By Liz Page
DAVENPORT CENTER – Voters in the town of Davenport will be asked to decide if the town should move to an appointed assessor, rather than the elected three assessor board they have currently. Supervisor Tim Kelso said the lack of a candidate for the third assessor's seat has prompted the move and the remaining two assessors would become one appointed sole assessor and one appointed clerk.
It is a move almost every town in Delaware County has made, according to Kelso. Serving as a town assessor is one of those thankless jobs that requires a great deal of training to become certified, he said.
"Because no one stepped up to run for the open assessor seat, the town board decided to put it on the ballot and let the voters decide."
Proposal Number Two on the ballot asks: Shall a Local Law entitled "A Local Law to Reduce the number of Assessors in the Town of Davenport from Three Elected Assessors to one Appointed Assessor in the Town of Davenport, NY" be approved whereby the board of three elected assessors be abolished and one appointed assessor position created for initial term, if adopted, to take effect Jan. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2026 and whereby a six year appointment term will commence on Oct. 1, 2026.
Also on the ballot in November are unopposed candidates for town supervisor, two town council seats and the highway superintendent, all currently held by incumbents.
Kelso said the town board has also held its first budget workshop and at this point, the tentative figures are falling within the allowable state tax cap. "So far, it looks as if we will stay under the cap," he said. Some items have been increased, such as the machinery and parts line in the highway budget. Insurance is also increasing and he said there is some contingency in case it's needed.
The town also recently received its reimbursement check for Comprehensive Highway Improvements Program funding in the amount of $387,000. The town has completed all its summer road repairs.
The town board also voted to move forward with the utility terrain vehicle (side-by-sides) use of town roadways. The town attorney is currently developing the criteria for a local law, researching the laws of other towns. It is expected to be presented at the town's October meeting, with a public hearing held in November.
Another issue is a less than one-acre parcel of land that was given to Habitat for Humanities to construct a home, but has been given back to the town. Board members decided to sell the property and will offer it to neighboring property owners first.
The Generac generator has arrived at the Davenport Town Hall and was purchased through a grant from the Delaware County Board of Elections. It has been installed and is operable. It will allow the town to hold an election if the power fails.
The town has re-applied to the O'Connor Foundation to purchase a Generac generator for the highway garage as well. It would allow the town crew to open the doorways when there is no power. Currently, they must use a frontend loader to open the doors when there is no power.
Signs have arrived for Highway Superintendent Fred Utter to install at the top and bottom of Rathbun Hill Road. It is a steep and winding roadway and vehicles go off in the winter, but the real problem is trucks being rerouted via Geopositioning Systems (GPS) to use the roadway as a shortcut in the winter. The signs are intended to discourage trucks using the roadway in the winter.
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