Mayor’s Message April 2019
It’s no joke. Yard Waste Pickup started on April first. Our crews will be out on a continuous basis until May 15. Many of you early birds have already been out, cleaning your gardens and getting ready for the season. The rest of us will soon be joining you. Spring in Rhinebeck Village is now in “full swing”, and it’s very welcome.
The Village budget has been delivered to the board and is ready for the public hearing on April 9th. I am happy to say that the 2019-20 budget keeps us under the “tax cap”. No tax increase, yet we are able to maintain our commitment to improving our roads and infrastructure. We will also be able to continue setting money aside into capital funds for future investments. We are budgeting conservatively. That means we are not counting on the dollars we usually get from the New York State Aid and Incentives for Municipalities Program(AIM) funding. But, we are continuing our efforts to get that funding reinstated. I will keep you posted on our progress. In addition to the AIM funding we are still hopeful there will be a restoration of the Extreme Winter Recovery (EWR) money, as well as an increase in the Consolidated Local Street & Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). We depend on EWR, Chips, as well as PaveNY to fund our street paving. We have already started planning for the paving projects this year for Wynkoop and Locust Grove. Deputy Mayor Lewit and DPW John Fenton are working on the details. The Village budget is a combined budget from all of the Departments. The total budget is $4.2M, with $2.4M in the general fund. Following are the budget percentages for each of the departments in the general fund. Another Part of our spring routine is the Village Government Organizational Meeting. This is when we assign trustees as liaisons to the various village departments. This important job involves communicating between departments and the Board, inter-departmental communication, as well as as well as overseeing planning and budgeting. At this time, we also name people to committees. And, assign judges, attorneys, and engineers who will work with us over the coming year. Here are some of the key contacts: For a complete list please see our Village Website https://www.rhinebecknyvillage.org/ Deputy Mayor - Trustee Lewit Village Clerk- Patricia Coon Treasurer - Karen Mclaughlin Courts, Police, Fire and Village Hall - Mayor Bassett Highway, Parks and Ethics - Deputy Mayor Lewit Building, Planning and Zoning - Trustee Korzcak Water Department - Trustee Neunaker Waste Water Department - Trustee Rossi The Rhinebeck Historical Society has been honored to have received an extremely valuable donation from Ann Sturgill-Platt the Great Great Granddaughter of Dr. Eliphalet(Eli) Platt, one of Rhinebeck’s founding fathers. Dr Platt was elected President (Mayor) of the Village Trustees back when the village was first incorporated in 1834. A beautiful pendant, containing a daguerreotype of Dr Eli, is now going to be available for all of us to see. Mike Frazier, Village Historian and member of the Rhinebeck Historical Society, suggests displaying the pendant in Village Hall. That seems like a wonderful idea and a great way for more people to learn about our ancestors, who gave time and energy to build this beautiful Village. April is Autism Awareness month and Tuesday, April 2nd is World Wide Autism Awareness Day. The Committee for An Autism Supportive Community is hard at work with “stakeholders” who will be working with restaurants, retail establishments, churches, private medical practices and NDH to request pledges of participation in doing #1thing to support people on the autism spectrum.I am very proud of how this program is being received by everyone in our community. And, finally. I am happy to celebrate Police Officer Daniel Alberg for his 28 years of service to the Village! Congratulations and thanks for all of us.
As always, please reach out to me with any questions or comments! You can reach me by phone 845-876-7015 ext 2 at Village Hall or via email to MayorBassett@VillageofRhinebeckny.gov or come to see me during open hours from 1pm to 2pm daily. Gary Bassett Mayor Village of Rhinebeck 76 East Market St. Rhinebeck, NY 12572 845-876-7015