The new mayor and council will hold their first meeting immediately after a swearing-in ceremony at 11:00am at City Hall on Friday January 1. The agenda was released yesterday by the city clerk’s office. Download the agenda in pdf format here.
The council will vote on a resolution confirming Mayor-elect Michael Villa’s nomination of William E. Lorman for the position of corporation counsel. He is the husband of Lisa Lorman who was elected to the position of full time city court judge in November.
Villa said today that the part-time corporation counsel’s compensation will be adjusted down from the current budgeted amount of approximately $89,000 per year for salary and benefits, to $45,000 per year with no benefits. Villa said that the new corporation counsel will not deal with labor negotiations or code enforcement. Instead, the council will vote on a resolution to hire the law firm Roemer, Wallens, Gold, and Mineaux to handle those responsibilities. Villa said the contract will cost approximately $48,000 per year.
Villa also said today that he will be appointing William Mycek to the position of part-time city court judge.
Villa also said that he will not be re-appointing Community and Economic Development Director Rob von Hasseln, and that his responsibilities will be covered by Montgomery County Business Development Center CEO Ken Rose and his staff. However Villa said von Hasseln will continue to serve as the city historian, and will allocate a $5,000 stipend to keep him on as a consultant for economic development projects for the next six months.
On the agenda is a resolution to adjust the salary of City Engineer Rich Miller. While the exact amounts are not specified in the resolution yet, Villa said today he wants to reduce Miller’s salary and hours so that he works three and a half days a week.
Also on the agenda is a resolution confirming the appointment of Susan Alibozek as city clerk, who has been serving in the position since 2008.
Another resolution on the agenda will designate Fifth Ward Alderman-elect Jim Martuscello as deputy mayor.
The council will also vote on a resolution changing the time of the regular common council meetings from 7:00pm to 6:00pm.
On the agenda is a resolution designating the following committee chairs and liaisons:
AUDIT: Alderman Russo
BUS TRANSPORTATION: Alderman Wojnar
FINANCE: Alderman Martuscello
HOUSING & CODES: Alderman Majewski
HUMAN RESOURCES: Alderman Ochal
INSURANCE: Alderman Martuscello
INTERGOVERNMENTAL: Alderman Russo
PUBLIC SAFETY: Alderman Majewski
PUBLIC WORKS: Alderman Russo
RECREATION: Alderman Majewski
RULES OF PROCEDURE: Alderman Ochal
SOLID WASTE: Alderman Ochal
WATER & SEWER: Alderman WojnarAMSTERDAM HOUSING AUTHORITY: Alderman Majewski
AMSTERDAM INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY: Alderman Martuscello
URBAN RENEWAL: Alderman Ochal
VETERANS: Alderman Russo
The council will vote on a resolution appointing new board members for the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency, however the names are not yet specified in the resolution.
Also on the agenda is a resolution authorizing a request for proposals from accounting firms to help reconcile the city’s accounting records. Controller Matt Agresta said today that the current Deputy Controller would be “moving on.” He said that given that situation and the fact that his office has been required to work on reconciling previous years’ records along with the current years, that the extra help would be beneficial in expediting his work. However, Villa said today that an RFP has yet to be written, and he may ask the council to hold off on the resolution in order to interview several accounting firms first.
