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Saturday,ÊO ctoberÊ31,Ê2015
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In EVENTS | pg. 4
Presenting Sweet Expectations Champlain Valley Chorus, Beartracks to perform
www.SunCommunityNews.com
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In FEATURES | pg. 3
Eat local, eat organic
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Family opens Farmhouse Pantry in Saranac
In NEWS| pg. 5
Recreation trail coming soon
Champlain and Rouses Point get funds for trail
City evaluating proposed 2016 budget Spending plan includes tax levy increase of 9.9 percent By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
PLATTSBURGH — The City of Plattsburgh might blow their cap. Mayor James Calnon’s budget proposal includes a tax-levy increase of 9.9 percent. “It’s too early to tell to tell if we’ll go over the tax cap,” he said. “There are so many things that are yet to be known.” The state-mandated tax cap holds spending increases at no more than .73 percent.
TasteÊ of Home
But when factoring in allowable items, such as property growth and credit for staying below the tax cap last year, for the city, the actual hard cap will be 1.9 percent. Currently, total estimated expenses equal $23,481,563 while total estimated revenues equal 22,209,753 — leaving a gap of about $800,000. Calnon said he believes the city can trim the budget plan to get to the cap level by using some leftover money from this year’s budget and savings from health-insurance plans for retirees. The council opted to change health-insurance plans for retirees earlier this month saving approximately $400,000 and reducing the tax-levy by 4 percent. Calnon said he believes there might be over $100,000 of extra carryover that the council hasn’t anticipated yet, which gives another 1 percent of the tax-levy.
Meet the candidates: Schuyler Falls By Teah Dowling
teah@suncommunitynews.com
SCHUYLER FALLS — With just one week until Election Day, candidates in the town of Schuyler Falls have sounded off on the issues.
Traveling cooking show comes to the Crete Center in Plattsburgh on Sunday PLATTSBURGH — Nancy Mock stood on stage and beamed. Several months ago, the Colchester resident submitted a recipe to Taste of Home magazine, a smoky gouda and chicken melt sandwich, and it was accepted. Pete For readers of the national cooking DeMola magazine, which has a circulation of 3.2 Editor million, recipe acceptance marks something of a badge of honor, validation from the gatekeepers to the country’s kitchens. Taking her involvement a step further, Mock, who is a volunteer field editor for the magazine, opted to participate in last year’s Taste of Home Cooking School in Plattsburgh, the annual roadshow that brings a visiting celebrity chef before live audiences to recreate some of the magazine’s most popular recipes. “I like the magazine so much I thought it would be great to stay active,” said Mock, one of a handful of assistants who helped the chef, Eric Villegas, prepare a spread of 10 different dishes before a crowd of hundreds.
The mayor stated the city may have to bust the tax cap, something he doesn’t want to do. “We won’t really know until December,” he said. “That’s why we’ve been working really hard at trying to find savings and expenditures to generate new revenue.” Besides changing health insurance plans for retirees, Calnon made one new position in the finance department funded almost exclusively by reducing overtime. “We’re just at a point where we are doing so much overtime that it’s hurting customer service,” Calnon said. “This will make us more flexible and will cost very little.” The council will hold budget work sessions - all open to the public - between now and Jan. 15 when a final budget plan must be adopted. For the budget-session schedule, visit www.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov.
The Taste of Home Cooking School will arrive in Plattsburgh on Sunday, Nov. 1. The daylong event, the region’s largest fall show, features prize giveaways, vendors and a live cooking demonstration from a celebrity chef. Photo by Pete DeMola
As the assistants worked in clock-like precision to prepare dishes like chicken and mushroom spanakopitas, gingerbread cheesecake and soft beer pretzels, Villegas kept the crowd entertained with fast-paced commentary. This year’s event, the sixth installment of the region’s largest fall show, is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Crete Center in Plattsburgh. Like Mock, participants say it’s a way to keep engaged while learning new tricks in the kitchen and building a sense of community. >> Story Continued | pg. 11
Richard Potiker, town supervisor Republican Party Potiker has resided in the Town of Schuyler Falls for almost 30 years where he raised his family. He’s retired as an insurance appraiser for his company Hudson Valley Auto Appraisers and currently owns and operates Northern NY Driving Academy. He’s been involved in the town for 20 years and currently serves as the chairman of the zoning board. Potiker would like to address landfill issues, incorporation of natural gas into the town and maintaining promoting responsible growth within the town without losing its character. “I feel like I can contribute to this position,” he said. “Hopefully, I can do the best job.” Incumbent Harold Ormsby is retiring at the end of this term. Kevin Randall, town supervisor Democratic Party Randall did not respond to phone requests for an interview. >> Story Continued | pg. 11