[0:21] if anybody would like to speak during public comment please make sure that you

[0:24] just write your name down

[0:28] please

[0:49] [Music]

[0:58] h

[1:08] this one yeah it is 6:30 pm. on Monday December 1st or excuse me December 11th

[1:15] uh 20123 I'm going to call the meeting of the port tourist common Council to

[1:19] order before we do the pledge um 10 years ago when I was inaugurated um I

[1:26] had asked uh Mr seagull's grandchildren um that were alive I should say or young

[1:32] or old enough old enough to be able to do it Emma was seven and Johnny was four

[1:38] and since this is my last meeting I've asked Emma and Johnny to come back to

[1:41] lead us in the pledge Emma is now 17 and Johnny is now 14 so if you guys would

[1:47] like to come up and I really truly appreciate

[1:50] it please rise for the

[1:57] pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which

[2:03] it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for

[2:09] all God Bless America it was very much an honor guys thank you very much

[2:14] welcome back don't stay away so long right are

[2:19] you inviting them to join the council no they can leave

[2:24] now okay um roll call Mr Foster M Foster first word council president

[2:30] Liz Miller first W council president misser second councel presid Maria man

[2:35] second council president Stan s council at large presid Kelly Decker mayor

[2:40] presid Tim Simmons fourth W council president Melissa newuser fourth W

[2:45] Council presor counil thank you uh we have three

[2:50] public hearings uh the first is a continuance uh for the public hearing of

[2:55] local law 13 of 2023 decree article 3 chapter 4 430 of short-term rentals um

[3:02] I'll entertain a motion to open so Move Motion by Mr Simmons second by Mr

[3:06] seagull discussion all in favor opposed so carried um this is gone back to code

[3:13] I know that uh it has bounced back and forth between Corporation Council and

[3:17] our building department um I spoke with uh members of the new Council and the

[3:22] new mayor and uh they'll take it up in um in January so what we're going to do

[3:28] is we're going to keep this do you want to keep it open because we it's got to

[3:32] be discussed yes also I spoke with the planning board attorney city planning

[3:37] board attorney they expect to have some comments to us after December 19th

[3:42] perfect um so that actually will probably fall as in uh in planning three

[3:49] of 2024 and I'll explain the what one and two will be um I'll entertain a

[3:55] motion to keep the public uh meeting open moot by Mr Mr Simmons second by Mr

[4:01] seagull discussion all public hearing open yes all in favor opposed so carried

[4:09] thanks uh we have set a real property exemption for First Responders I need a

[4:15] motion to open second motion by Mr Simmons second by Mr seagull discussion

[4:21] all in favor opposed so carried um you have all the paperwork on this in

[4:28] regards to um this will be budgeted in the

[4:33] 2025 budget um as we discussed this we're having the public hearing tonight

[4:39] uh so to allow the coun the next Council the um affordability of of the first

[4:46] meeting to pass this if they choose to this is for a local law providing for

[4:50] partial tax exemption upon real property based upon the owners uh volunteer

[4:55] membership in the port JIS fire department or the port JIS ambulance

[4:59] pursuant to section 466a of the real property tax law uh

[5:04] anyone from the council with any comments yes sir um I think this is a

[5:09] really good program for uh our local fire departments and EMS workers because

[5:15] um a lot of other communities are able to afford uh what's referred to as a

[5:20] lowp program where um money is is is put away so that at a

[5:27] certain point in time uh there's like a retirement benefit for lack of a better

[5:32] term to those uh to those individuals who are First

[5:37] Responders um unfortunately we're not in a financial position to establish such a

[5:44] thing here uh and I think this is the next best thing to that uh a lot of

[5:50] people put in a lot of time um to keep our community safe myself I know

[5:58] I've got s years in the fire department Stan's got over 50 and uh Dennis is

[6:05] right up there although he's not here tonight the mayor's been involved with

[6:09] the fire department and and the Ambulance Corp um and it's just a small

[6:15] way to to get back I believe thank you thank you anyone else yeah um Tim's

[6:21] right and this might be a great opportunity for people in the community

[6:25] would like to get involved with the port J Fire Department like to said we're

