March 7, 2017
CANISTEO, NY – After some lengthy discussion, the village of Canisteo voted not to move forward with the Municipal Electric & Gas Alliance (MEGA) and the Community Choice Aggregation program (CCA). Some of the bigger reasons not to pursue were the fact that only one district in the entire state has formed so far, the requirement that all residents have to opt out instead of opt in, and the general idea of putting energy decisions in the hands of local government. Mayor Bill Tucker also said a big concern would be the backlash on the local government from unhappy customers. Hornell has decided to look further into it.
In other news Stacey Remchuck has resigned from the planning board because she no longer resides in the village and the board will be seeking her replacement in the near future. Board members had nothing but praise for her time in that position and regret to see her go.
Also the board anticipates that for the first time in years they will have to override the 2% tax cap. A public hearing on the matter has been set for April 3rd at 6:50 pm with a 2017-18 budget presentation to immediately follow. Trustee Tim Harkenrider noted that the actual cap for the village in this budget will be .12% and not the perceived 2% which will make it nearly impossible to stay under.
And finally Mayor Tucker and the board wanted to remind everyone that voting for the village elections will be March 21st from noon to 9pm at the Town Hall on South Main Street.
