This Regular Meeting of the Brant Town Board was held on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at the Brant Town Hall, located at 1272 Brant North Collins Rd, Brant, New York at 6:32 PM.

Present were:

Mark DeCarlo Supervisor

Linda Giancarlo Councilwoman

Donna Marien Councilwoman

Michael Muffoletto Councilman

Janice Ross Councilwoman

Barbara J. Daniel Recording Secretary

ALSO PRESENT / SIGNED IN WERE:

Joe Ostrowski Planning Board Chair

Lynda Ostrowski Deputy Town Clerk

Don Hepkins Chief of Police

Frank Broughton Zoning Board Chair

Diane Czyz Deputy Town Clerk

Tracy Kaczmarek Supervisor Secretary

Chad Kaczmarek Town Justice

Joe DeCarlo Assessor

Jeff Gier Town Justice

Kristen Giancarlo Resident

Joe Giancarlo Resident

Ellsworth Nolan Highway Superintendent

Allen Nolan Building & Grounds

The meeting opened at 6:32 PM directly following the Organizational meeting. The pledge of Allegiance was made at the beginning of the Organizational meeting.

RECOGNITION OF DIGNITARIES, OFFICIALS AND VISITORS: Supervisor DeCarlo welcomed the newly elected Councilwoman Linda Giancarlo to the Board and noted the Town Board now consists of a majority of women.

\MINUTE APPROVAL DECEMBER 9, 2019 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING: Councilman Muffoletto motioned to accept the minutes of the December 9, 2019 Regular Town Board meeting. Councilwoman Ross seconded the motion. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

SUPERVISOR’S NOVEMBER 2019 FINANCIAL REPORT: Councilwoman Giancarlo moved and was seconded by Councilman Muffoletto to accept the Supervisor’s November 2019 Financial Report as presented. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

BUDGET MODIFICATION: No Budget Modifications.

TOWN CLERK/TAX COLLECTOR’S NOVEMBER 2019 FINANCIAL REPORT: Supervisor DeCarlo motioned to accept the Town Clerk’s November 2019 Regular Financial Report and was seconded by Councilwoman Ross. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

COURT CLERK’S NOVEMBER 2019 FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR JUSTICES GIER AND KACZMAREK REGULAR AND BAIL ACCOUNTS: Councilman Muffoletto motioned to approve both Bail and Regular Financial accounts for Justice Gier and Justice Kaczmarek for November 2019, and was seconded by Councilwoman Giancarlo. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER’S DECEMBER 2019 REPORT: Code Enforcement Officer Gary Brecker read the December report. He stated he looked into 3 zombie houses. Erie County now has a Zombie Committee to work on these homes. One home is on Milestrip Rd, and two are on Route 20 across the street from each other. CEO wished to thank Barbara Daniel, Lynda Ostrowski, Diane Czyz and Tracy Kaczmarek for all their help and support this past year. He also thanked the board for their support. Supervisor DeCarlo motioned to accept the report as read, seconded by Councilwoman Ross. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

DOG CONTROL OFFICER’S DECEMBER 2019 REPORT: Dog Control Officer Barbara Daniel read her December report. Councilwoman Giancarlo made a motion to accept the December 2019 Report as read, seconded by Councilwoman Marien. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

POLICE REPORT DECEMBER 2019: The December 2019 Police Report was read by Police Chief Hepkins. Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to approve the report as read, seconded by Councilwoman Ross. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT REPORT: None

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT TO THE BOARD: The Town Clerk advised the Board that she was contacted by I.T. person Dave Sink had a call from Village Clerk Jackie Hoisington stating her current email program is not working properly. Dave Sink would like board approval to allow the Village of Farnham use of our email domain. Her email address would be VillageClerk@Farnham.BrantNY.com. This will be shared services. There will be no added cost associated with adding them. It was noted that a committee will be set up to review options for improving the way the Town processes it’s emails. Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to allow Dave Sink to add Farnham to our email service provided their access is limited departmentally, seconded by Councilwoman Giancarlo. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT: Town Clerk Barbara Daniel read her December Activity Report. The Town Clerk’s report noted receipt of a notice that Copier Fax (service agreement company for 3 of the Town Printers) will no longer be able to service the printers as they will be obsolete at the end of December 2020. From then on, all repairs will be on an hourly basis, and parts will be extra. Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to accept the report as read, seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

