According to Controller Matthew Agresta, his department’s goal is to file the city’s 2012-2013 AUD financial report with NY State by the end of November. Agresta said that barring any unforeseen circumstances, work could then begin on the 2013-2104 report which would bring the city up-to-date on it’s required reporting.
Agresta said he expected the last report to be completed relatively quickly. “A lot of the issues that existed have already been corrected. So it’s just a matter of painstakingly going through make sure what we’re putting out is accurate,” said Agresta.
The Common Council voted unanimously to appoint Douglas Landon and Michael McKenny to the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency. The appointments will replace outgoing members Michael Pepe and Matthew Beck. Landon is currently the County Attorney for Montgomery County. According to Alderman Ron Barone, McKenny is a “retired stock broker.” Later Mayor Ann Thane said she was not consulted with on the appointments as she has been in previous years but said the appointments were the council’s to make and would not oppose them.
Council members voted to waive repayment of a $4,500 loan to the Amsterdam Waterfront Foundation. The money was loaned to the foundation last year in order to help cover the costs of summer music concerts. Paul Gavry, the foundation’s president, reported to the council back in October that the foundation had a balance of approximately $3200 after last summer’s season, which could be used to repay the loan. Gavry asked the council to consider forgiving the loan so that the funds could be used toward next season’s expenses.
The Council approved an ordinance which would allow the Chief of Police to use discretion when approving taxi driver’s permits for people with previous felony convictions. Previously, the city’s code barred anyone with a felony conviction from receiving a permit. Earlier in the month, Madeline Samson of Yellow Transportation spoke before the council and said that she was having trouble finding taxi drivers, and that some qualified applicants who had felony convictions from decades earlier could not be hired under the current law. The language of the code was changed to allow the Chief of Police to “review the criminal history of all applicants and determine if the applicant’s criminal history indicates that they may pose a risk to the public.”
