Local officials often find the steps in the SEQRA process challenging and have requested training to help them with this process.   Northern Oneida County Council of Governments is sponsoring SEQRA training for local officials on Thursday, March 13, 7:00pm -9:00pm at the Trenton Municipal Center, 8520 Old Poland Road, Barneveld.   Topics to be covered include:

• SEQR Act short form and long form.
• When should a municipality act as the lead agent in the SEQR process
• What are the responsibilities and steps to follow as the lead agent
• What other agencies need to  be contacted as part of the process
• The role of SEQR in site plan review, special use permits, variances, ZBA actions, subdivision review, conditional use permits, comprehensive plans and local laws.

The presenter will be Betty Ann Hughes, Chief/SEQR & Training from the NYS Department of State. This course is eligible for 2 hours of the required annual training for Planning Board and ZBA members

 Please register for this training by calling Gerry Ritter, circuit rider, Northern Oneida County Council of Governments at 315-392-2260 by March 7, 2008

The workshop session was presented by Laird Petrie, associate examiner with the OSC Division of Local Government and School Accountability.  Attendees received detailed budget figures for their community from the lastfive years.  Information was then presented to help local officials understand the short and long term merits of financial planning.  Specific information was provided regarding the components of a budget, the parties responsible for formulating and reviewing the budget, what  tools and resources are available for com-munities in the budget process, and how to monitor and change the budget.  Additional information and budget process handouts are available at OSC's website at:http://www.osc.state.ny.us/

NOCCOG is pleased to be a co-sponsor for two workshops designed to assist village officials in preparing their annual budgets.  The presentation will be by the Office of the State Comptroller, Syracuse Regional Office. Topics to be covered include an overview of the budgetary responsibilities of village officials, how to develop a structurally balanced budget, key elements of the annual budget, tools available for assisting village officials in the budget process and monitoring and amending the annual budget.

The sessions will be held:

      Tuesday, February 26, 2008  7:00 -9:00 p.m. Village of Central Square Municipal Office, 3125 E. Avenue, Central Square

      Thursday, February 28, 2008 7:00-9:00  p.m. Village of Boonville Municipal Office, 13149 State Route 12, Boonville

  There is no fee for this training program. Please pre-register by calling the Tug Hill Commission office toll free at 1-888-785-2380.

The 24th Annual Meeting of NOCCOG was held on Thursday, October 25, 2007, at the Franklin Hotel in Rome, NY, with approximately 100 people in attendance.  Following the social hour, dinner was served, preceded by welcoming remarks from NOCCOG Vice-Chairman, Arnie Talgo, in absence of Chairman Robert Sauer who was not able to attend the meeting.    Municipal Management Consultant / Circuit Rider, Geraldine Ritter, recognized Tug Hill Commission Director of Economic Development, David Zembiec, Oneida County Legislator, 6^th District Les Porter, Oneida County Legislator, 5h District, Michael Waterman. Also recognized were Tug Hill Commissioners Ken Vigus, Chairman (Boonville) and Anne Schuler, Vice- Chairman (Annsville).  Assemblyman David Townsend and Senator Joseph Griffo were present for the social hour but left prior to the dinner for another commitment. They extended their wishes for another successful year to NOCCOG communities.

At 7:45pm, vice chairman Talgo called the annual business meeting to order.  Talgo gave the chairman's report that included various projects in which NOCCOG is currently involved as well as recent accomplishments.  This includes but not limited to several New York State Archives Grants, training currently offered for local officials, and the development or revision of comprehensive and land use plans for NOCCOG communities. The second associate circuit rider position was filled in January 2007 with the addition of Susan Martin to the staff.  She is serving the central part of the NOCCOG area while associate circuit rider Harlan Moonen continues to cover the western part of the NOCCOG region and municipal management consultant Gerry Ritter covers the more northern region.  Talgo also thanked the NOCCOG municipalities for their support and thanked the circuit riders for their hard work and efforts.  

