A Moment of Remembrance
Following the pledge of allegiance, Mayor Jeff Kaplan opened the meeting with a moment of silence for the late John Corwin, a longtime officer of the Ellenville Police Department, and former chief of police from 1998 to 2003. Mayor Kaplan also noted that they would adjourn the night's meeting in Corwin's memory.

Kaplan's Komplaints
During the opening remarks of the meeting, Mayor Jeff Kaplan updated the assembled village officials and residents of his ongoing requests for the town to conduct a town-wide tax reassessment, also known as a "reval," a process which would update the town's tax rolls and would distribute property-tax burdens based on property value. Right now, said Mayor Kaplan, the greater burden of the town's taxes is falling on village taxpayers, which is unfair because properties outside the village generally sell for higher amounts. Mayor Kaplan also discussed his dissatisfaction with the number of tax-exempt properties that service many people who live outside of the village, such as religious institutions and the school, that village residents are forced to subsidize with their own tax dollars. He shared his hope that the school could be persuaded to part with property it owns at Warren and Church Streets, which it is retaining in case the district ever plans to expand, said Kaplan.

Mayor Kaplan also shared his idea to remake Ellenville a "Canal Town," capitalizing on the village's proximity to a portion of the D&H Canal. His idea was inspired by a recent trip to San Antonio, TX, where he saw that the city had found much success in its status as a "River Town." Kaplan hoped to utilize a "StreetScape" grant for such hopes to come to fruition.

Garbage Grumbling
When the mayor opened the Petitioners' portion of the meeting, a woman named Joan Rice Smith stood and asked the village board if they had a partnership with or owned Affordable Waste; Village Manager Elliott Auerbach responded by saying that he was offended by the question, and that "it was probably one of the most ignorant questions I've ever been asked. The answer is absolutely not." The two began to argue briefly, when Mayor Kaplan stopped it and moved on. Later, as the meeting continued, Auerbach went into the audience and brought a piece of candy to Rice, and the two appeared to reconcile.

The question seemed to anticipate the board's motion to approve the entrance into a six month contract with Affordable Waste, who will supply them with a 10-yard dumpster with weekly service for $228.70 per month. The move comes as a response to ongoing negotiations with the town board of Wawarsing, who was increasing their quarterly charge for the village's use of the town's transfer station. The street department will now be able to simply dump garbage collected from the village's cans into the Affordable Waste receptacle, instead of driving to the transfer station to discard the collected refuse.

Dissolution Disillusioned?
The village board approved the appointment of seven area-residents to the Dissolution Study Committee, a group whose aim it will be to look into the potential benefits and costs dissolving the village would bring. The seven residents appointed were Carol Distel, Dennis Warner, Stefan Spezio, Manny Torres, Keith Eighmey, Steve Krulick, and Barbara Bright.

The village board also agreed it would be prudent to include members of town and village government on the committee; Deputy Mayor Ray Younger volunteered to act as the village board's representative, and the mayor asked that a letter of invitation be sent to Wawarsing's Town Council, asking for a member of the board to join the committee as well. The village board agreed to prepare a list of concerns regarding why the village has decided to create a committee, in the hopes that the committee will remain objective and will study the issue from all angles, including the possibility of going in the other direction, creating a city out of Ellenville, an idea that was suggested earlier in the meeting by Trustee Francisco Oliveras.

Budget Vote
The proposed 2008-2009 budget went through one final review by the village board, Village Manager Auerbach, and Treasurer Linda Polkoski. Included in the budget was a projected $2,000 raise in insurance expenditures for the police department, apparently partially based on last Wednesday's collision involving Patrolman Christopher Spylios and a tractor trailer.

Mayor Kaplan also suggested the village seriously look into replacing its current street-lighting system with solar lighting, in response to a projected $14,000 increase in expenses for lighting. The aforementioned contract with Affordable Waste saw the budget for Refuse Collection and Disposal drop by $2,100. Further cuts were found in the employee benefits section of the budget, because of planned insurance buyouts for village employees who are able to get insurance through family or spouses. The board unanimously voted to approve the budget, which came in at a total of $3,745,649.

When asked how the board intended to avoid another deficit in this year's budget, Mayor Kaplan responded that the board will be watching overtime costs in its departments far more closely this year. Village Manager Auerbach pointed to a purchasing plan that the Treasurer Polkoski should have implemented by June 1, which will help the village keep better tabs on their spending and funds. They also intend to have monthly reports from the treasurer at the village board meetings. The assembled officials reiterated the hope that, by practicing fiscal conservatism, the general fund will be in much better shape in 18 months, though not necessarily "in the black."

Village Equipment For Sale
The village board declared a number of village vehicles and equipment as excess property, then authorized the manager to put them up for sale. The properties are as follows: 1979 Ford (DARE) Van; 1995 GMC Pickup; 1991GMC Pickup with plow; 1997 Elgin Street Sweeper; and 1993 Ford Pickup.

Trenchbox Troubles
Toward the end of the meeting, Trustee Oliveras asked about the status of the new trenchbox intended for the sewer department. It was revealed at the sewer department's budget workshop with the village on April 10 that the sewer employees had been working without a trenchbox, a piece of equipment that protects workers from traffic above, for some time. The equipment was initially supposed to be ordered for the department, but was put on indefinite hold while the village sorted out their financial crisis. Treasurer Linda Polkoski said that the equipment would be able to be ordered by June 1, when the village's general fund would have money to spend.

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