[6:30] we're aging um I'll have 60 years next year

[6:34] getting tired but I love doing it um but we need Young Blood we need people with

[6:41] more energy than us old people so if there's anybody out there go to any

[6:46] Firehouse get an application they're online you can email me text me I'll

[6:51] send you an application but we're really desperate because we're losing more

[6:55] firefighters than we're getting in and it's really important to provide that

[7:00] service um as a volunteer group uh we can't afford a

[7:06] paid fire department so we need more volunteers so I encourage anybody that's

[7:10] interested come to a firehouse see what goes on we can explain um what you have

[7:16] to do unfortunately there's a lot of training hours but once you get past

[7:21] those training hours you're fully equipped to be a firefighter to help our

[7:26] community so once again if you're interested please contact the firehouse

[7:30] or myself or any a firan and we will get you an application thank you thank you

[7:36] anybody else from the council anybody from the public that would like to speak

[7:39] on this matter sir come up to the podium please state your

[7:46] name hi my name's Craig fan uh I think it's a great idea to to

[7:51] help the firewor they're doing a service to the community and I think that's

[7:54] great unfortunately I I don't think this is the greatest way to do it because it

[7:57] has no connection it's a it's reward that has no connection to their service

[8:02] so you say you need young people there might young people might be renting they

[8:05] won't get any benefit from this at all um and a person that's been here a long

[8:10] time maybe isn't contributing as much might have a big house he going to

[8:13] benefit a lot so it seems like that disconnect bothers me a little bit and

[8:17] and um I know this is prompted by the state law that allows this and you're

[8:22] sort of limited to the 10% that that's the specification of state law um my one

[8:27] suggestion maybe would be to partially uh address those concerns maybe to put a

[8:34] cap on it at uh 10% of the median assessment value that way the the

[8:39] wealthy person that maybe doesn't need it as much wouldn't get as much benefit

[8:44] and then you could keep the tax rate a little bit lower so the people that

[8:47] weren't getting as much benefit that's um

[8:52] um that's that's my main point I I again I wish there was a better way that you

[8:57] you could just pay them directly and that would most corre Fairway but um

[9:01] again that's my comment so uh thank you very much just

[9:05] uh so you know under our assess value uh it would come out to for all the all the

[9:11] firefighters and ambulance um by the way I believe you had to you have to be two

[9:16] years yeah that's part I guess I don't know I haven't seen the actual text of

[9:20] the requirements but the total amount cost to the city is $32,400 okay okay I

[9:26] figured it was fairly modest amount but I thank you to and it has to be primary

[9:34] residence correct anyone else from the public not hearing I'll entertain a

[9:40] motion to close the public hearing motion by Mr Simmons second by Mr

[9:44] seagull discussion all in favor opposed so carried uh our last public hearing is

[9:52] on the 2024 budget as many people may have seen that we went ahead and passed

[9:57] the budget uh last last uh last meeting not realizing that we did have um

[10:03] assigned public comment and public hearing during the workshops but it

[10:09] wasn't technically correct so we had to make sure that we we did it so we're

[10:14] having a public hearing now on the 2024 budget and then it'll be presented to

[10:18] the council again uh for a vote so I'll entertain a motion to open the public

[10:23] hearing motion by Miss Miller and second by Mr Simmons discussion

[10:29] all in favor opposed so carried is anybody from this this budget is

[10:37] um this was a presented to them as a four the council as a

[10:45] 4.23% uh tax levy on the general fund uh it is now a

[10:50] 4.16 which is being presented to them tonight um is there anybody from the

[10:55] council that like to

[10:58] comment not hearing is there anybody from the public that would like to

[11:02] comment yeah one please come up to the microphone

[11:07] please state your

[11:17] name hi I'm Joan McBride I'm sure you all remember me I've been here

[11:23] before um just so that you know there is somebody that's

[11:27] watching um this budget hearing does not follow the

[11:33] city Charter according to the city

[11:38] Charter um honored before the 10th day of November in each year the common

[11:43] Council shall give notice of a public hearing on the proposed budget such

