Author: Wendy Burton

Pumpkin carving at Big Rock Farm Market is great family fun and this year it’s happening for an entire week! From October 24th right up through Halloween night, there will be pumpkin carving the market’s front yard.  Pumpkin Festival hours are daily, 4 p.m. until the market’s closing time. Carving tools will be supplied, and cider and doughnuts will be served.  Reaching out to the youngsters, the Festival will also feature a maze built with hay bales. The Festival is good fun for all ages.  Costumes welcome all week long!

Town of Supervisor’s Proclamation

2020 Proclamation

WHEREAS, the town of Stanford in New York State is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting Stanford, and

WHEREAS, fire is a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and homes are the locations where people are at greatest risk from fire; and

WHEREAS, home fires killed more than 2,630 people in the United States in 2017, according to the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®), and fire departments in the United States responded to 357,000 home fires; and

WHEREAS, cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the United States where fire departments responded to more than 173,200 annually between 2013 and 2017; and 

WHEREAS, two of every five home fires start in the kitchen with 31% of these fires resulting from unattended cooking; and

WHEREAS, more than half of reported non-fatal home cooking fire injuries occurred when the victims tried to fight the fire themselves; and

WHEREAS, children under five face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking than being burned in a cooking fire

WHEREAS, Stanford’s residents should stay in the kitchen when frying food on the stovetop, keep a three-foot kid-free zone around cooking areas and keep anything that can catch fire away from stove tops; and

WHEREAS, residents who have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan are more prepared and will therefore be more likely to survive a fire; and

WHEREAS, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half; and

WHEREAS, Stanford’s first responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of home fires and home fire injuries through prevention and protection education; and

WHEREAS, Stanford’s residents are responsive to public education measures and are able to take personal steps to increase their safety from fire, especially in their homes; and

WHEREAS, the 2020 Fire Prevention Week theme ^TM, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!” effectively serves to remind us to stay alert and use caution when cooking to reduce the risk of kitchen fires.

THEREFORE, I, Wendy Burton, Supervisor of the Town of Stanford, do hereby proclaim October 4-10, 2020, as Fire Prevention Week throughout this state, and I urge all the people of (TOWN) by checking their kitchens for fire hazards and using safe cooking practices during Fire Prevention Week 2020, and to support the many public safety activities and efforts of Stanford’s fire and emergency services.

Wendy Burton, Supervisor

Town of Stanford

Click HERE  to view the first two out of three videos that address the budgetary challenges we are facing for the 2021 budget and beyond.  

I am presenting the 2021 budget as one significant step in our “Path Toward Stability”. This year the town lost 60% of its primary income. Our budget of $2.5 million is supported by nearly $1 million in diminishing savings.  No family, business or municipality can sustain such a circumstance.

We must plan to regain financial balance and institute stability. This will be done by establishing a sound budgetary base in 2021 and then through rigorous planning for the final four years of our multi-year financial recovery plan. A key to our success will be periodic measurement of our progress and adjustments along the way to ensure our success.

The Supervisor’s Tentative Budget glances back at our recent history and establishes a benchmark budget of 2015 to which we have recreated not just an identical budget total but also duplicated the tax levy of that year. we have accomplished this through a rigorous zero-based review of all expenses which has allowed us to cut the current budget while adjusting revenue recovery from potential losses due to the pandemic.

I have chosen to benchmark 2021 on the 2015 budget, because all of the intervening years, and most particularly the current one, have relied upon savings and not income. This cannot be sustained. Each of these past few years are recognized by the Comptroller and Certified Public Accountants as a budget that is “structurally unbalanced.”  Savings is not income.

The plan for 2021 also reduces our reliance upon savings from $950,000 [which happened after an election was lost], to $200,000, which I believe will be sustainable into the future.

The impact of this budget will restore taxes to nearly the precise amounts that were paid last year [2019]. Our current estimates indicate that the owner of a $200,000 property would pay $44.65 more next year and the owner of a $300,000 property $66.97, or $5.58 per month. Each additional $100,000 in property value would add $22.32 per year.

In addition, we will make the payment of taxes easier than in the past. Residents will be given the opportunity to make two payments, one at the normal winter deadline, and another in the spring.

As we move forward in our budget deliberations, I ask the Board and the community to recognize the truth about our financial condition. Some have claimed that “We have plenty of money.” We do have savings left and the real question is “How best to use it?”

My budget proposal is a conservative effort to maintain our programs, services and staff in a manner that is sound and familiar to our residents.

I look forward to answering every question, considering every recommendation, and addressing every recommendation, provided that they are presented in the good interest of Stanford and its taxpayers.

All the best

Wendy Burton

Please sign up HERE to reserve your place for the Stanford Rec’s first Community Night movie, free to all residents of Stanford, at 7:00 pm, Saturday the 19th.  The movie will follow the fabulous annual Chicken BBQ put on every Community Day by Stanford Grange #808.  Please check in with the Grange to see how many dinners are still available.

At 7:00 the Grange will present their Citizen of the Year Award which is always a heartwarming and meaningful event, and then on to the movie ONWARD and free ice cream courtesy Stewart Shops.

See you on Saturday!!!

Click HERE to see the extraordinary video footage taken by Jeff Galm of the Milan Fire District.  Bagpipes were played by Will Moriarty, Stanford Fire Company