Guilderland

Guilderland tax bills will look different for 2024, with the general fund showing a major increase, of 175 percent. But this is offset by the elimination of three separate lines on the tax bill: for the state retirement system, for election costs passed on by the county, and for the Altamont and Guilderland ambulance districts. The tax increase is actually 2.85 percent.

Both candidates were asked if they thought humans caused climate change and what more the county should do to reduce its effects; what role, if any, the county should play in keeping local watersheds pollution-free or in helping towns to maintain clean water; and what social services offered by the county are most helpful for Guilderland residents dealing with poverty, hunger, homelessness, addiction, or mental-health issues.

GUILDERLAND — On Monday, Oct. 30, Guilderland Police responded to two car crashes on Route 20 within an hour of each other.

The first, at 11:48 a.m. involved an 84-year-old Schenectady man, Michael Macaione, who drove his 2004 Lexus into the Chase Bank at 2027 Western Ave.

The neighbors, Ryan and Lucinda Caruso of 6685 Fuller Station Rd., agreed to accept the burden of cleaning up the property to create green space and gardens, Legislator Mark Grimm told The Enterprise.

The primary goal, said Jim White, who chairs the board for the McKownville Fire District, is: “We want to keep our firefighters safe.”

Richard Straut, of the engineering firm Barton and Loguidice, explained to the Altamont Village Board at its Oct. 19 meeting that the chemical potassium ferrate would allow the village to remove manganese from village well-water more effectively than other options and is well-understood, but that a new formulation has yet to be approved for drinking-water treatment.

The village of Altamont adopted a long-awaited law this week that allows residents to keep chickens on their properties, under certain conditions. The board had attempted to adopt a similar law several years ago, but struggled to find momentum; that law became the foundation for the current law, which received strong support from the community.  

The not-for-profit group has, according to Thomas Capuano, recently been awarded $50,000 through Albany County’s disbursal of American Rescue Plan Act awards, money from the federal government meant to help with fallout from the pandemic.

The subject had been broached last May by two girls, then in ninth-grade, on the Guilderland High School track team. The athletes, Olivia Mair and Angelica Sofia Parker, each independently wrote a letter to the Enterprise editor and sent the same missives to the school board.

A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. on a similar local law that would expand the exemption from town property taxes for eligible disabled persons.