At the Nov. 19 meeting of the Liverpool Village Board, Mayor Gary White reminded trustees that, in an effort to save money, they should consider lengthening their terms of office. The four trustees and the mayor currently serve two-year terms.
White invited residents to voice their opinions on the matter via a simple, one-question survey on the village website, villageofliverpool.org.
Last month, the trustees — Bob Gaetano, Dennis Hebert, Nick Kochan and Jim Rosier — suggested that the mayor’s term be expanded to four years, but the trustees’ terms might best remain at two years.
White proposed a re-examination of the terms of office because, over the past decade and a half, few village elections have been contested.
“I’ve been on the board for 16 years, and I think I’ve had opposition maybe once or twice,” White said. As a result, spending $570 to conduct each village election seems unnecessary, he said.
“Then there’s the learning curve,” White continued. “We’ve noticed that to be effective it takes at least a year before a new trustee really learns the ropes and comes to understand the annual budget cycle. By their second year of service, they’ve really just gotten up to speed.”
The trustees are also leaning toward canceling the mid-June village elections in favor of integrating village balloting with the general elections conducted every November by county and state governments.
Moving village elections to November could result in significant savings to the village, said Village Clerk Mary Ellen Sims, because then the election would be conducted by the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
Trustee Dennis Hebert said the cost of village elections is expected to rise when new federal regulations mandate electronic voting machines in the next few years, one reason he favors moving the elections to November. Also, “The turnout could be better in the fall,” Hebert said.
As it now stands, the mayor and two trustees run on odd years, while the other two trustees run on even years. The village justice serves a four-year term. Judge Anthony LaValle was elected to a second term this year and could run again in 2016.
At present, the next village mayor’s race is slated for June 2013.
More than 1,500 registered voters reside in the village, but less than 70 of them turned out to vote in the 2012 election when Kochan and Rosier each ran without opponents.
Mayor White and all four trustees are Republicans.
Xmas in park Dec. 9
Trustee Bob Gaetano reported that the annual Christmas in the Park celebration will take place on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 9, at Johnson Park. The Liverpool American Legion Post 188 will host the tree-lighting at 6 p.m., and Santa Claus will arrive at 6:15 p.m., with goodies for all the children who attend. Following the outdoor festivities, cookies and hot cocoa will be served at the American Legion Hall on South Cypress Street.
