Social Services Commissioner Dies Suddenly

Supervisors Urge State To Permit EMS As Essential Services

By Mary A. Crisafulli

DELHI - Hamden Supervisor Wayne Marshfield said a prayer for the late Social Services Commissioner Sylvia Armanno at the Delaware County Board of Supervisors meeting on May 22. "Grant her eternal rest and let a perpetual light shine upon her," said Marshfield.

Armanno, who served the county for 32 years, passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 18. Armanno was set to retire in roughly one month.

Marshfield, as chair of the social services committee, said the committee had a farewell celebration for Armanno at the last meeting the Monday before she passed. "We wished her the best in the next part of her life," said Marshfield, "We didn't know it was going to be six feet under." On that Friday, he said, she was rushed to upstate medical.

Deputy Commissioner Keith Weaver is acting as interim commissioner until Armannos position is filled.

The county declared June 15th as Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which Marshfield said was something Armanno was an advocate for. The awareness day is an annual initiative since 2006 initiated by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and adopted by the World Health Organization in 2011.

In other business, supervisors passed a resolution urging the State to enact a rescue EMS (emergency medical services) package. The resolution asks for EMS to be acknowledged as an essential service permitting tax district development and removing it from the tax cap. The resolution further asks that volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers be permitted to claim state and local property tax credits and income tax credits of $200 to $800 per person.

Supervisors also ask for ambulance services power to be reimbursed fairly for Medicaid patients. Currently, there is a limit on how much an ambulance can charge for treatment in place or transportation of patients with Medicaid. The resolution further asks for EMS vehicles to be exempt from paying Thruway charges, which has been done for fire vehicles.

The resolution will be forwarded to Governor Kathy Hochul, SEnator Peter Oberacker, Assemblyman Christopher Tague, Assemblyman Joe Angelino, and Assemblyman Brian Maher.

Bovina Supervisor and Board Chair Tina Molè said the resolution was passed as a not-pre-field as the board wanted to get it to State representatives before the end of the State legislative session.

In other business:

Supervisors approved the disposal or sale of the County Clerk's office lektriever. The lektriever is an automated filing carousel used by the county to store civil and criminal court documents. The machine held roughly 10 to 15 thousand documents now obsolete due to the clerk shifting to digital records.

With excitement, Hancock Supervisor Jerry Vernold announced that Hancock was named the number one small town in the US by Time Out, a digital media outlet focused on travel and entertainment. Time Out Journalist Amanda Mactas wrote, "Hancock, New York, is an outdoor lover's paradise for those looking to escape city life in nearby Pennsylvania and New York City. Primed for water activities along the Upper Delaware River..." To read the article visit timeout.com/usa/travel/best-small-towns-usa.

The next board of supervisors meeting is scheduled Wednesday, June 26 at 1 p.m.