The Owego Village Board is expected to adopt their final budget at a meeting tonight and also approve local laws that will abolish the village court and change the clerk/treasurer position from elected to appointed. The meeting will begin at 6pm at the village Department of Public Works Building at 20 Elm Street. Next year’s budget does not call for an increase in taxes. Trustees say they have slashed funding for departments to the absolute minimum levels in the $2.9 million spending plan in order to keep taxes down. A copy of the tentative budget is available for review at the village office. Also part of the board’s cost-saving measures is a plan to abolish both the village court and the village justice position. A review by trustees found that the court has operated at a $110,000 loss over the last three years, and is projected to operate at a $30,000 loss again this year. The village has received a $100,000 grant that will help pay to send all cases to the Town of Owego Court. The other law expected to be approved tonight will change the village charter to make the clerk/treasurer position appointed instead of elected. That change would require the approval of village residents in a referendum vote later this year. The court decision will only require a referendum if residents file a petition within 30 days of adoption of the local law. We will have full coverage of tonight’s meeting tomorrow on WEBO.
