Saturday, April 27, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
BY JIMMY LAWTON North Country This Week OGDENSBURG -- Following a brief presentation on the city's finances and a discussion regarding shared services, Ogdensburg's City Council meeting was cut short …
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BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week
OGDENSBURG -- Following a brief presentation on the city's finances and a discussion regarding shared services, Ogdensburg's City Council meeting was cut short by the mayor.
Mayor Jeffrey M. Skelly stopped the meeting before any action was taken after he requested retired firefighter Gerald Mack to leave the meeting and he refused.
The mayor said Mack was posturing at him and making faces. After the mayor called for order Mack told the mayor to shut up.
The mayor also drew ire from Councilor Nichole Kennedy who was speaking at the time the mayor called on Mack to leave. She scolded the mayor of interrupting her and was dismissive of his calls to bring order to the meeting.
Kennedy attempted to continue finishing her statement, but the meeting was called to a close following disruptions from those in attendance.
In a brief interview following the meeting Skelly said he shut it down because of the disruptions.
During the meeting the city received a brief update on the budget which showed revenues were flat despite the recent cuts to property taxes, largely due to an increase in the sales tax take.
City Manager Stephen Jellie also discussed some plans for following the recommendations of the Financial Restructuring Board and plans for consolidating services with the county.
He stated that with the likely changes in sales tax revenues due to failed negotiations with the county, the police force in the city may need to be reduced to 15 to 18 members in the coming years.
He said he shared that information at a recent meeting with St. Lawrence County Sheriff Brooks Bigwarfe in which he wanted to begin discussions regarding the future of policing in the county.
Jellie said he wanted to see what services were being duplicated by the state police, county sheriff's department and local law enforcement agencies.
Jellie said he does not believe the current model is sustainable and said it's time to see what other options exist.
The full meeting can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MycQS4il6d4