[11:48] notice shall be published in the official City newspaper once at least 5

[11:53] days before such public hearing is held in no event shall the public hearing on

[11:59] the tenative budget be held later than the 30th day of November in each

[12:07] year so far you're ahead of the rest of it but that one you didn't

[12:12] follow um also there were a lot of questions at the last

[12:20] Workshop there was a lot of it about the revenue and as far as I know it the

[12:27] budget has been passed away is and none of the questions that the lady asked

[12:31] about the revenue has been

[12:35] answered thank you thank you you want make any comments on that

[12:41] technically that's what the charter says um unfortunately there was mix up

[12:48] everyone thought that the public hearing notice had been published and the public

[12:52] hearing was held in time I believe in past years this is just anecdotal

[12:57] information times when the public hearing notice was not presented byv I

[13:03] can tell most of the years lot of the years so what MCB said about the timing

[13:09] on that aspect of it is technically correct there's

[13:14] no although it is technically not up to what the charter says the budget being

[13:21] passed before the you know within December is is generally accepted as far

[13:27] as the revenue questions know if they were

[13:30] addressed you know if they were addressed yeah they were addressed with

[13:33] the individual um I had a conversation with her separately and they were

[13:39] addressed and amended thank you anybody else from the

[13:44] public not hearing any I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing on

[13:49] the 2024 budget motion by Miss Miller second

[13:53] second by Mr Simmons discussion all in favor opposed so carried

[14:02] we have before us tonight our Orange County Clerk Kelly escu and she's here

[14:06] to talk about our DMV and then give us an update good Flo's yours thank you

[14:12] good evening first I wanted to um congratulate mayor dear on his uh 10

[14:16] years of service to uh the city of Port JIS I have a certificate of appreciation

[14:20] signed by myself and legislator F oh thank

[14:27] you

[14:31] and then I wanted to just update you on how the mobile unit has been doing and

[14:36] then the new brick and mortar that we'll be opening so the the mobile has been in

[14:41] service since April of um this year and to date we have done

[14:46] 1,717 transactions we average about 200 a month you know give or take sometimes

[14:52] it's 300 sometimes it's 100 but never less than 160 so it's been very well

[14:58] received um the residents are very happy to have

[15:01] us back in Port Jervis and during this time we've been working on the um the

[15:07] brook and mortar which is in the government center on Sussex Street so

[15:12] that has been a big a big lift so we are ready to open except we are waiting for

[15:20] equipment so I just wanted to let you know and the equipment is beyond my

[15:24] control it's New York State DMV has to go through procurement process which we

[15:29] all know how long that can take we were hoping to be open um by January 1st I'm

[15:35] that's not going to happen but it will be shortly thereafter I can't give you a

[15:39] date because you know how that is oh Kelly said we'd be open and we're not so

[15:44] I just wanted to let you know that um the mobile unit no one Waits outside in

[15:49] the cold they wait in their cars and the security guard calls them over when it's

[15:53] their turn to go into the unit because I know we're getting into uh cold weather

[15:57] also they can wait inside the building there's a Lobby in a hallway it's not

[16:01] huge but if someone walks and doesn't have a car they would be able to wait

[16:04] inside the building so um I just want to say this has been a big project we've

[16:09] worked very hard we're very proud to be coming back to Port JIS I know there is

[16:13] the need here and um we've been working hard on it and I want to thank members

[16:18] of the city council that have worked with me to bring this back here it's

[16:21] been uh it's been a great project so Madam clerk I want to thank you and

[16:26] thank you for keeping me appraised of everything along the way and I we really

[16:30] do appreciate it and we appreciate it coming back to Port chis have any

[16:34] questions any questions yeah um I contacted the state commissioner about

[16:40] the equipment I didn't get an answer yet but I went

[16:45] there oh God a month ago after I had a stroke and had difficulty navigating

[16:52] steps no one told me that I could sit in my car stood out in the rain uh people

[16:59] that were there also stood out in the rain there's no signage there to tell

[17:03] anybody they could go in the building it's getting cold I think there should

[17:08] be some sort of a canopy or a popup or something to provide for the people that

