Board votes to go from $15 to 18/hour
The Village Board voted 3-1 last week to raise the hourly pay of its part time dispatchers from $15 to $18. Trustee Dr. Melanie Guerrero voted no.
There was some audience reaction to the move — Michael Joyce asked how it was justified when “you had to raise taxes this year”, and said he would “rather have a job than a pay increase”.
Former Mayor Pat Flynn noted that while “dispatchers are key to what is going on in the police department, why is it being done in a year when taxes are being raised?” He said the increase to dispatcher pay should have been raised incrementally, “seven years ago”.
Kat Dagaev said: “I’m not going to say dispatchers don’t deserve a raise, but was it accounted for in the budget?”
Deputy Mayor and Budget Officer Jim DiSalvo said it was, and later added that using more part-time dispatchers instead of full-time dispatchers “will help reduce overall police costs”.
In other business from the meeting:
— It was reported that $772,391 in bills and claims were paid. Among that was $472,095 in work that is expected to be reimbursed by FEMA; $29,752 to VRI, which runs the Water Plant; and $755,860 to Joseph Mastrianni Inc., for running the village’s Section 9 housing program, which will be reimbursed to the village.
— The retirement of longtime deputy treasurer Ana Sierra was accepted, with regret, effective May 21. Mayor Joe D’Onofrio called her retirement “a tremendous loss to the village”.
— Sewer Plant employee John Walter was removed from his probation period.
— George and Jim Ramus were both added to the list of Bog Meadow ‘caretakers’ who were approved at the April 15 reorganization meeting. Others are Randy Meche, James Titolo, Michael Slapp, Bob and Lisa Jones and Jake Stevens.
— Highland Falls’ Jody Downey was thanked for the work she has done getting plantings done in the various planters on Main St.
— Trustee Jim Ramus reminded residents they can purchase annual parking passes for metered spots in the village for $25 at Village Hall. Senior passes are free.
— Ramus also encouraged families to participate in the June 8 Fishing Derby at Roe Park. It is free.
— DiSalvo noted that the Highland Falls Police Department had 851 calls in April, made 14 arrests, wrote 31 traffic tickets and 20 parking tickets, and collected $472 in revenues. The department’s vehicles were driven 5002 miles.
