Hilltowns

The Rensselaerville Library will receive $36,287 to build a new back deck with handrails and to replace stair stringers, while the Westerlo Public Library will get $13,605 to replace ceiling plaster and insulate its attic space.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Bonnie Kane laid out her goals for the district, and an accompanying action plan, publicly for the first time at the board of education’s September meeting, touching on all areas the district is involved in, from academics to community-building and more. 

Rensselaerville’s $3.5 million tentative budget projects slight tax increases for all three fire districts in the town, with a $4,500 increase for the Medusa fire district (7.25 percent), a $1,428 increase for the Rensselaerville district (1.87 percent) and a $1,200 increase for the Tri-Village district (1.81 percent).

The town of Berne’s payroll account hit a negative value on three different occasions last year, adding to an already large pile of evidence that the town is in poor financial condition. Bank statements show that the town has been relying on transfers between accounts to stay afloat. 

Rensselaerville’s plans to administer grant money to 16 different local organizations from its Kuhar Endowment Fund — an $860,000 pot of money left to the town by the late Jeffrey Bogue — have been put on hold as they await state approval. 

BERNE — A Berne man was arrested by state police on Sept. 11 for two felonies: one for promoting and the other for possessing sexual performance by a child.

Wayne D. Miller, 24, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree menacing after he had allegedly threatened a person with a handgun in a dispute. 

State police concluded after an investigation that Anthony Moretti, a 35-year-old Albany man found dead in a wooded area in Knox, had died of cardiac arrhythmia caused by fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Authored by a newly-formed Farmland Protection Committee, the plan will identify threats to the town’s farms and farmers, as well as lay out possible solutions.