TOWN AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT by Don Castellucci

Town of Owego

• The organizational meeting scheduled for 2:30 on January 5 is changed to 4:00 pm at the Town Hall.

Village of Owego

• The village is applying for a grant to fund 75% of an $18,000 starting salary for a new patrolman under the 1994 federal crime bill. After three years the village would pay the full salary.

• After cutting a village resident's sewer bill in half because the owners of the property did not notice a lien on the property when they bought it, another resident came in and asked for equal treatment. Since the board set precedent in the earlier case they voted in a split decision to reduce the sewer bill.

• The board is looking into code violations at the Village Hall and the quickest way to remedy them.

Tioga County

• The county hired an interim community services director to replace Jan Kaplan who left the post in 1997.

• A bid for the former Treasurer's Office building has been tabled until "back tax" issues can be resolved. The bidder has some properties that need to be brought current. There is a disagreement on those bills.