FREDONIA
Salaries of trustees, mayor cut
FREDONIA — The Village Board voted Monday night to approve a local law that will decrease the salaries of the five trustees and the mayor.
The vote was 4-1, with Trustee Jacqueline Penfold-Williams dissenting.
That means that starting July 1, trustees will make $5,000 a year, a decrease of $500, and the mayor will make $12,000, a decrease of $1,000.
Trustees, led by Susan Mackay, said they felt village officials should show they are also doing their part to reduce municipal expenses. Penfold-Williams said she felt the current salaries helped trustees and the mayor with out-of-pocket expenses relating to their jobs.
The board also voted to decrease the number of board meetings for the rest of the year. In July and August, the board will meet only twice a month, the second and fourth Mondays, with a workshop at 6 p. m. and a regular business meeting the same night at 7:30 in Village Hall.
After much discussion, the board voted to meet three Mondays a month, instead of four, from September to December. The meetings will be held the second, third and fourth Mondays of the month. The second and fourth will include a workshop session at 6:30 p. m., followed by a business meeting at 7:30 in Village Hall. The third Monday will be a workshop session only, at 6:30.
Board members said they were trying to move more work to the committee level. The committees will discuss topics and then bring information to the board at its meetings. Mayor Michael Sullivan is proposing a revamping of committees and their topic coverage areas to broaden their scope.
In other business:
• Trustees learned that the village picnic pavilion in Russell Joy Park at the lower end of Hamlet Street, recently renovated by the Beaver Club, has been severely vandalized. Police are investigating.
• John Monaco, chief building inspector, was authorized to hire a service to cut tall grass at 201 Newton St., with the bill going to the property owner. The village has a new ordinance regulating the height of grass on properties.
• The village Police Department is looking to buy two cars. A call for bids has gone out, with bids returnable at 11 a. m. July 6.
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