Social Connect
Upcoming Events
Showing posts with label Ken Genewick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ken Genewick. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2015
The duties of the City Treasurer for the City of Lockport Charter were adopted by our City’s fathers over 100 years ago. The telephone and automobile were just being introduced to society and city records were kept on paper ledgers. There were no televisions, computers or internet and our city budget was a fraction of what it is today.
Over 100 years ago, New York State did not require, and taxpayers did not demand complex financial reporting, accounting and auditing of a 33 million dollar corporation.
Municipal financing and employment laws have evolved immensely, and rightly so. Unfortunately, the present requirements to run for City Treasurer of being 18 years of age and a city resident, which were adopted over 100 years ago, have not changed with the times. It is time to be fiscally prudent, and make sure that our city is operated with a finance director with the professional and educational qualifications to ensure that our 33 million dollar municipal corporation is operated appropriately, given the complex and changing times we live in today.
In December 2013, the NYS Comptroller’s Office issued a Fiscal Stress Report that classified the City of Lockport’s financial stress as Moderate Fiscal Distress.
The city can no longer afford to have a well-liked, but unqualified, citizen be the sole person overseeing the finances of a 33 million dollar operation. This is confirmed by the NYS Comptroller’s Office reports in three separate audits, which state that the Treasurer’s Office’s performance was so poor that city officials could not make good decisions based on the poor accounting and financial management.
The city is coming out of our financial distress. We have turned the corner and now have a small surplus, and our new Director of Finance is doing a great job reporting city finances accurately and on time every month.
A lot has happened in 100 years. Our country won Two World Wars, we can fly airplanes around the world, and we have traveled to space. Why has it taken so long to address the duties of City Treasurer and municipal finances in our City so it is consistent with our current times? The time has come, the time is here, and the time is now. Let’s make these changes so we can continue to move forward, and not revert backwards again.
VOTE YES on the referendum.
-- Ken Genewick is the outgoing Fifth-Ward alderman for the City of Lockport
Catch up quick
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com
Members of Niagara County’s senior population and their caregivers have a chance to weigh in on government services for the aging in a new online survey currently being conducted by the Niagara County Office for the Aging.
The online survey (link) asks the aged population and their adult caregivers to rate the importance of various government services that promote their independence and health.
“We need feedback to tailor our programs to the local need,” explained Office for the Aging Director Ken Genewick.
The survey, along with a series of focus groups, is designed to garner public input in the operation and structure of various programs ranging from senior nutrition to transportation to various assistance services.
“We need to provide our aging population with the services that matter to them, and our Office for the Aging is trying to better determine what that looks like,” said Niagara County Legislator Keith McNall, R-Lockport, who chairs the Legislature’s Community Services Committee. “We hope our seniors and their caregivers take the opportunity to weigh in.”
The four scheduled focus groups will be held as follows:
No registration is required for the focus groups. Refreshments will be served.
RELATED LINK:
news@eastniagarapost.com
 |
The Niagara County Office for the Aging is polling seniors to ask what
services they need or use. (ENP FILE PHOTO BY HEATHER N.
GRIMMER)
|
The online survey (link) asks the aged population and their adult caregivers to rate the importance of various government services that promote their independence and health.
“We need feedback to tailor our programs to the local need,” explained Office for the Aging Director Ken Genewick.
The survey, along with a series of focus groups, is designed to garner public input in the operation and structure of various programs ranging from senior nutrition to transportation to various assistance services.
“We need to provide our aging population with the services that matter to them, and our Office for the Aging is trying to better determine what that looks like,” said Niagara County Legislator Keith McNall, R-Lockport, who chairs the Legislature’s Community Services Committee. “We hope our seniors and their caregivers take the opportunity to weigh in.”
The four scheduled focus groups will be held as follows:
- June 29, 2 p.m., at the North Tonawanda Senior Center, 110 Goundry St., North Tonawanda
- June 30, 10 a.m., at the John A. Duck Senior Center, 1201 Hyde Park Blvd, Niagara Falls
- June 30, 2 p.m., at the Dale Association Social Centre, 33 Ontario St., Lockport
- July 8, 10 a.m., at the Lewiston Senior Services Center, 4361 Lower River Road, Youngstown
No registration is required for the focus groups. Refreshments will be served.
RELATED LINK:
Get breaking news delivered.
with the ENP Mobile app for Android.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com
Fifth Ward Alderman Ken Genewick will not seek re-election, he said this evening via a press release.
