NEW CHALLENGE: HIRING MANAGER Bliss Anticipates Kennedy Will Lead Recruitment, Too By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – If – as is anticipated – Dave Bliss is reelected chairman of the Otsego County Board of Representatives at the organizational meeting Thursday, Jan. 2, one of his first acts will be to name a committee to recruit the first county administrator. In an interview, he said he sees no reason why county Rep. Meg Kennedy, C-Hartwick, who led the…
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Otsego County Board of Representatives - Page 5
County Manager Decision Expected This Afternoon The Otsego County Board of Representatives was scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, on a historic matter: Whether to pass its executive authority to a hired professional, a county manager. As of presstime the evening before, it appeared certain – as certain as these things can be – that a coalition of Republicans, Democrats and the sole Conservative representative would create the $150,000 a year position. For the first report on…
EDITORIAL On County Manager, Now Hard Work Begins By the time you read this, it’s very likely Otsego County will have created a job of county administrator, joining all but a handful of counties around New York State. Heading into the Wednesday, Dec. 4, monthly meeting of the county Board of Representatives, the momentum to professionalize government was clear. Six of the seven Democrats were firmly in favor, plus two Republican leaders – chairman David Bliss and Schenevus’ Peter Oberacker.…
EDITORIAL Kennedy, Bliss, Committee Deserve Praise Who gets the praise for professionalizing Otsego County government? Foremost, probably county Rep. Meg Kennedy, C-Hartwick. The idea caught fire with her, evident in her close questioning of SUNY New Paltz Vice President Gerry Benjamin, keynoter at “County Manager v. County Executive,” a forum on the idea Dec. 14, 2017, at Springbrook’s new community center. In the months that followed, she became the first local county representative ever recruited to New York State Association…
Unilaterally, SSPCA Planning Fees By JIM KEVLIN • Special To AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Richard Sternberg, saying he was acting on behalf of the Susquehanna SPCA, told what appeared to be a partly surprised county Board of Representatives this evening that the Shelter will begin unilaterally levying fees Jan. 1 on county entities and towns that require its services. “We will be initiating a billing system,” said Sternberg, the retired Bassett surgeon and Cooperstown village trustee, who said he was acting…
County Board Allocates $230K To Fix Jail Roof By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Even with $230,000 in emergency funding allocated by the Otsego County Board of Representatives to fix the leaking roof of the county’s Public Safety Building, it could still be six to eight weeks before inmates are returned to the jail. Still, by making use of foam roof repair or other means, the repairs will likely be done to a high standard. “We have…
AFTER ELECTIONS, AMITY…
WHO MIGHT BE COUNTY MANAGER? You Can Read County Manager Job Description Editor’s Note: Here are the qualifications for a county manager the Otsego County board was scheduled to consider Wednesday, Nov. 6. ►Section 3. Appointment and Term of Office The County Administrator shall be appointed by the Board of Representatives and shall serve a term of three years at the pleasure of the Board of Representatives. In the event of a vacancy in office, the County Board of Representatives…
Republicans Keep County Board Majority By JIM KEVLIN & LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com The Republicans rained on the Democrats’ parade on Election Night, Tuesday, Nov. 5. Republican Rick Brockway won Laurens-Otego’s District 3, 697-548, turning back a Democratic effort to take control of the county board for the first time in memory. “Otsego County is red,” declared a jubilant Republican County Chairman Vince Casale. “It has always been red. It will always be red. People in Otsego County…
BULLETIN COUNTY BOARD COULD VOTE ON MANAGER NOV. 6 COOPERSTOWN – Word has been received that the county board’s Administration Committee last week approved the position of county manager and the attendant job description. That means a resolution on adopting a county administrator position will be voted on Wednesday, Nov. 6, the day after the Nov. 5 county board elections. The resolution would be on a local law, said county Rep. Meg Kennedy, C-Mount Vision, the Admin Committee chairman. The…
