New clerk in North Collins retained, past clerk to help

The North Collins Village Board approved the appointment of Lynn Maciejewski as village clerk and treasurer at its Sept. 4 meeting.

Maciejewski won the support of the two trustees present, Brenda Bauer-Petrus and Karen Denne, along with Mayor Vincent George. The vacancy occurred following the sudden resignation of Kathleen “Kitty” Myers in late July. Maciejewski had unsuccessfully sought election as North Collins Town Clerk in 2011.

In a related matter, the board approved retaining Myers as a consultant, at a rate of $30 per hour, on a limited basis, to assist Maciejewski in understanding village operations. The position is expected to be very short term and limited to two to three hours, two or three days per week.

The move raised the concerns of resident and former trustee Beverly Boltz, who questioned rehiring a “disgruntled” employee who did not give proper notice and chose to announce her resignation through a newspaper ad rather than a letter to the board. She felt other qualified consultants could have been found.

Village Attorney Richard Schaus stated that the position was not created for the benefit of the former clerk, but to keep the village running. “We need to give Lynn [Maciejewski] every chance to succeed,” he said.

Mayor George, who sat in the clerk’s office for a two-week period during the vacancy, said he had looked for help from other village clerks but that each has operations different from each other. Referring to Myers, George said, “There is no one else who knows how that office operates.”

The board also agreed to the purchase of a laptop computer for use by the deputy clerk to avoid the wait time for the single computer in the office.

Gene Degman, village code enforcement officer, submitted a letter of resignation, with Sept. 15 as his last day o the job. The board appointed Town Code Enforcement Officer Phil Tremblay to also cover the village, beginning Sept. 16.

A proposal to pay $400 to Janice McMahon and Debra Hogan for an easement needed with the current water project had to be deferred until the next meeting when three votes could not be secured for approval. Trustee Bauer-Petrus did not agree with the terms of the agreement.

The board also agreed to renew two Bond Anticipation Notes at the current rate of interest for the Sherman Avenue reconstruction, $100,000, and for equipment and the fire truck in the amount of $200,000.

Mayor George read a resolution adopted by the Association of Erie County Governments, which came out against the idea of creating a separate County Library Board that would have taxing ability. The group was concerned over the elimination of local library boards, the lack of input from local municipalities that own many of the library buildings, and lack of communication with county government itself. Concern was also raised about creating another taxing jurisdiction in the county.

George also reported that he would meet with the town supervisor the following day to begin discussion on a new police contract.

The board approved payment of August expenses of $516,859.70.

The next regular meeting of the North Collins Village Board will be Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. in the village hall.