PLANNING BOARD MINUTES: Secretary Ostrowski read the January Minutes. Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to accept the January Report as read, seconded by Councilwoman Giancarlo. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

OPEN EXECUTIVE SESSION: Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to go to executive session at 7:02pm to discuss contractual, seconded by Councilwoman Giancarlo. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

CLOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION: Supervisor DeCarlo made a motion to close executive session at 7:42pm, seconded by Councilwoman Ross. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS REPORT: No meeting held.

RECREATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT: No report.

PARKS COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT: No report.

TOWN HISTORIAN’S REPORT: The report is tabled until next month.

FIRE COMPANY REPORTS: No report

SENIORS REPORT: The Senior’s meeting is tomorrow

Acknowledgement of the floor for Visitors, Invited Guests and Presenters: None

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

Letter from Don Clark: Councilwoman Marien read a Thank you letter from Don Clark. He thanked the Town Board and residents for taking part in their government. The Supervisor stated he was a very good Board member and he didn’t like seeing him go.

Supervisor DeCarlo presented and motioned to adopt the following resolution to put a stop to the new criminal justice Reform law. The resolution is as follows:

RESOLUTION – SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO HALT NEW CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM (BAIL & DISCOVERY REFORM)

WHEREAS, protecting the people from harm by enforcing the rule of law is the foundational role of government,

and

WHEREAS, County governments are vested by the State of New York with the responsibility to protect the most

vulnerable among us, including the socioeconomically disadvantaged, the disabled, the elderly, and children;

and

WHEREAS, no group is more vulnerable than the victims of crime, and a just society demands that crime victims

should be recognized as key participants within the criminal justice system and be treated with dignity, fairness,

and respect; and,

WHEREAS, for the past twenty-five years the State of New York has committed itself to reducing crime, and has

succeeded as evidenced by official U.S. Department of Justice Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics showing that

New York transformed from the second most dangerous sate in America in the early 1990s to the safest large

state in America by the early 2000s; and,

WHEREAS, in the final stages of adopting its FY 2020 budget, the State of New York enacted sweeping criminal

justice reforms including the elimination of cash bail for many specific enumerated crimes and the imposition of

stringent discovery mandates on police and prosecutors; and

WHEREAS, under bail reform, beginning January 1, 2020, judges will be stripped of their discretion to set bail for

many specific enumerated crimes, which means those suspected of committing these crimes can no longer be

held in jail after their arrest, regardless of the strength of the case against these defendants, or the length of the

potential sentence faced by these defendants, or the extent of the harm allegedly caused by these defendants,

and instead these defendants will be released back into the general public; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include those that result in the deaths of innocent people, including several

subcategories of homicide and manslaughter, resulting in those responsible for these deaths being released

back into the community of grieving families; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Making a Terroristic Threat and Money Laundering in Support of Terrorism in

the Third and Fourth degree, resulting in those alleged to have supported terrorism in this manner, or who have

threatened to commit acts of terrorism, being released immediately from police custody; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Promoting and Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child; Possessing an

Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child; Failure to Register as a Sex Offender; and Patronizing a Person for

Prostitution in a School Zone, resulting in suspected child predators being released and returning into our

community; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Aggravated Assault Upon a Person Less than Eleven Years Old; Reckless Assault

of a Child by a Daycare Provider; Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance to a Child; Abandonment of a Child; and

Criminal Possession of a Weapon on School Grounds, resulting in those suspected to have physically harmed or

endangered children in this manner being free from custody; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person or an Incompetent or

