‘Re-org’ meeting kicks off 2013 in the village

MILLBROOK — The Village Board held its annual organizational meeting on Thursday, Jan. 3, at the Village Hall. Mayor Laura Hurley took the board through the annual appointments, first reappointing Joseph Spagnola as deputy mayor. All board liaisons will remain the same as last year, with Spagnola and Edward Cox responsible for the Highway Department; Hurley and Thomas Whalen for the fire and rescue departments; Hurley and Spagnola for water and sewer departments; Michael Herzog and Spagnola for Buildings and Grounds; Whalen and Spagnola for Planning and Zoning; Herzog and Hurley for the Wappinger Creek Watershed; and Cox and Herzog for emergency planning details.The mayor proposed the appointment of Stanley Morse to the Planning Board to fill the unexpired term of Peter Doro. Morse’s term on the Planning Board run through Dec. 31, 2016. Village Clerk Linda Wiltse swore in Morse at the reorg meeting. Hurley also appointed Michael Schultz to the police department as a part-time officer with a six-month probationary term. Schultz was not present to be sworn in.Hurley appointed Van DeWater & Van DeWater as legal counsel for the village; D’Achille & Associates as the auditing firm; the town of Washington for snow removal; and The Millerton News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Millbrook Independent as official newspapers for the village.Hurley made the official depository for the village the Bank of Millbrook. All money received by the village treasurer, clerk and receiver of taxes will be deposited at that bank. Herzog submitted a draft of revision for the code of ethics; Hurley said it’s the board’s intention to work on the code at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8.The Village Board will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall. The rules for special meeting times were also reviewed and approved. It was announced that agendas for board meeting will be available on the village website in advance. The mileage allowance to reimburse village workers who use their person vehicles for official business will remain the same as last year, at 45 cents per mile. Hurley requested trustees and village officials continue with annual training and conferences; attendance at such training must be approved in advance by the Village Board.The four intermunicipal agreements with the town of Washington remain the same, including the fire contract, building and zoning agreements and the tanker truck agreement. The agreement with the Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Services also remains the same. The Employee Handbook, amended in Jan. 4, 2012, was unchanged. The social media policy and violence in the workplace policy needed no adjustments. Similarly, the village emergency plan called for no changes either.The next regular business meeting for the village is set for Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m.