August 2009 Monthly Announcements

1.  Salary Survey - NOCCOG is doing the salary survey again this year.  A letter went out to Town and Village clerks on July 23rd to provide this information, with a stamped envelope provided to return the information to Gerry Ritter by August 14th.  All the information will be entered into an excel spreadsheet and will be available by early September to all NOCCOG Towns and Villages.  A copy of the completed information will be sent to the Supervisor or mayor as well as the municipal clerks.

2.   Municipal Budget Workshop -   A workshop is being offered by the Local Government Education Committee on Tuesday, August 25^th, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Kunsela Hall on the campus of SUNYIT in Utica. Laird Petrie from the NYS Comptroller's Office in Syracuse will present a session on the Fundamentals of Municipal Accounting - The Budget Process. It will center on accounting for towns but it will be helpful for villages.  The fee will be $15.  The workshop flyers were mailed the first week of August.  Also visit the Local Government Education Committee web site http://lgec.org/content for registration information.

3.  New York State Council of the Arts Workshops - The Central New York Community Arts Council is pleased to announce that it will once again be awarding funds through the Art Creating Community Decentralization Regrant Program in Oneida County. ACC DEC Grant is a competitive arts grant program that provides financial and technical assistance for community-based arts activities offered by eligible nonprofit organizations and individual artists sponsored by nonprofit organizations. This program is intended to expand, promote, and increase arts and cultural programming at the local level.  The grants are awarded for specific projects occurring between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.Applicants must either attend a DEC Application Seminar or meet with SCA DEC staff to discuss the ACC DEC program and your proposed application.  These seminars provide an understanding of the Art Creating Community DEC Grant Guidelines and the mechanics of the application form. Attendance at a seminar is mandatory for ALL applicants. No exceptions will be made! Dates, locations, and times for the seminars:  Old Forge - Arts Center/Old Forge on Thursday, August 6, @ 2pm; Boonville - Dodge- Pratt Northam Art & Community Center on Wednesday, August 12, @ 2pm; Rome Art & Community Center on Thursday, August 13 @ 2pm; Utica - Stanley Center for the Arts on Thursday, August 20 @ 3pm.

Reservations are required. Please call (315) 624- 2912, or email mkoenig@cnyarts.com to reserve a space at a seminar listed below or to schedule a meeting to discuss your project. Grants Applications must be received by 4 p.m. Thursday, October 8, 2009.  Additional information is available by visiting the Central New York Council of the Arts web site at http://www.cnyarts.com/opportunities

4.  NYSERDA Program - The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently announced two new grant programs to advance energy efficiency and conservation.  This is in addition to existing programs that you may have heard about previously.  Every town and village will be receiving information in the mail the first week of August from the Tug Hill Commission about these programs -

   Existing NYSERDA programs:

•·         Small Energy Audit Program

•·         FlexTech Program

     New NYSERDA programs:

•·         Program Opportunity Notice 4 (PON 4) for Energy Conservation Studies

•·         PON 1613 for implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean fleet projects

Funding for the two new programs is being provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).    Eligible applicants include municipal governments, public K-12 schools, public universities or colleges, hospitals and not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. Water and wastewater treatment plant projects are not eligible under either program.    PON 1613 funds are to be used to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean fleet projects. If you have already had an energy audit this program will provide funds to implement the recommendations.  Applicants may request up to 100% of the project cost, up to $1 million per proposer (cap of $500,000 for clean fleet projects). Deadlines for grant applications are August 24th, October 26^th, December 21^st, and February 16^th, unless all funding is allocated before the final deadline.

Additional information is included in the information each town/village will be receiving from the Tug Hill Commission.  Please let us know ASAP if you are interested in taking part in one of these programs.

5. Trail Development Grants -Parks and Trails New York, a nonprofit group that advocates for and assists with trail projects around the state, is offering assistance to communities wishing to develop a new multi-use trail or increase usage on an existing trail as part of its Healthy Trails, Healthy People Program. Five communities will be selected to receive help with technical issues, planning, public outreach, grant writing, fundraising, programming, organizational development and other activities critical to the long-term success of trail.  Selection will be based on level of community support and commitment to the project, number and nature of partnerships, clarity of project goals and assistance requested, opportunities to increase physical activity levels within the community, and level of need. Preference will be given to communities with a high percentage of low income households. Applications and more information can be found on the Parks & Trails New York: (http://www.ptny.org/greenways/hthp/index.shtml) or by calling Parks & Trails New York at 518-434-1583. Applications are being accepted until October 2, 2009, and announcements will be made on November 16, 2009. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Parks and Trails New York to discuss their projects before the submission deadline. Healthy Trails, Healthy People is supported in part by a grant from the Healthy Heart Program of the New York State Department of Health.

6. Environmental Protection Fund - Administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.  This grant provides funding for recreation planning, historic preservation planning, park acquisition and development, and historic preservation projects. For more information, visit http://www.nysparks.com/grants/.  Additional information can be found in NOCCOG's July announcements and the Tug Hill Times. Due September 14

7.  Local Waterfront Revitalization Program - Administered by the Department of State. This grant provides funding for a variety of local waterfront planning and revitalization projects, including blueway trail and access improvement projects. Visit http://www.nyswaterfronts.com/grantopps_EPF.asp. Additional information can be found in NOCCOG's July announcements and the Tug Hill Times. Due September 16

8. Local Government Efficiency Grants - Administered by the Department of State. Eligible projects include a variety of planning and implementation activities for shared services between towns, villages, counties, and/or school districts. Visit: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lgss/sharedservices/index.

Additional information can be found in NOCCOG's July announcements and the Tug Hill Times.Due September 23

9.  Tug Hill Commission Community Survey and Forums - The final report of the Tug Hill Resident and Landowner Survey has been completed.  It can be accessed by going to the Tug Hill Commission website  -http://tughill.org/Projects%20Files/Tug%20Hill%20Community%20Survey/Survey%20Final%20Report%20FULL.pdf

A hard copy will be mailed in September to municipalities along with the results of the seven Community Forums held in the region this May and June.

Any municipality working on developing or updating a comprehensive plan or land use regulations will find this information very useful.

Email addresses:

Gjriiter01@aol.com or gerryritternoccog@frontiernet.net

hmoonen@twcny.rr.com  &  smartin47@roadrunner.com