Physically Disabled Person, resulting in the potential for further endangerment of seniors and these defenseless

individuals; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Aggravated Cruelty to Animals; Torturing Animals and Injuring Animals,

resulting in the immediate release of those suspected of deliberately injuring, torturing and killing animals; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Assault in the Third Degree, Aggravated Vehicular Assault, and other crimes of

physical violence against people; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Burglary of a Residence, resulting in the immediate release of these individuals

back into the neighborhoods they are suspected of targeting; and

WHEREAS, these crimes include Bail Jumping and Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle,

resulting in release on recognizance of the very individuals who have demonstrated a propensity to evade the

law; and

WHEREAS, all of the offenders mentioned heretofore are at risk of not showing up for court, thereby placing a

burden on public employees who, under this law, are required to send multiple court appearance reminders to

these offenders, as well as police officers and District Attorneys who must commit resources to tracking and

pursuing those who evade prosecution; and

WHEREAS, all offenders who are currently being held in custody for non-qualifying crimes including those

mentioned heretofore will be eligible for release from custody on January 1, 2020; and

WHEREAS, the discovery mandates imposed by the State of New York will require police and District

Attorneys, beginning January 1, 2020, to turn over voluminous trial-related materials to defense attorneys

within 15 days, creating a mandate that will inevitably not be achieved in some cases and may result in the inability of the People to properly prosecute cases against criminal defendants; and

WHEREAS, discovery reform will also result in an opportunity for defendants to gain access to crime scenes that

may include a victim’s residence, thereby giving defendants accused of burglaries, assaults, rapes and other

crimes committed in victims’ homes the right to return to those same homes; and

WHEREAS, the issues mentioned heretofore will undeniably impact past, present and future victims of crime in a

negative manner, and in so doing, the bail and discovery reforms adopted by the State of New York will

themselves further victimize these innocent individuals; and

WHEREAS, these bail and discovery laws, in their current form, represent a clear and present danger to

society, will tilt the scales of justice in favor of suspected criminals and away from innocent crime victims, and

risk reversing decades of bipartisan progress made by the State of New York in reducing crime; and

WHEREAS, the fundamental responsibility of governments to protect the vulnerable in society demands that the

shortcomings of these laws be remedied prior to their effective date of January 1, 2020,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Brant and the Brant Police Department hereby supports

legislation (S.6853) introduced by Senator Chris Jacobs and implores the State of New York to immediately

amend or otherwise delay implementation of these laws by convening an emergency session of the State

Legislature, or by emergency executive authority, or by any other means deemed possible by the State, and to

do so before December 31, 2019; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Brant Town Board asks all counties in New York State to urge their state

representatives to take immediate action on the foregoing issues, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be provided to Attorney General Letitia James,

Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten

Gillibrand, the New York State Association of Counties, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, the New York

State Association of Chiefs of Police, the District Attorneys Association of New York, the New York Probation

Administrators, the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the New York State

Association of City Court Judges, the County Judges Association of the State of New York, and the County

Attorneys’ Association of the State of New York.

Supervisor DeCarlo made the motion to pass the Resolution to support legislation to halt new criminal justice reform, seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. Roll Call Vote was taken: Supervisor DeCarlo-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilwoman Giancarlo-aye, Councilwoman Marien-aye, Councilwoman Ross-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

Pass Agreement to Spend Highway Funds: Supervisor DeCarlo requested board authorization and approval to sign the “Agreement To Spend Town Highway Funds” as set forth in Section 284 of the Highway Law which requires the use of the CHIPS and Highway funds for repairs and improvements of highways. The Town Law requires Towns to sign the agreement to use the money for road repair. Councilman Muffoletto made the motion, seconded by Councilwoman Ross. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

TOWN BOARD REPORTS:

Councilman Muffoletto: No Report

Councilwoman Giancarlo: No Report

Councilwoman Marien: Councilwoman Marien said the tree lighting went very well.

Councilwoman Ross: No Report

Supervisor DeCarlo: Supervisor DeCarlo said he would like to talk with Sam Sicurella to trim trees in the area.

This has not been sent out for bids. Suggestion to have the Highway Superintendent speak with Sam to see what

needs to be done first.
 

RECOGNIZED PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Town Justice Jeffrey Gier advised the Board that tomorrow’s court session will be very busy. Both Judges will be there. They have 310 cases on the book, although not all defendants will appear. He also thanked the board for their support.

