A Message from Supervisor Walters!

ATTENTION HAMBURG TAXPAYERS:

In 2005, I was elected by you, the taxpayers of the Town of Hamburg, to reform town government and be a real voice for the people.

Over the past two years, the entrenched politicians fought to maintain status quo by:

• Eliminating the deputy supervisor position when I did not select one of them;

• Removing my authority as police liaison after I found inefficiencies in the department;

• Attempting to restrict my access to town records;

• Making the Hamburg Democratic Party Chairman, Vincent Sorrentino, the town attorney, without posting the position to the public.

Woodlawn Fire Department receives $37,000 grant!

Woodlawn Fire Department

 

Provided by: Steven Walters

It was recently announced that the Woodlawn Volunteer FD was awarded a $37,000 grant in order to update its turnout gear. This is another example of our fire companies taking advantage of an opportunity for alternative funding sources in an effort to keep district taxes down. Congratulations to Woodlawn.

September 24, 2007 Hamburg Town Board Meeting

 

Provided by: Steven Walters

Last night’s board meeting went long, but went fairly smoothly. The meeting started with two public hearings, the first on the 2008 Fire District Contracts. Most contracts saw a slight increase from last year, but the companies all did an excellent job working to keep their budgets low.

Beckwith on IR for a few days

Ford Beckwith is out of action for a bit as he recovers for surgery, so he has asked me to post one or two things this week.  So you will all be subjected to the thoughts of your humble town supervisor, Steven Walters.  As I do, I hope we can all wish Ford a speedy recovery because whether you agree with someone or not, we should never wish ill upon him.

 So were does this lead us. . .

The politics aside, there is a good mood in the police department today (something that has been lacking).  I had a chance to speak to several officers following the appointments of Chief Kesner and Assistant Chiefs Williams and Conlon.  All seem very excited about the prospects this team brings.  One officer even stated prior to the appointments he was considering applying for a job in Buffalo.  What a difference a few months can make.

 I too am very enthused about the appointments.  All three of these men bring a tremendous amount to the table.  Look for some big changes in the department in the near future. 

Supervisor Walters says “Something Smells”!

 

Something smells…

Provided by: Steven Walters

Let’s talk about sewers. Yesterday, Thursday, August 30th, a press conference was held by Senator Charles Schumer wherein the Senator announce a bill he is sponsoring that would assist local governments in upgrading and repairing sewer systems. This is great news for the entire area as every community, including Hamburg, is grappling with the cost of getting its sewer systems up to standards.

A note from the Town Supervisor

http://buffalo.yourhub.com/~HamburgSupervisor 

Police Chief Update

 

Provided by: Steven Walters

I was out playing golf yesterday at the Lou Billitier Foundation annual charity tournament when I began to ponder all that has happened since my last post. The biggest news to occur, of course, was the incident involving the appointment of Carmen Kesner and Mike Williams as Chief and Assistant Chief, respectively. To say what happened was a disappointment would be an understatement. The Police Department has been plagued with low morale for some time now. This is the last department you want to have a morale problem. But something funny happened on July 12th: morale suddenly became noticeably improved.

Steven Walters is happy Windmill Ordinance is finished.

 

Provided by: Steven Walters

The biggest news coming out of the June 25 board meeting of course was the passage of the windmill ordinance. This was done through a lot of hard work by both the town and the various business interests involved. There were several public hearings and/or meetings throughout the process and the public really stepped up to the plate to provide invaluable input to the process.It is of particular significance to me because the drafting and passing of the law allowed the town to avoid the need to pass a moratorium against windmills. I was opposed to the moratorium from the outset as I felt it would have sent a strong negative message to those considering investing in our community. This was a point that did not escape the public, as residents came out in droves to support the project. The project also received strong support from the unions. In fact, the project manager for BQ Energy stated that the ironworkers for the Lackawanna project worked better than any he had ever seen. This just goes to show the quality of work our residents can do when given an opportunity.

A Major Victory for Supervisor Walters and Hamburg!

The Town of Hamburg Supervisor, Steven Walters, was notified this week that the NYS Assembly and NYS Senate have approved the merger of the Building Inspection Departments of Blasdell and the Village of Hamburg into the Towns Building Department. This consolidation of services is essential to the end goal of a fiscal conservative town government and will result in the savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming year.

Steven Walters has set his mind to the task of insuring a 0% tax increase for next year and the year after that. He is working diligently and hopes to actually lower taxes before his current term ends. This is a major step towards that end.

This is the message contributed by Supervisor Walters on the Town/Village Merger. Great job Steve!