Ellicottville: Special Town Board Meeting
By Jim Gill

A special meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Ellicottville was called on Thursday October 16, 2008 commencing at 6: PM. The special meeting was called to address the Assessment Department and the creation of a new position, Deputy Assessor to assist the current assessor Lamphier and to address the open Chief of Police position due to the recent resignation of Chief Comstock.

Attending the meeting were Town Supervisor, John Burrell, Town Board Members Greg Fitzpatrick, Ken Hinman, Bob Scharf, Bob O’Brian and Town Clerk Tony Higgs. Invited to the meeting were realtor Harry Weissman, assessor Robin Lamphier and Larry Graham, part time Ellicottville police officer.

A resolution was passed to create the position of Deputy Assessor and to appoint Harry Weissman to the position. Weissman was called upon to discuss his work history, experience and plans for addressing assessments in Ellicottville. Weissman currently does not have an assessors’ license but will take immediate steps to obtain one, in the meantime should the present assessor leave, according to state law he would be allowed to act as acting assessor while he attains his license. Assessor Lamphier did not attend the meeting however, Supervisor Burrell mentioned he has discussed the new position with her mentioning that “she was fine with the agreement.”

In outlining his plans as Deputy Assessor Weissman plans on looking at all Lamphier’s data to learn her system. His initial goal would be to review some of the neighborhoods while considering more of them to provide more equitable assessments in the village and town. His experience as a realtor has found evidence that many homes are assessed too high and he would strike some properties that are unique in an area driving up the value of surrounding properties. He also expressed disappointment with the recent consulting firms brought in to assist Lamphier and plans on improving public relations to overcome the complaints from taxpayers in the community about being treated rudely by the assessor’s office.

Board member O’Brian mentioned the need to re-assess all commercial properties within the next two years or face the possibility of losing some of the “cap” money from the state. Most commercial properties are currently assessed at a lower market value due to their value in generating employment in the area. Weissman mentioned he may be capable of assessing the current commercial properties however, places like Tamarack Club and Morningside Estates may require bringing in outside help.

In his closing comments before the board Weissman mentioned “more field work is required to help the current situation, we need to make sure every parcel is looked at to make sure they are assessed properly.”

The board was unanimous in passing the resolution, the new position will pay $21,000 per year requiring 19 ½ hours per week, the Deputy Assessor is expected to start on November 2, 2008. A special committee will be formed to include Lamphier, Weissman, Burrell and O’Brian to establish a job description; they will meet on a monthly basis reporting back to the board providing regular updates.

Town Police Department

The resignation of James Comstock as Chief of Police for the Town of Ellicottville effective October 19th, 2008 was officially accepted during this special meeting. Supervisor Burrell mentioned the position will not be filled immediately but someone must be placed in charge. During the board’s discussions Burrell mentioned that this may be an opportunity for the town and village to work together on input for the position suggesting a committee comprised of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Town Supervisor and Bob O’Brian be formed. The committee would report back to both town and village boards on all matters discussed. There was also dialogue on merging the town and village law enforcement groups.

At this point Burrell introduced Larry Graham, he has been working part time for the Town Police Department for the past 10 years. Following a brief discussion the board agreed to make Graham the “Officer in Charge,” a part time position paying $22.00 per hour working 19 ½ hours per week through the end of December. The position will be re-negotiated at that time.