From Amie Acton, 7/21/21
July 12 Ways and Means
All referrals from committees, Human Services, Planning and Economic Development, Public Safety, Public Works were passed.
July 12 Board Mtg
Karen Tripp, President of Allegany County Fair, spoke briefly. The Fair Board had less than 60 days to put everything together. Tripp expressed appreciation to entertainers who stayed with them and allowed them to be open, other counties weren’t so lucky. As in past years the Board of Legislators will hold a meeting on the fairgrounds during fair week. This is to make county government more visible to residents and hopefully spark interest in the community. A wry joke was made by Mr Barnes (4) that since the sky seems to have emptied itself recently the weather for fair week should be beautiful.
Robert Starks, Probation Director, spoke briefly on Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week, July 18th-24th. Starks went through the wide array of responsibilities these individuals have and duties they perform. He emphasized that the work is “mentally and emotionally challenging” and his appreciation that these challenges, often overlooked in the past, are being given the recognition and resources they need. Starks concluded with a story from one of his staff in which a person they were supervising said “you’re the first person that’s ever really taken an interest in my life”, noting that the personal impact their work makes on people’s lives is always rewarding.
The Board received a request to attend the Andover Wetlands Kids Fishing Contest on August 21st to present awards.
The following resolutions were passed:
- A change in procurement policy put forward by the Personnel Committee
- Extension of 3 year contract with the Allegany County Soil and Water Conservation District for $146,000 per year of contract put forward by the Resource Management Committee
- Budget transfer within the county administrator accounts put forward by the Ways and Means Committee
- 1 year agreement with Alfred State College to provide assistance for economic and industrial development within the county, totaling $110,000 put forth by the Planning and Economic Development Committee. Legislator Ricci (2) asked for the resolution to be tabled and was supported in this motion by legislators Curran (5), Dibble (3), Graves (4), and Havey (4). At 9-5, one legislator absent, the motion failed and the resolution went on to pass along the same lines
- Lease agreement with First Transit, Inc. for county-owned public transit buses put forth by the Ways and Means Committee
- Annual renewal of software agreement with ClearGov, Inc. put forth by the Ways and Means Committee
- Appointment of Thomas A Miner to the position of County Attorney with an amended salary put forth by the Ways and Means Committee
- Adjustment of the salary for the Senior Attorney in the Department of Social Services reflecting the position being part time instead of the projected full time. Put forth by the Human Services, Personnel, and Ways and Means Committees
- Acceptance of matching grant funds from the state for tourism put forth by the Planning and Economic Development Committee
Legislators heard the monthly audits, the amount of monies spent by offices and departments within the county, and voted to pay the bills. Legislator Barnes (4) was the only no vote as he would prefer the amounts could be rounded up to the nearest dollar.
