman Samantha Bouton, Councilman Eric Fronckowiak. Public: Scott Moroff, John Dobsa, Patty George, Cindy Bouton. Sean Penchoff, Vicki & Dave Carpenter, Paul & Sybil Margaritas, Kevin & Peg Leslie, Carol & Tim Hunt, Pattie Kelder.

Call to order at 6:00 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Report from Assessor Mark Neves concerning impact on seniors from property tax changes:
Supervisor Kasanof explained the new Tax changes for those 65 and older and local government options. For 2024, the new definition of income will be the Federal Adjusted Gross Income plus any Social security benefits not included in the (FAGI) plus any tax-exempt interest or dividends that were excluded from (FAGI). A municipality can choose to exclude untaxed Social Security, IRA distributions that were included in (FAGI), and offset income by unreimbursed medical and prescription costs. Greene County is recommending not to adopt these exclusions and Assessor Neves feels we should then not adopt them as well.

Approval of the minutes of the July 17, 2023, meeting: Motion to approve by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Supervisor Innes Kasanof, Councilman Alan Reynolds: aye.

Highway Superintendent’s Report: (A) The 2nd CHIPS reimbursement is done, and Superintendent would like to work on stock piling material to replace what was used. (B) Greene County Highway Department has plans to be here patching County Rt. 1 before school starts.

Voucher vote: General Abstract #G0823 – vouchers 115 – 121 = $1,064.05. Highway Abstract #H0823 – vouchers 122 – 130 = $28,913.31. Motion to pay bills by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Councilman Alan Reynolds, Supervisor Innes Kasanof: aye.

Budget Officer’s Report: (A) Supervisor Innes Kasanof presented the monthly finance report. (B) 2024 Budget: Supervisor Kasanof discussed with the Board raising the salaries for those working in the Highway Department to make the positions more attractive to both full-time, part-time, and emergency workers. Also discussed were increased insurance costs, and perhaps a cost-of-living raise for other Town Salaries.

Clerk’s Report: Certified Transcripts: 2 @ 10.00 each, Grange Rental: 100.00, Building Permit: 100.00, BP renewal: 2 @ 50.00, C/O Search: 2 @ 25.00 each, Transfer Station (June): 362.00. The Town collected and disbursed 732.00 for the month of July.

Other Business: (A) Karen Rauter gave an overview of the progress the LUC committee has made. Some of the topics for discussion have been Short Term Rentals, deciding on who governs, the planning Board or CEO, and how to pay for that time. The LUC committee hopes to have a summary document to present to the Board for their comments at the October board meeting.

Public: Vicki Carpenter asked the Board if Halcott is still responsible for the old road that goes over the mountain to Lexington. A property owner is making drastic changes to the road and there is concern that those changes may not be legal if the road is in fact still a town road. Supervisor Kasanof was not sure if there was a resolution on record that the Town has indeed abandoned said road or if it simply stopped being used or maintained. There is also a right of way granted to said property owner which crosses private properties as well, again causing concern with the scope of his improvements. Supervisor Kasanof will reach out to the Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea about the situation.

Next Meeting: Regular Meeting September 18, 2023, 6:00 pm.

Motion to Adjourn at 7:06 pm by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Supervisor Innes Kasanof, Councilman Alan Reynolds: aye.