[17:13] are waiting to go in there and some accommodation needs to be made for

[17:19] accessibility for this disabled there is a handicap onap well no I didn't know

[17:24] that the guy just said come on up come on up and I'm like there's a big sign

[17:28] kep blue sign I didn't see it like an elevator lifts you up just it's just

[17:32] very awkward it's hard to believe it could take this long for the equipment

[17:35] to come I I get a lot of complaints about it um and and not much we can do

[17:42] if you're waiting for equipment and the state hasn't gotten back we don't even

[17:45] know when that's going to be I just think it's I think we could do better

[17:49] for our residen here you have to take New York State and her hands are tied

[17:55] yor we could do better

[17:59] on the building there's amount on the building on the unit that can come out

[18:02] when it's windy it retracts it's for a safety reason there's all sorts of

[18:06] things built into the unit I have not had one complaint except for you Mr seel

[18:12] about the mobile unit not because they're coming to me that's why well I

[18:15] go all over Orange County if no one's complaining to me not any other

[18:19] municipality because it doesn't just go here it goes all over I get it and but

[18:23] the thing is here twice a week the the thing the problem is that here we had a

[18:30] we had an indoor facility and people were accustomed to

[18:34] that and we don't have that we but they're working on it we're we're

[18:38] getting it her hands are tied but it's I'm not blaming anybody I'm just

[18:42] bringing for the complaints concerns that I get called into me it's that

[18:47] simple and I will contact the commissioner tomorrow cler that Orange

[18:52] County's ever had so I have that's absolutely true than thank you very much

[18:56] thank you okay I have no appointments uh we

[19:00] have executive session uh oh I'm sorry public comment uh public

[19:13] comment she doesn't trust them send it back send it to her tomorrow sometimes I

[19:18] well sometimes I forget to send it to her after I take Miss McBride I already

[19:23] did that okay thank

[19:27] you Craig I don't know how you say your last

[19:30] name FIA FIA fan okay are you here go okay Mr

[19:40] Cox five minutes right

[19:48] time okay good evening everyone my name is Michael Cox ladies and gentlemen and

[19:54] count common Council Ste Mike you can push that mik up

[19:59] citizens

[20:02] won congratulations mayor Decker on your years of service to our city while

[20:07] acknowledging your dedication it is essential to highlight that it came at

[20:11] the expense of the taxpayers you've made may have done what you think is a lot

[20:15] for the city but in reality it has been more for yourself family and friends

[20:19] rather than the taxpayers and those who have helped you get in this position

[20:23] along the way you've made nepotism disguised bribes as raises and favor ISM

[20:28] for friends including protecting individuals who have lied under oath the

[20:32] norm and common practice I'm here to advocate for my grandmother who damages

[20:36] to her home caused the city of Port Jervis an exceed of

[20:40] $250,000 and remained unaddressed leaving her nearly bankrupt and indebted

[20:44] to loans to repair her property a broken pipe at her home is concealed beneath a

[20:49] mere temporary bandage and yet to be addressed and is still leaking the issue

[20:54] is particularly disheartening for my grandmother who as an immigrant arriving

[20:58] in this country almost 60 years ago and have worked tirelessly with their

[21:01] husband to say for a secure future who have worked tirelessly to

[21:07] secure a a secure future now almost all their hard-earned savings are on the

[21:11] verge of depletion due to this ongoing predicament in response to my concerns

[21:16] which I posted on the mayor's Facebook page expressing my wish that the mayor

[21:20] would advocate for my grandmother like he has done for others the mayor has

[21:23] offered a private response on his Facebook St and Michael not on my

[21:27] personal Facebook page you have part of a story and have no idea what I've done

[21:32] or what I have or haven't done as City administrator on the situation but Mr

[21:36] Mayor there has been countless insurance claims made and no denial letter

[21:40] received which goes against New York state law Laura quick even told my

[21:44] mother City Hall will deny any claims moving forward Mr Mayor is this the norm

[21:50] it was also stated by you that you brought this to the common Council years

[21:55] ago everyone I spoke to denies that and as has no recol recollection of even

[22:00] this but Mr may you are correct I may not have all the details but what I do

