BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM -- A village trustee here has suggested that board members meet to discuss issues like ongoing municipal finances or other complicated issues before they are asked to vote on related resolutions in a regular meeting.

To that end, the full board voted at its Jan. 16 regular meeting to set two upcoming special meetings, open to the public, with each focusing mainly on one specific issue.

The board will convene on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. in the civic center board room to further discuss future options for the village’s paid parking setup in the downtown business district.

They have a second special meeting set for Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. to have a finance discussion.   

The move to hold special meetings to discuss pertinent issues came after Trustee Monique Tirion raised questions about the village's ongoing fiscal status, and requested a better way for board members to be able to access and understand the information.

Tirion suggested at the village board meeting on Jan. 16, that questions the board may have on certain issues facing the board be raised in committee meetings instead of during a regular board meeting.

Village Mayor Alexandra Jacobs Wilke pointed out that due to Open Meetings Law, if more than two board members attend a meeting it becomes an official meeting that needs to be properly, publicly notified.

“What I find very frustrating . . . and you’ve heard me say this before. This is the only time that we are all together and we can have some hope of getting less confused, because if I talk to Sharon (Williams, fellow village trustee) and she doesn’t know anything about it, then us talking together doesn’t help and we need a third person who knows what’s going on so that we can both learn,” Tirion said. “So these are the Open Meeting Laws that prevent us from making really useful interactions ever.”

“Maybe we just have an open meeting,” Deputy Mayor Steve Warr suggested.

“We could have a special meeting if you wish, or use up large portions of our normal meetings,” Wilke said.

“And the first one I would really like to see would be a finance budget meeting,” Tirion said, “so that we can share some concerns that I have about the way that the board is not really on top of some of these expense . . . everything is kosher. You know, everything is spent well, but we have to wait almost two years to get the word from Pinto (the auditing firm contracted by the village to check the municipal books) before we know what’s going on. And, by then it’s too late to help design the budget.”