Supervisor DeCarlo said he had a conversation with Evans Agency regarding our insurance. Decisions need to be made now for our retiree group. We have the most expensive plan right now. He would like to pick a few plans and look them over and add them to our options. He would like to limit the maximum contribution the town makes.

APPROVAL TO EXPAND AVAILABLE HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS FOR RETIREES: Supervisor DeCarlo then made a motion to allow the Supervisor to expand the available options for retirees for the Senior Blue Program, seconded by Councilwoman Marien. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

Councilwoman Giancarlo presented and motioned to approve the following resolution:

RESOLUTION TO LIMIT MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD RETIREES HEALTH INSURANCE:

RESOLVED that the Town of Brant Board, after reviewing of budget and due to budget constraints, the Board has determined that with the financial responsibility of the Brant Officials, the Board has determined and agreed to a $300.00 per month allocation to help offset the cost of medical insurance to any Town of Brant service retiree after January 1^st, 2018 and forward.

Supervisor DeCarlo seconded the motion to approve the above resolution limiting the Town’s maximum contribution towards retirees insurance plans.

A Roll Call Vote was taken:

Councilwoman Giancarlo-aye,

Supervisor DeCarlo-aye,

Councilman Muffoletto-aye,

Councilwoman Marien-aye,

Councilwoman Ross-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED. RESOLTION ADOPTED.

CORRESPONDENCE:

The December 31^st and January 3^rd Sales Tax remittance is in. Both are booked as 2019 revenue. Year-to-date receipts is 4.81% above 2018.

APPROVAL OF ABSTRACT 13 & 14 OF 2019 AND ABSTRACT 1 OF 2020:

Supervisor DeCarlo read Abstract 13, 14 of 2019 and Abstract 1 of 2020:

Abstract 13 of 2019

*Prepaid and unpaid as of 1/7/2020 Total Claims $21,005.63

Gen Fund Town wide Vouchers Totaling: $20,968.66

Gen Fund – Part Town Voucher Totaling: $36.97

Highway T.W. Vouchers Totaling: $0

Highway P.T. Vouchers, Totaling: $0

Fire Protection: Vouchers: Totaling: $0

Street Lighting: Voucher Totaling: $0

Abstract 14 of 2019

*Prepaid and unpaid as of 1/7/2020 Total Claims $42,032.65

Gen Fund Town wide Vouchers Totaling: $15,910.01

Gen Fund – Part Town Voucher Totaling: $7,904.13

Highway T.W. Vouchers Totaling: $14,961.27

Street Lighting: Voucher Totaling: $3,169.32

Abstract 1 of 2020

*Prepaid and unpaid as of 1/7/2020 Total Claims $93,976.10

Gen Fund Town wide Vouchers Totaling: $68,460.16

Gen Fund – Part Town Voucher Totaling: $347.61

Highway T.W. Vouchers Totaling: $13,711.60

Highway P.T. Vouchers, Totaling: $11,456.73

PAYROLL (3 payrolls):

General Town Wide Payroll 11/24/19 to 12/28/19 – Totaling $71,322.36

General Part Town Payroll 11/24/19 to 12/28/19 Totaling: $1,332.66

Highway Payroll TW 11/24/19 to 12/28/19 Totaling: $16,243.15

Highway Payroll PT 11/24/19 to 12/28/19 Totaling: $0

Supervisor DeCarlo motioned to approve Abstract 13, 14 of 2019 and Abstract 1 of 2020, seconded by Councilwoman Giancarlo. A roll-call vote was taken: Supervisor DeCarlo-aye, Councilwoman Giancarlo-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilwoman Marien-aye, Councilwoman Ross-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

Next meeting will be Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 7:00 PM.

At 7:56 pm, Supervisor DeCarlo motioned to adjourn the meeting in Memory of Anthony “Sonny” Catalano, Phyllis Notaro, Rosella Morgano and Vernon Pierce. seconded by Councilwoman Ross 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

Respectfully submitted by,

Barbara Daniel

Brant Town Clerk