By Eileen Gallagher
Preliminary budget talks are underway at Town Hall.
The first part of the budget process involves hearing department summaries as well as plans and “Wish Lists” for the coming year. Recreation and Parks, Police, Town Clerk, New Castle Community Media Center, Department of Public Works, and Town Development were among the reports presented thus far.
Noteworthy for 2014:
-Substantial savings due to renegotiated refuse contract and worker’s compensation plan -Approximately 5,500 tax receipts processed, 3,060 parking permits paid for and 800 dog licenses renewed -Videotaped town board work sessions, zoning, and planning board meetings as well as town board meetings
Planned and/or proposed for 2015:
-BAS FOIL Tracker, a software package designed to streamline Freedom of Information Law requests -Online access for taxpayer information, camp registration, payment of program fees, and renewal of parking permits -Video Agenda Integration (VAI) to enable tabbing and time stamping to quickly reach a specific part of a meeting or attached document
– Additional equipment installation for town-wide wifi, and kiosks displaying town events, weather, and news
– Recycling “toters” which are larger, wheeled containers with lids to be sold to households
– Hosted voice system, or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to allow for town hall to operate from virtually any location -Basketball court at town hall, recreation field renovation, safety netting for sledding hill at Gedney Park, and playground replacements for compliance with safety regulations -Two police department vehicle/body cameras for trial basis
