TIMES
WALLKILL VALLEY
Vol. 34, No 15 3 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
3
ONE DOLLAR
Author
visits
Wallkill
tennis
Page 20
Page 39
www.WallkillValleyTimes.net
Walden set to override state tax cap
By TED REMSNYDER
With the 2016-2017 Walden budget rounding into shape,
it appears the Village Board will be forced to override
the tax levy limit. The board held a public hearing on
It doesn’t
add up
the fourth local law of 2016 at its regular meeting on
April 5th, as the village debated legislation that would
allow Walden to pierce the tax cap. In accordance with
state law, the measure would have to be passed with at
least 60% of the board’s support before the village would
theoretically approve a budget over the limit. The board
could take action with the local law at its next meeting
on Tuesday, April 19 after it holds all of the public budget
Continued on page 4
Abrupt
change
of plans
Volunteer of the Year
Montgomery budget
increase, thought to be
0.071%, was really 7.1%
Shawangunk Highway
Superintendent resigns
By RACHEL COLEMAN
“Last week we had a couple of faux
pas,” said Mayor L. Stephen Brescia.
The Montgomery Village Board was
caught flat-footed last Tuesday when
it was pointed out that their proposed
increase was 7.1 percent, far exceeding
the tax cap.
Brescia stated at a special budget
session on Monday that they had thought
their increase was 0.071, when it was
actually 7.1 percent.
The discovery spurred a flurry of
number crunching and hard decisions
over the next few days.
“We were able to make substantial
cuts,” said Brescia.
One of the largest cuts was a proposed
police sergeant position that carried a
salary of $61,600, overtime pay of $6,932,
$20,000 in retroactive pay and additional
ramifications to line items like Social
Continued on page 38
By TED REMSNYDER
Anita Vandermark
Christa Grohowski received the “Volunteer of the Year 2016” from the Town of Montgomery
Senior Independence Project (TOMSIP) at their annual dinner on April 6.
The Town of Shawangunk was thrown
a curveball this week with the sudden
resignation of Highway Superintendent
Ed Byrne due to a personal health issue.
The Town Board wasted little time
finding a temporary replacement, naming
Jim Barrett the new Deputy Highway
Superintendent within hours of Byrne
stepping down. After Byrne relinquished
his post on April 4th after three months
on the job, the board had to convene a
special meeting that same night to ensure
that the agency had a leader at the helm.
Barrett was semi-retired before
taking the position, doing structural steel
inspections in New York City, a task that
will take a backseat to his new job. He is a
former member of the Pine Bush School
Continued on page 38
SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL