Tompkins Weekly

Lansing clerk, Enfield board candidates make their case



By Rob Montana
Tompkins Weekly

Last week, we offered a closer look at the four candidates vying for two Dryden town board seats. This week, we have interviews with the two people vying for the Lansing town clerk position, and one of two candidates running for an Enfield town board seat.
In Lansing, Tammy Morse is challenging Debbie Munson for town clerk. Munson was appointed to fill a vacancy in the position in April, and the election is to fill the remaining three years of the term.

 

Munson, who declined to provide her age (responding “old enough to vote” to the question), is on the Republican and Independence ballot lines. She currently serves as Lansing town clerk and receiver of taxes.
Tompkins Weekly: What experience do you have working in public service, whether that is by election or appointment?
Debbie Munson: I was hired as Lansing Deputy Town Clerk and Deputy Receiver of Taxes in November 2014 and in April 2016 I was unanimously appointed Lansing Town Clerk and Receiver of Taxes by the Town Board. I have the experience of all the Lansing Town Clerk responsibilities.

 

TW: Why are you running for election to Lansing Town Clerk?
DM: I am the current Lansing Town Clerk and I am committed to serving the Lansing community. My husband and I raised our three sons in Lansing and wish to see Lansing continue to be a great place to live, work and raise families. I have volunteered my time with 4-H, school, and church. Lansing is a beautiful place and is my home.

 

TW: What are the biggest issues you see facing the town clerk’s office?
DM: Keeping up with technology to assist the Lansing residents. I recently implemented credit card payments for licenses, and water and sewer payments. Residents may also pay their water and sewer bills on-line from our website either by credit card or e-check. By the time the town and county tax bills are due in January 2017, residents will be able to conveniently pay them from our website.

 

TW: What is it about your background that you think makes you the best candidate for the position?
DM: I have the experience of currently being the Lansing Town Clerk. Some of my responsibilities include: clerk of the town board (agenda, minutes, postings, and public notices), licensing officer (dogs, marriage, and conservation), collecting water and sewer payments, Notary Public, issuing accessible parking permits, filing town laws with NY state, town banking, and as records management officer complying with record keeping requirements. To stay current with state laws, I attend meetings of the NY State Town Clerks Association and take training towards the Registered Municipal Clerk Certification. Living in Lansing for 42 years I know many residents and have knowledge of the community. The residents already know and trust me. There are many confidential andfinancial transactions that take place in the Lansing Town Clerk’s Office. I have proven to the residents that I have the integrity to take care of them. I have a degree in Accounting, have done bookkeeping my whole career, have worked in multiple financial institutions, and have been a customer service manager supervising six people for over ten years. I work regularly with the town board, town attorney, town highway superintendent, and other town employees.

 

 

Morse, 48, is on the Democratic ballot line and currently serves as village clerk for the Village of Trumansburg.

Tompkins Weekly: What experience do you have working in public service, whether that is by election or appointment?
Tammy Morse: I have nearly 12 years of municipal clerk experience that began in January 2005 with a part-time deputy clerk position with the Village of Trumansburg, which I held until I was promoted and appointed to my current position as Village Clerk/Tax Receiver in May 2006.

 

TW: Why are you running for election to Lansing Town Clerk?
TM: I am running to be the Lansing Town Clerk because I would like the opportunity to use my nearly 12 years of Municipal Clerk experience here, at home, in the Town of Lansing serving my community.

 

TW: What are the biggest issues you see facing the town clerk’s office?
TM: There are several issues that the town clerk’s office faces now and in the future, such as the effects that the Property Tax Cap Law and other unfunded mandates have on an already difficult budget; always trying to do more with less. I believe open communication with the public, through whatever means and media best keeps residents informed, is always an area that can be strengthened. Also, an issue that is getting some attention in the area is the attempt by some towns to take away residents’ right to vote for their town clerk and to have the responsibility of filling the position delegated to the town board as an appointed position. I believe that the residents of a town will always be better served by a clerk that they elect and hopefully this latest political fad doesn’t become an issue for folks in Lansing.

 

TW: What is it about your background that you think makes you the best candidate for the position?
TM: I have served in public office as a municipal clerk for nearly 12 years. I have over a decade of continuing education including seminars, workshops and conferences. I have attended 11 consecutive New York Conference of Mayors Fall Training Schools. NYCOM Fall Training School is a four-day conference that offers 60 separate sessions related to municipal law, government operations, local finance and professional development.
I am a 2012 graduate of the Cornell Municipal Clerk’s Institute, where I obtained further education and skills to meet the requirements to become a Registered Municipal Clerk and a Certified Municipal Clerk. My years of experience, skills and ability as a proven Municipal Clerk make me the best candidate for the position of Lansing Town Clerk.

 

 

In the Town of Enfield, William Connors, on the Republican and Libertarian ballot lines, and Beth McGee, on the Democratic ballot line are vying to fill a vacancy for a one-year term on the town board. We were able to reach McGee to conduct an interview, while Connors was unable to be interviewed for this story.

 

McGee, 48, has operated a residential professional cleaning business for more than 20 years. In addition, she is an author and publishes a website.

Tompkins Weekly: What experience do you have working in public service, whether that is by election or appointment?
BM: I have served on the boards of my children’s schools, PTA president and youth group leaders. I’ve been on all sorts of committees for organizations, and I also served on the Enfield town board; I was elected to the board for the seat we are running for now. My husband had an employment change and we moved out of state for a while, and then we returned to our home in Enfield, so I decided to run for that seat again.

 

TW: Why are you running for election to the Enfield Town Council?
BM: Michael Miles, who the board appointed to take my seat, was not interested in continuing on the board. I was pleased with how seriously he took it and I understand that it can be daunting. I felt it was important that someone be on the board who cared about taking it seriously and taking on that work, being part of the group that does that work together.
I really care about our town. I feel like small towns need people who care about keeping the rural character intact. We have a strong agriculture base here, with lots of craftsmen and small business owners, people that like wide open spaces; my family has been here for more than 100 years. We like to keep our town the way it is, but I also understand that it’s important to find economic development and business that coincides with that desire of maintaining that rural character. They do exist; many people wouldn’t think so, but they do. I think the town should be more proactive about that.

 

TW: What are the three biggest issues you see facing the town?
BM: I think the biggest one right now is certainly the wind farm situation. That is a big issue and as with everything else, I’ve always made it clear that Enfield do everything it can to be responsible for Enfield. We often aren’t; there are situations the town has been in that have not been in the best interest of Enfield. Whatever we do, the goal should always be that we do it right, transparently and within the law.
Another issue that is really important is finalizing the comprehensive plan. We’ve been working on that as a town for several years, in response to the moratorium on hydrofracturing, and we’ve gone through one draft. I headed up the committee to finalize that when I was on the board before and I would love to see that come through this coming year.
One other issue I think is really important is our highway department. Our fairly new highway department building has been a problem from the get-go, and our equipment inventory has been neglected by budgets set for by the board for a really long time. The highway superintendent has warned about it for a long time, and we need to address problems with the building, and focus on ways to come up with a plan for replacing equipment. It is the biggest service we provide – taking care of the transportation routes.

 

TW: What is it about your background that you think makes you the best candidate for the position?
BM: I really value community service. I always dig and do everything I can to help; I don’t just say ‘We should do this …’ and expect someone else to do it, I take on the workload. I care a lot about our community, as I’m sure the other candidate does, and I have experience working with this board in particular. I have a lot of community service experience, I know how to work with people and I’m not afraid to speak out when I think things are not appropriate or don’t make sense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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