Malta Releases Tentative Budget

MALTA – The monthly Town of Malta Board meeting on Monday, October 7 was preceded by a short public hearing about a property maintenance violation concerning a trailer on Lot #3 on Airfield Road. The town had previously determined that the trailer was unsafe and substandard for habitation and the town was going to remove it. Supervisor Paul Sausville invited the owner, current tenant or anyone with a public concern about the property to speak. Later, the board unanimously voted 5-0 to authorize the violation. There was some discussion amongst the board regarding plowing the Dunning Street Path when needed due to snow accumulation. What made this area particularly significant is that the town of Malta owns only part of the path land. Supervisor Sausville recommended that they proceed, but making it a “secondary priority” to main roads and the like, perhaps having a goal to have the path cleared within 48 hours after a storm. Roger Crandall, building and maintenance department supervisor, estimated that it would occupy one town worker for one day to complete the plowing in question and advocated that it be tried for one season to determine the financial impact. Councilman Peter Klotz took an alternative view, expressing concern that other areas might feel entitled to request the town’s assistance in plowing if the board set a precedent here. The matter was tabled for the time being The town board breezed through the rest of the agenda items, with all items passing, in most cases unanimously. Among these items were several appointments to town positions, including deputy animal control officer and deputy town clerk. Councilwoman Tara Thomas did have a dissenting vote on two items: an amendment to the deputy tax receiver’s job description (she was joined by Klotz on this) and to refer the Caro planned development district to the planning board (Klotz abstaining). Both of these items passed with a split vote. The date and time of the next town board meeting was moved to Wednesday, November 6 at 6 p.m. The date was moved to be after Election Day, and the earlier than usual time was set to allow for a public hearing on the budget.