Welcome to the Supervisor’s weblog (blog)

Welcome,

As Supervisor, I feel that the most important function I can perform is to represent the citizens of the town. Often times, the same old faces show up at Town Board meetings and are the only ones heard. Perhaps with the internet mode of communication, a more diverse citizen audience can now be heard as well.  Bloggers often sign on with anonymous “handles”. However, to better represent Hartford’s citizens it is imperative to know who you actually are. Therefore, please use you real name. The incoming comments will first be reviewed for content before they are posted on this site…. so please do not “shout” or use offensive language. Negative comments about me or local government are allowable as long as they are civil.    Dana

23 Responses to “Welcome to the Supervisor’s weblog (blog)”

  1. Elaine Bush

    I like the web site. Love the photo’s. It would be nice if the locations were identified. One actually looks like Swamp Lane.
    I think this is a great place to find out about town business.
    How long has this web site been up? Does everyone know about it?
    Good job

  2. supervisor

    Elaine, I thought that was Swamp Lane too, but upon closer inspection and asking Denise the Town Clerk it was determined to be Gilchrist Hill Road next to the Marlboro Road intersection. Dana

  3. kathleen koblensky

    Hello to Hartford,NY..I am a life long resident of Cohoes NY who is completely dissatisfied with the city of Cohoes..how it conducts it business..its dealings with developers..to keep it short we are looking for a community that has the same values as us…. protect the open spaces/through regulation/which protects the local community from high taxes…too many people= high taxes..high taxes forces long standing residents into monetary stress/forcing sell off of land..creating a vicious cycle..I hope that this might be a spot close to our thinking..if not be truthful..and discourage us from purchasing in your community…

  4. supervisor

    Kathleen, Welcome to the Website. Hopefully, in the near future I can also say “Welcome to Hartford”. The best source for the type of info you are asking is the Town’s developing Master Plan which we soon hope to implement after some more tweaking. It lays out Hartford’s history and future direction. On the website, go to upper left side PAGES and click on DEPARTMENTS. Then click on COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE. At the bottom of the committee page click on COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. This will take you to a website called PlaceSense which is the consultant assisting us in the Master Plan. Find Hartford and review the contents. Please blog back if you have any specific questions after reviewing the comprehensive plan. Dana

    • supervisor

      Andrea, Please email your photos in jpg format to [email protected] and Denise will perform her magic. If you look under the PAGES part of the website and click the button that says Photo Gallery you will see a Memorial Day Parade Alpaca photo. I admit that they are almost a year old and we need some current photos. The photos in the upper left hand corner above PAGES change every time you click on a button under PAGES. Dana

    • supervisor

      Dr. Pitts of Salem’s Supervisor’s Blog, They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If so then consider yourself flattered. See you in Albany for Advocacy Day. Dana

  5. Kurt Clauder

    As part of one of my Boy Scout Merit Badges, Citizenship in the Community, I am supposed to try to get the town budget for Hartford. How can I do this?

    • supervisor

      Kurt,

      Mrs. Petteys, the Town Clerk can help you out. But you will need to make it to the town hall by 3pm because that is when she closes her office. Or if that is too hard to do right after school you can come to the Town Hall on Saturdays between 8am and 10am.

      A good part of your exercise would also be to see how FOIL works. That stands for Freedom Of Information Law. By filling out a FOIL request you can see how that helps you in getting records from your government. Sometimes government would rather you not have some information because they want to keep it secret or might be embarrassed by it. If you fill out a FOIL form many times government has to give it to you, even if it does not want to. I am not trying to hide the Town’s 1.2 Million dollar budget but I think an important civic lesson for you to learn as part of your merit badge would be how a FOIL request works.

      So, come to the Town Hall and tell the Town Clerk that you would like to fill out a FOIL request form for a copy of the Town 2010 budget. I bet you will set the record for the youngest person ever to fill out a FOIL request at the town. Good luck. Mr. Haff

  6. Mr. Haff, I would first like to say thank you for beginning this great source of town information. It is great to see that even a small town government can be in touch with technology. As the newly elected HCS board member, I too would like to be able to open the lines of communication with the great people that we represent. As a resident of Kingsbury, I will not be involved in Hartford town matters. Allthough, if there is anything I can do to better the town and the school, please let me know. I look forward to keeping up with the town affairs through your blog. Once again, thank you.