Sullivan West budget increase projected at three percent

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The Sullivan West Central School District’s budget is targeted to rise about three percent over the coming year, according to Superintendent Ken Hilton’s presentation at a meeting last Wednesday.

The projected increase is far less than had earlier been feared. At one point, it was thought that the school district’s budget would have to rise by almost 25 percent over the next three years. At the meeting, Hilton said that the district is aiming for much more modest increases on the order of four percent through the 2012 to 2013 school year.

The comparatively tame projections come despite the fact that aid from the state is expected to drop during the current economic downturn. Some costs are expected to be cut by creating a retirement package for about 20 teachers, and if necessary, the district may also lay off some employees.

Court nixes Liberty subdivision approval

LIBERTY, NY — The Town of Liberty did not adequately consider the impact of a projected housing development on the environment, according to a ruling by the Third Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court.

The development in question, proposed by CR Menderis LLC, was to have been a 27-lot subdivision on 143 acres off Menderis Road.

The court ruled that the town did not sufficiently examine the impact of the development on wildlife. However, it did affirm that the town had adequately considered impact on wetlands and storm water runoff. In addition, it was found that the town had not, as required, held a public hearing after preliminary approval for the project had been granted.

The preliminary approval has been voided on the grounds of the court ruling, and the finding that there would be no significant impact on wildlife nullified.

New Year’s rings in felony DWIs

MONTICELLO, NY — Two men with previous records were charged with driving while intoxicated in Monticello on New Year’s Day. The first man, Dennis A. Bickham, was pulled over at about 5:00 a.m. for ignoring a stop sign at Park Avenue and Broadway.

Records showed that he had two previous convictions for driving while impaired by drugs, and his license had been revoked.

In addition, he had a felony drug conviction for which he was on parole. He was sent to Sullivan County jail without bail.

Robert L. Boyles, 29, who was pulled over about 3:00 p.m., was found to have been convicted for driving while intoxicated in 2005. He was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .13 percent. Boyles also was sent to jail without bail.

Bonacic sends out budget cut questionnaire

ALBANY, NY — With New York State tax revenues falling sharply and the necessity of budget cuts looming, New York State Senator John Bonacic (R-I-C) has mailed out questionnaires to his constituents about their priorities as to which areas should continue to be funded and which should be cut.

The questionnaires include questions about property taxes, including the advisability of a three-percent cap on annual property tax increases that Bonacic has championed for some time, as well as the possibility of shifting school funding from property to income taxes.

Questions are also asked as to whether funding should be frozen or increased for areas like public education and transportation.

Wayne court announces creation of separate probations

HONESDALE, PA — Judge Raymond L. Hamill, president judge of the Wayne County Court, announced that he has separated the adult probation/parole department from the juvenile probation department, beginning on January 5.

He named James Chapman as chief adult probation officer and Sandy Fofi as the juvenile probation officer.

The decision to separate the offices follows the retirement on January 2 of Robert Williams, who had headed both departments.

“The growth in the complexity of the administrative, personnel and financial responsibilities of each department prompted my decision to create individual sections,” Hamill said.

Fofi and Chapman had been the deputy directors of juvenile and adult probation and have been with the department since 1990 and 1991 respectively.

The probation departments currently supervise over 500 adult and juvenile offenders within the county and were responsible for conducting in excess of 400 per-sentence and juvenile social summaries during 2008 alone, Hamill said.

PPL files pipeline application

ALLENTOWN, PA — PPL Electric Utilities formally submitted an application to build its planned 500-kilowatt Susquehanna-Roseland line on Tuesday, January 6. Now that the application has been filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, a formal review process, including a series of public hearings, will begin.

The proposal calls for the line to run for almost 100 miles, from PPL’s Susquehana substation past Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Hawley, and then over toward the Delaware River at Bushkill. At that point it would meet up with the New Jersey portion of the line.

The pipeline proposal has drawn fire from a number of local groups, including residents of the Saw Creek Estates development in Pike County.