[22:05] know is that as the leader of our city you bear the responsibility for the

[22:10] welfare of its citizens my grandmother a model taxpayer and homeowner is left

[22:15] practically bankrupt and both you and the DPW have done nothing this has gone

[22:19] on for years now have you instructed them to back off what I do know is that

[22:25] it appears mayor that you're committing a d elction of Duty leaving my

[22:28] grandmother to handle everything on her own with the assistance of my mother it

[22:32] raises the question are you truly helping or are you protecting

[22:36] individuals who may have lied on sworn affidavits given that you are the DP you

[22:40] and the DPW were on our property even after behind it I've even included

[22:44] photos on your Facebook post that I made as proof these photos interestingly

[22:50] enough were taken by the city and attained by foiling mayor you're the

[22:54] driving force behind the wheel here and the buck stops with you after countless

[22:58] pleas to you and the DPW no efforts on your end have been made this rebuttal is

[23:04] easy for you to say since you have done nothing and are so Adept to diverging

[23:07] from the truth who have you helped besides

[23:11] yourself in a Selected Few Mr may you forgotten those who help you along the

[23:15] way most importantly the taxpayers and those who voted voted for you like my

[23:20] elderly grandmother in the past what I now know is that you're the definition

[23:24] of corrupt people see through your disingenuous AC

[23:28] actions as we welcome mayor elect ciss I extend my congratulations on your

[23:34] Victory I hope you can learn for Mr Decker's wrongdoings and in particular

[23:38] assist in mediating the current problem my grandmother has been battling myn I

[23:43] acknowledging her and many others in the city that have been duped by the current

[23:47] mayor it would mean a lot after all it would be the right thing to do it would

[23:52] also help restore faith and trust back into our local government something that

[23:55] has been lost and only known to those who have been in the only know to those

[24:00] who have been in the orbit of Mayor deer as the new mayor I believe if you remain

[24:05] honest and prior prioritize the well-being of the taxpayers you'll be

[24:09] met with success corruption ER erodes the very fabric of our community and I

[24:14] trust you will uphold the values that poor JIS deserves by putting the city

[24:18] before yourself family and friends I wish you the best of luck Mr CES now Mr

[24:24] Mayor I'm sure you will say the Court ruled in the city's favor since there is

[24:27] no notice a claim filed or incident report made within 3 months of the

[24:31] city's city of Port J doing its initial work on it upon our property on my

[24:37] grandmother's property in which the corrugated pipe was attached to very old

[24:41] clay in which the corrugated pipe was attached to the Very Old Clay pipe that

[24:46] was found snapped and drained eight after eight years of rainwater ran into

[24:52] my grandmother's property thus far it has not been permanently repaired

[24:58] we do know that prior that prior to the city coming on the property and

[25:03] completing this work eight years ago there was never any kind of existing

[25:08] damage or existing problem of any kind we also know that you were on the we

[25:13] also know that you were on the property along with the DPW and could have told

[25:17] my grandmother to file a notice of claim there is even documentation from 2012

[25:22] made by Mr Mr Fuller our engineer stating the property was in good

[25:28] standing when a roof was being rebuilt ultimately it takes more than 3 months

[25:34] for erosion to present itself due to water over the last two years there have

[25:38] been additional two more notice of claim submitted by Toral quick for ongoing

[25:43] water damages from the unrepaired pipe there has been no response it is sad

[25:49] that no City official comes until you're leening the problem yourself and

[25:53] uncovering the damage and uncovering the damaged utilities what are your ulterior

[26:00] motives Mr Mayor because we know the problem exists but we're left to be

[26:05] blamed for damages is this how we run our city as an esteemed administrator Mr

[26:10] Mayor thank you

[26:17] everyone okay uh we will move into executive session I have five Personnel

[26:23] matters two contractual um I'd like to invite in the

[26:26] police chief as as well as any member of the new Council what's your pleasure

[26:31] motion by M Miller seconded by Mr Simmons discussion all in favor opposed

[26:37] so carried we shouldn't be too

[26:56] long

[27:06] oh

2023 Dec 11 Port Jervis Common Council Meeting 1 of 2

Transcript