"It has been an honor serving on the Common Council for the past three terms, while working for and with the residents of the Fifth Ward and the City," Genewick said. "While it is a difficult decision to not seek re-election, I am excited about the opportunity to devote more time to my family and three young children, as well as my professional career."
news@eastniagarapost.com
Fifth Ward Alderman Ken Genewick will not seek re-election, he said this evening via a press release.
"It has been an honor serving on the Common Council for the past three terms, while working for and with the residents of the Fifth Ward and the City," Genewick said. "While it is a difficult decision to not seek re-election, I am excited about the opportunity to devote more time to my family and three young children, as well as my professional career."
Thursday, February 19, 2015
ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com
The Lockport Common Council voted Wednesday night against a grant that could have temporarily bolstered the size of the city fire department.
The "Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response" grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have allowed the city to temporarily return four laid-off firefighters to active status, had the grant been applied for and approved.
Instead, the Common Council — by a 4-2 vote — directed Acting Fire Chief Pat Brady to apply for a different category of grant aimed at retention. There's no guarantee that the city will be the recipient of the retention grant. In fact, some officials said Wednesday night that the odds are so low that it's useless to bother applying.
The vote on returning four of the five laid-off firefighters was split evenly among the city's six Common Council Members with Kitty Fogle joining Pat Schrader and Anita Mullane in supporting the issue and Aldermen Ken Genewick, Joe Kibler and John Lombardi opposing it.
Mayor Anne McCaffrey had to break the tie. She did so in opposition to the grant, stating that it came with strings attached that the city may not be able to afford.
City politicians and the city's fire department union have been at odds for years about a variety of matters, most notably the size of the department itself. In October, the city defunded five firefighter positions from the budget following a buyout offer that the fire department union rejected.
news@eastniagarapost.com
The "Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response" grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have allowed the city to temporarily return four laid-off firefighters to active status, had the grant been applied for and approved.
Instead, the Common Council — by a 4-2 vote — directed Acting Fire Chief Pat Brady to apply for a different category of grant aimed at retention. There's no guarantee that the city will be the recipient of the retention grant. In fact, some officials said Wednesday night that the odds are so low that it's useless to bother applying.
The vote on returning four of the five laid-off firefighters was split evenly among the city's six Common Council Members with Kitty Fogle joining Pat Schrader and Anita Mullane in supporting the issue and Aldermen Ken Genewick, Joe Kibler and John Lombardi opposing it.
Mayor Anne McCaffrey had to break the tie. She did so in opposition to the grant, stating that it came with strings attached that the city may not be able to afford.
City politicians and the city's fire department union have been at odds for years about a variety of matters, most notably the size of the department itself. In October, the city defunded five firefighter positions from the budget following a buyout offer that the fire department union rejected.
For instant access to East Niagara Post's YouTube videos, social media feeds and more,
Monday, August 18, 2014
 |
| City officials pose after being doused with cold water at the historic Flight of Five. From left, aldermen Ken Genewick, Ron Franco, Kitty Fogle, Mayor Anne McCaffrey and City Clerk Richelle Pasceri show off their wet look. (PHOTOS BY HEATHER N. GRIMMER / ENP PHOTOGRAPHER) |
ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com
 |
| Officials nervously await the cold rush. |
The city officials were doused by fellow city employees and community members near the Flight of Five, the challenged standing below the stairs leading to the flight.
Pasceri announced prior to being doused that the city officials were passing the challenge on to the city's police and fire departments, which have until Tuesday evening to complete the task or donate $100 to Lou Gehrig's disease research.
To date, the Ice Bucket Challenge has raised more than $15 million for the ALS Association.
For more photos of city officials being drenched, click here. For a video of the task and challenge, click here.
 |
| There's no real preparing for the rush of water. |
Send an email to news@eastniagarapost.com with "email update" in the subject line.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Fourth Ward Alderman Pat Schrader is sworn into office by city court Judge Bill Watson. Schrader's wife Marietta looks on. |
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Third Ward Alderwoman Kitty Fogle is sworn into office Monday while her family looks on. |
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Mayor Mike Tucker holds the Bible while First Ward Alderman John Lombardi is sworn into office. Looking on is City Clerk Richelle Pasceri. |
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Alderman-at-Large Joe Kibler is sworn into office Monday at Lockport's City Hall. |
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Second Ward Alderwoman Anne McCaffrey is sworn into office with her family looking on. |
 |
| HEATHER N. GRIMMER - Fifth Ward Alderman Ken Genewick is sworn into office by City Court Judge Bill Watson with Genewick's family looking on. |
Add us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)