Whitehall Village Board trims budget, sets meeting dates, discusses court loiterers

By Lee Tugas

The Whitehall Village Board, at its most recent meeting, trimmed about $28,000 from its forthcoming budget.

The board also set meeting dates for both March and April, and discussed ways and means to stop court loiters from smoking and loitering outside the village courtrooms once it moves into the town-village municipal center.

At the end of its budget workshop, Mayor Peter Telisky said that the board had trimmed $28,200 from this year’s proposed budget “to get down to the 2 percent cap” on expenditure increases established by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

March and April meetings set

Telisky proposed, and there was no opposition voiced, to the following schedule of meetings:  Another budget meeting and regular meeting will be combined on Tuesday, March 11. The board’s organizational meeting will be at 6 p.m. on April 7 and will be the only village board meeting that month.

Court loiterers, smokers or otherwise

Trustee Ken Bartholomew complained about the current situation where persons appearing in village court loiter outside on the street, often smoking. Bartholomew said when the village court moves into the new municipal center that he would prefer that such smoking and loitering cease.

It was agreed that the town and village could easily post smoke-free signs at the municipal center, and that the new courtroom complex had plenty of room for alleged offenders, witnesses and interested spectators.

“There is a large gallery,” Mayor Telisky said. “They can either go and sit in there or go out and sit in their cars.”