City Manager Gets $60,000, Doubling His Severance, Plus In Exchange, Martin Murphy Agrees Not To Sue City Hall By LIBBY CUDMORE • for allotsego.com ONEONTA – In a special meeting at 9 a.m. today, City Manager Martin Murphy and the Common Council reached a settlement agreement, allowing Murphy to voluntarily resign with six months severance pay. Murphy, who had served as city manager for 10 months following the departure of former city manager Mike Long, was suspended by a vote of 5-2,…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
Oneonta Common Council - Page 12
City Council May Consider Murphy Severance Saturday ONEONTA – Acting Mayor Maureen Hennessy has called for a special meeting of Common Council for 9 a.m. Saturday in City Hall; the public is welcome to attend. No agenda was released, but the meeting could be to act on a severance counter-offer from suspended City Manager Martin Murphy. A return call from Hennessy for particulars was being awaited at this hour. Murphy was suspended by a 5-2 vote, with one abstention, at a…
Acting On Study, Common Council Votes To Buy $1.1 Million Fire Truck ONEONTA – On the recommendations of the Center for Public Safety’s 2014 study, Common Council Tuesday evening unanimously agreed to authorize the purchase of a brand new 100 Mid Mount Platform Fire Truck from Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc in Louisiana to replace the failing 1987 ladder truck. “This has been in the works for a long time,” said Council Member Larry Malone. “We’ve managed to squirrel away $400,000, so we…
After Debate, Oneonta Common Council Approves $33,000 Fire, EMS Needs Study By LIBBY CUDMORE • allotsego.com ONEONTA – With hopes of better understanding community fire and EMS needs, Common Council, after some debate, agreed 5-3 this evening to authorize $33,000 for a comprehensive study of the Fire and EMS departments. “We’ll finally have an outside source giving us input in hopes of saving us funds in the future,” said Council member Bob Brzozowski, Seventh Ward. The study will be done…
Council Member Palmer To Run Again, Meaning Half Of Council In, Half To Go ONEONTA – Common Council member Madolyn Palmer announced just moments ago that she will seek a second term for her Fifth Ward council seat. “I feel that, right now, Common Council needs someone with experience,” she said. “I plan to stay on council as long as I can.” With her announcement, four incumbent have now announced they are running again, and four that they are retiring. Mrs. Palmer,…
Common Council Agrees To Work Through Issues By LIBBY CUDMORE • www.allotsego.com ONEONTA – When City Manager Martin Murphy read The Daily Star on Wednesday, April 22, he was surprised to see that Council Member Mike Lynch, Fourth Ward, was quoted as saying that he had conversations with city workers who felt “either that they’re not getting the respect they deserve or they feel that they have no voice.” It was news to him. “Until recently, I was not aware of concerns by…
Common Council Tables Police, Fire Study ONEONTA Though the completed study of the Oneonta Fire Department’s equipment was on the table, Common Council decided early tonight to table a motion that would bring the Center for Public Safety Management back to the city to put together a comprehensive analysis of police, fire and EMS needs. “I remain opposed to this,” said Council Member Mike Lynch, Fourth Ward. “Mayor Miller had us looking at how other communities address these needs constantly. …
Mayor Southard Vows Hard Work, Prudence By JIM KEVLIN • HOMETOWN ONEONTA Edition of Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 If he follows the lessons he learned from his father – “work hard and stay within your means” – City Hall promises to be well served by Acting Mayor Russell A. Southard Jr. over the next year. He learned those lessons early on, when Russell A. Southard Sr. moved his young family – six daughters and one son, the fifth of the…
Chickens Don’t Fly By LIBBY CUDMORE•HOMETOWN ONEONTA, THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL (Edition of Friday, Oct. 10) Oneonta residents will have to wait a little longer before they start their mornings with eggs fresh from their own chickens. In the half hour of public comment at the Common Council’s meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7, Council members heard passionate arguments from both sides of the chicken debate. “This is a particularly foul idea,” said Frank O’Mara, Ford Avenue. “It’s guaranteed to pit neighbor…
Chickens a la Oneonta? Common Council Considers Putting Recipe On Books By LIBBY CUDMORE • HOMETOWN ONEONTA Edition of Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 It’s not a matter of which came first – the chickens or the ordinance. It’s about which one will go on the chopping block. “There’s a lot of concern about where our food comes from,” said City Council member Bob Brzozowski. “People want to know that their chickens are cared for, what they’re fed and the quality of their…