Minutes:    Municipal Management Consultant Ritter asked for the review and acceptance of the minutes of the 2006 Annual Meeting.  Motion made by John Buczek, Supervisor of the Town of Floyd, to accept the minutes.  Seconded by Mike Piper, Supervisor of the Town of Vienna

All in favor.  Motion carried.

Financial Report:  NOCCOG Fiscal Officer Mark Scheidelman gave the financial report and noted that expenses for 2007 were staying within budget projections.  All revenues for 2007 had been received with all 19 member municipalities having paid their dues for the 16^th consecutive year.   Scheidelman referenced the proposed 2007 budget, approved by the NOCCOG Executive Committee.  All expense lines will remain the same for 2008, with the exception of the salary and benefits for full time municipal management consultant Ritter, which are paid in full by the Tug Hill Commission.  Scheidelman also noted that NOCCOG has received from the Tug Hill Commission a one time grant in the amount of $1,000 this year to spent for office equipment.  This has helped tremendously due to the tight budgets the last few years. He also noted the anticipated fund balance would offset expenses of 2008.  Dues for member municipalities will remain the same at $550 per year for 2008 and Oneida County support will remain the same at $7,500 as requested for 2008.  Ed Wardner, Treasurer for the Village of Holland Patent, asked why the financial report and proposed budget did not list any interest that may be earned.  Scheidelman said that amount earned is minimal and interest earned is credited accordingly at the end of the fiscal year.

A motion was made by Steve Carpenter, Councilman, Town of Vienna to accept the 2007 financial report and the 2008 NOCCOG proposed budget as presented.   Seconded by William Smith, Councilman, Town of Floyd.  

All in favor.  Motion carried

Election of Officers:  Nominating Committee member, John Buczek, Supervisor, Town of Floyd, presented the slate of officers for 2006: 

Robert Sauer of Camden - Chairman; 

Arnold Talgo of Steuben - Vice Chairman; 

Mark Scheidelman of Trenton - Fiscal Officer. 

Buczek asked for further nominations from the floor. There being none, the nominating process was closed.  Cliff Hill, Supervisor, Town of Remsen and Nominating Committee member, requested that a single ballot be cast for the slate.   Motion was made by John Buzeck, to cast a single ballot for the slate and accept the nominations.  Seconded by Cliff Hill.

 All in favor.  Motion carried.

The new terms will commence January 1, 2008.

Topics will include: conflicts of interest; code of ethics, boards of ethics and financial disclosure statements; dual office holding and compatibility  of office; appearance of impropriety; defense and indemnification; liability for acts in office; appointments; holding over in office; removal from office; vacancy in office; resignations and other topics.

The workshop is being offered free of charge and is sponsored by the Tug Hill Commission, Northern Oneida County Council of Governments, Cooperative Tug  Hill Council, River Area of Governments, Salmon River Council of Governments,  and North Shore Council of Governments.  Registration is requested one week in advance and can be arranged by calling the Tug Hill Commission at 1-888-785-2380 by Tuesday December 18th.

An additional opportunity for new officials is a teleconference - "Just Elected - What Do You Do Now" - Thursday, December 13, 2007 at Kunsela Hall, SUNYIT, Marcy, NY. This Department of the State Comptroller teleconference is sponsored  locally by the Local Government Education Committee of Herkimer and Oneida Counties (LGEC) . The program is specifically designed for newly elected and appointed town officials and will cover a wide array of responsibilities for said officials. Mark Scheidelman, Town of Trenton Supervisor and NOCCOG Fiscal Officer, will be a panelist during this teleconference.

Check-in for the teleconference is at 6:15pm and the presentation will run from 6:30-8:45pm. There is a $15.00 charge per person and the registration deadline is one week prior to the teleconference. Registration forms and additional details can be found on the LGEG web site at http://www.lgec.com/.
All newly elected officials are strongly urged to attend both of these training/information sessions.  Although the presentations are geared toward the newly elected officials, many second term and seasoned officials would benefit from also attending one or both of these sessions.