The Peru Gazette

Source: Historic buildings and the Forest Preserve – – The Adirondack Almanack

Source: Dairy Cows, Milkmaids, and the First Vaccine  – – The Adirondack Almanack

Peru Gazette File Photo

By John T. Ryan 

Peru – The Peru Town Board will vote on the 2021 Town Budget at a Special Board Meeting on Monday, November 16th at 6 p.m. The budget projects a 2021 general fund tax rate decrease from $2.33/M this year to $2.2461/M and a highway tax rate decrease from $2.42/M this year to $2.269/M. The water and sewer districts will also see small declines. The budget projects general revenues/expenditures of $1,596,434, a decrease of $31,899 from this year and highway revenues/expenditures at $1,778,777, up $135,365 from this year. 

The Board included several salary increases in the 2021 budget. Councilors cite the supervisor’s outstanding performance, several years when they didn’t take raises, higher counselor salaries in similar-sized towns, and the many ongoing town projects resulting in frequent meetings and important decisions. 

Supervisor Brandy McDonald said, “The Board asked me to leave the room when they discussed my salary. They wanted to have it compared to other towns. They decided it. The Town Board went many years without a raise.”  

Councilor Jim Douglass said, “We looked at the supervisor’s salary. Brandy is working so hard, putting many hours in and working way above the call of duty. Our counselor salaries are low.  We looked at other towns like Beekmantown.* The counselors didn’t take raises in several years (2013,2017,2018,2019). We also have several ongoing projects requiring many, many meetings.” 

Councilor Melvin Irwin said, “The reassessment gave the town more than we expected. We were able to lower the tax rate. I favored an across the board increase. We ended up with a compromise.” 

Councilor Rick Barber said, “We as councilmen have to look at the time we will spend in the next two to three years on major infrastructure projects coming up which are in the millions of taxpayers dollars. I believe the Board knows that once these projects start, we will be in the town hall on these projects daily and probably be called on to make decisions daily. I looked at what Peru has in store in the next few years and knew l would be called on for more and more time. I believe the amount that we voted in as raises is small compared to the time we will have involved in these projects.” 

Councilor Kregg Bruno said he agreed with the words expressed by the other counselors. 

2021 Budgeted Annual Salaries 

Supervisor – $30,000 (18.4% or $4,662 increase from $25,338) 

Councilman – $8,500 (10% or $792.98 increase from $7,706.50)

Town Clerk/Tax Collector $27,918 (6.2% or $1,633 increase from $26,285)

Highway Superintendent – $63,500 (4.5% or $1,784 increase from $60,716)

Water/Sewer Superintendent – $63,500 (3.7% or $2,289.31 increase from $61,210.69)

Board Secretary – $48,000 (6.9% or $3,095 increase from $44,906)

Dog Control Officer – $14,481 (6.2% or $841 increase from $13,640)

Codes/Zoning/Planning Officer $50,897 (4.2% or $2,041 increase from $48,856) 

Codes/Zoning/Planning Typist $20,584 (7% or $666 increase from $9,361)

All other employees are budgeted for a 2.5% increase 

The above does not include social security, medicare, retirement, or health care costs. Councilors are not eligible for health care. 

Story corrected to include the Dog Control Officer and Codes/Zoning/Planning Typist Increases

*Town of Beekmantown 2020 (not 2021) budgeted salaries: Supervisor $21,695**, Town Council $10,226, Town Clerk/Tax Collector $28,745, Town Justice $16,803, Highway Superintendent $65,108. Total General Revenues $1,237,402, Highway Total Revenues $1,392,219. **According to Brandy McDonald, the Beekmantown Town Supervisor’s pay is low because the position was denied a pay raise for eight consecutive years.

Click here to review Budget – 2021 Preliminary Budget

Source: Harmful algal blooms found on Lake George, Mirror Lake – – The Adirondack Almanack

Source: First Read

Source: Covid-19: Pandemic Shatters More Records in U.S., as States and Cities Tighten Restrictions – The New York Times

If you have a French-Canadian heritage you have to read this great news story. 

Source: Decades of centuries: Man publishes family history | News | pressrepublican.com

Source: Albany County issues plea for volunteers to assist coronavirus response

Source: COVID-19: Quebec Reported Over 1,300 New Cases For The Third Day In A Row – MTL Blog

Source: Trudeau fellow leads vaccine clinical trial | News, Sports, Jobs – Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Source: Local schools go remote again | News, Sports, Jobs – Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Source: St. Agnes warns of possible COVID exposure | News, Sports, Jobs – Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Source: Albany officer suspended for racist remarks caught on camera

Source: Another record-breaking day for Capital Region coronavirus cases

Source: City & State Coronavirus Update

Here are today’s Clinton County COVID-19 case updates. 29 additional lab-confirmed positive cases reported and 13 individuals recovered since our 11/10 report. Of the 29 newly reported cases, 18 cases are associated with SUNY Plattsburgh, and 11 cases are among other community members. Contact tracing is ongoing for all cases; as a reminder, if you have been identified as a contact of a positive case, you will be contacted by a contact tracer. There are currently 69 active COVID-19 cases in Clinton County.

Looking for more information? CCHD’s website (http://www.clintonhealth.org/covid19) and the NYS website (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov) both offer a tremendous amount of data and information. Here are a few links to commonly asked questions:
– COVID-19 hospitalization data by region: https://forward.ny.gov/daily-hospitalization-summary-region.
– School COVID-19 Report Card, with positive school tests by region and school: https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/.
– Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) COVID-19 Report, with a breakdown of cases by facility: https://doccs.ny.gov/doccs-covid-19-report.
– Percentage Positive Results by County Dashboard: https://forward.ny.gov/percentage-positive-results-region….
– Updates to the COVID-19 Travel Advisory: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory.

Source: Thruway to launch cashless tolling this weekend – syracuse.com

Source: 222 new coronavirus cases in Onondaga County, another record – syracuse.com

Source: You’ve never seen New York like this: Upstate’s historic forts (video) – syracuse.com

Source: Burlington to ramp up testing after virus found in wastewater

Source: Nighthawks rally in Lake semis | Sun Community News BEEKMANTOWN | The Peru Nighthawks rallied from two goals down against the Beekmantown girls varsity soccer team for a 3-2 win Nov. 11, moving on to face Northeastern Clinton in the Sectio

Source: ‘The wave is here’: Vermont prepares for potential surge of COVID-19 cases