Meetings must now end by 11:30 p.m.
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

"This proves we really can work together," said Deputy Supervisor Deborah Bruch Bucki, referring to the passage of her resolution calling for order to be restored at Town Board meetings.

(See editorial on page four)

It took an hour, but the board, after amending the resolution several times, adopted a meeting plan. In response to excessive meeting lengths, Bucki developed the 13-section resolution to make the meetings more efficient.

Work sessions will be moved back into the conference room and will begin at 3 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m. Bucki said she had contacted all department heads and board members about the proposed change and received no complaints. However, during the meeting, Council Member Dan Ward said his work schedule will make a 3 p.m. meeting difficult.

Also, the board approved changing the start time to 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. for the bimonthly Town Board meetings. Members also added a clause that states the meetings will not last past 11:30 p.m., and any business not addressed by that time will be reserved for the next scheduled meeting.

Bucki had proposed allowing an extension with a unanimous vote, but that was removed per an amendment.

The resolution finally addressed a problem that has been plaguing the town since January - Monday meetings lasting into Tuesdays. On March 21 the town board did not adjourn until 2:45 a.m., more than seven hours after the meeting was called to order. In that case and many others where meetings lasted more than a couple of hours, residents slowly left the meeting room, often uninformed on the town's business.

Bucki read part of the resolution, which stated that "excessively long meetings effectively disenfranchise citizens who desire to monitor Town Board's governance, but whom work and family obligations prevent from watching or attending board meetings at all hours of the night."

The resolution takes effect Aug. 28 and includes other changes, such as requiring that agenda times be filed in a timely manner, consent agendas be followed and only three public hearings per meeting be held, except in urgent circumstances.

Bucki said the resolution, also sponsored by Supervisor Satish Mohan and Council Member Shelly Schratz, was the result of residents telling her the length and ineffectiveness of the meetings was one of their concerns about the town.

Monday's meeting was adjourned just before 1 a.m.

In a separate resolution, also passed on Monday, the Town Board approved adding "four larger, wider-body seats for the convenience of larger members of the public." Council Member O'Loughlin, who voted no, along with Mohan and Council Member Michael McGuire, said he had never seen a need for the change, to which Council Member Dan Ward replied, "Americans are just getting bigger."

Building Commissioner Thomas Ketchum asked the board where funding would be coming from for the work, but he was not given a definite answer.

The board tabled a proposal to provide hand signing for the hearing impaired at its meetings. After estimating that a signer would cost $80-85 an hour, about $10,000 a year, the board agreed to table the item and find a cheaper option, possibly a person training for their signing certificate.