Hilltowns

The Knox candidates are in, with town Clerk Traci Delaney (formerly Schanz) running for town supervisor on the Republican line, and former Berne-Knox-Westerlo Board of Education member Chasity McGivern challenging her on the Democratic line. 

Berne’s election this year will be reformative, since every town board seat is up for grabs along with other high-profile positions like town clerk and highway superintendent. 

Albany County, in one of its first acts as owner of the property, has fixed up the road leading up to Switzkill Farm as it prepares for more improvements down the line. 

Although an old agreement is still in place and would remain so indefinitely, the town of Berne is considering signing a new contract with the cable company, Spectrum, that would keep the franchise fee the town receives from the company the same but would remove an obligation for Spectrum to build new infrastructure in areas that meet a household-density threshold. 

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Board of Education unanimously adopted Superintendent Bonnie Kane’s $24.7 million budget for the 2025-26 school year, which will go to a public vote on May 20.