logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
    • Place an Ad
  • SPECIAL SECTIONS
  • PHOTO GALLERY
  • CONTESTS
  • LIFESTYLE/ENTERTAINMENT
  • GAMES
  • CATTARAUGUS COUNTY SOURCE
    • NEWS
      • LOCAL
      • STATE
      • NATION
    • SPORTS
      • LOCAL
      • NATIONAL
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
      • NEWS
        • LOCAL
        • STATE
        • NATION
      • SPORTS
        • LOCAL
        • NATIONAL
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Salamanca sends off 85 Warriors at 139th commencement
    Breaking News
    Salamanca sends off 85 Warriors at 139th commencement
    Kellen Quigley 
    June 27, 2025
    SALAMANCA — Before the 85 graduates in the Salamanca High School Class of 2025 received their diplomas Friday night, Class Speaker Danica Teeter remin...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Home News
    Salamanca mayor breaks council tie to not deny BPU member pay
    Salamanca Press file photo
    Featured, Local News, News, Salamanca News
    Kellen Quigley kquigley@oleantimesherald.com  
    December 4, 2022

    Salamanca mayor breaks council tie to not deny BPU member pay

    SALAMANCA — A tie-breaking decision Wednesday by Mayor Sandra Magiera kept the Common Council from denying the Board of Public Utilities members from receiving compensation for attending board meetings retroactive

    SALAMANCA — A tie-breaking decision Wednesday by Mayor Sandra Magiera kept the Common Council from denying the Board of Public Utilities members from receiving compensation for attending board meetings retroactive to this June.

    Council members John “Jack” Hill and Janet Koch voted in favor of a resolution denying $200 per meeting compensation while Kylee Johnson and Barry Smith voted in opposition to it. Paul Myers, who sits on the Board of Public Utilities as the council representative, abstained.

    In a pre-council work session, city attorney Jeff Swiatek said the council has the legal authority to decide whether members of the BPU can receive compensation because of changes to the city charter two years ago.

    “We’ve never had anything to do with their hiring, firing, wages, anything, but because the charter has that in there now, and they’re part of the charter, we talked about excluding the BPU from that Section 47,” Magiera said. “We don’t pay any of them. None of the taxpayer money goes to what they do.”

    Koch said she looked through BPU board meeting minutes from the past year, saying many board meetings lasted shorter than an hour long. While a couple meetings she listed were nearly two hours long, there was also one meeting that lasted 10 minutes and one that lasted 20 minutes.

    “I think $200 a meeting is ludicrous for that amount of time they’re putting in,” Koch said.

    “It is not for the meeting,” said Dennis Hensel, BPU general manager. “It is for all the time before the meeting. You keep skewing that. You’re lying to the public.”

    “I’m not lying to the public,” Koch replied. “It’s getting paid to go to these meetings.”

    “I believe most of the boards and some of the members put in the time, but not all of them,” Hill said. “But $200 for a meeting is too much.”

    “I think $200 is high, but with them paying their own people, I don’t really have a problem with it,” Johnson said.

    A reason given for compensating board members was to find people who would be willing and qualified to do the work that otherwise wouldn’t if there was no compensation.

    Koch also noted that one previous BPU member who has since been removed had missed eight meetings in the past year. She said if people aren’t attending meetings, the department head needs to request the mayor appoint a new member who is willing to sit on a board.

    Smith said the BPU is a part of the city in one sense but it’s also an outcrop from the city that operates as a business.

    “I would want to have people that I know have the education or knowledge or willingness to work with them,” he said. “It may only be an hour meeting, but how much paperwork did they do ahead before, did they read, did they call people, did they talk to people? How much time did they actually spend doing the board work for the BPU?”

    Koch, who had sat on the BPU for many years, said many members were reading their information packets for the first time the nights of the meetings. Myers said with the recent projects including a water study and the proposed $25 million water project, the members were reading what they could ahead of time to know what they were talking about.

    “There are other city boards that get paid,” he added, including the Assessment Board of Review, the Joint Leasing Committee and the Housing Authority.

    “Those people are not appointed by the council,” Koch replied. “Those are mayor-only appointments. The BPU is the council.”

    Smith said whether or not the council could legally allow or not allow the BPU members to be compensated had been double-checked by several parties, adding it wasn’t as if only a couple of people were trying to get extra pay.

    Tags:

    bpu council institutes janet koch john hill law mayor paul myers pay politics work
    {"website":"Website"}

    Salamanca Press

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    From ‘Maverick’ director Kosinski, ‘F1’ satisfies the need for speed
    Movie Review
    From ‘Maverick’ director Kosinski, ‘F1’ satisfies the need for speed
    Kellen Quigley 
    July 2, 2025
    People are pretty simple animals — we like it when something goes fast. I mean, really fast. Jet planes, rocket ships, race cars, etc. Even other anim...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Public review for Cattaraugus Co. Ag District No. 5 runs through July 31
    Cattaraugus County News, Featured, Local News, ...
    Public review for Cattaraugus Co. Ag District No. 5 runs through July 31
    July 2, 2025
    LITTLE VALLEY — A 30-day public review for Agricultural District No. 5 in Cattaraugus County runs through July 31. Required by state law, the county l...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Police Reports
    Cattaraugus County News, Crime, Featured, ...
    Police Reports
    July 2, 2025
    Salamanca Police June 23, 8:39 p.m., Elijah Ground, 33, of Salamanca, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree obstructio...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Local Sports, Sports
    Lizards looking to make turn around after tough stretch
    July 1, 2025
    SALAMANCA — The Salamanca Lizards are 5-9-1 as of Tuesday. After four losses and two ties, they finally won against the Horseheads Hitmen on Sunday. T...
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Steelers make big addition, trade for Jalen Ramsey
    Sports
    Steelers make big addition, trade for Jalen Ramsey
    Connor Jackson 
    July 1, 2025
    The Pittsburgh Steelers are still making headlines in the offseason. They made a trade with the Dolphins for seven time pro bowl cornerback Jalen Rams...
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "website":"Website"}
    St. Bonaventure announces Brendan Storrier as men’s lacrosse head coach
    Local Sports, Sports
    St. Bonaventure announces Brendan Storrier as men’s lacrosse head coach
    July 1, 2025
    ST. BONAVENTURE — Brendan Storrier has been announced as the new head coach for the St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse team . Storrier arrives in Western ...
    Read More...
    {"sports-newsletter":"Sports", "to-print":"To Print", "website":"Website"}
    Cattaraugus County Source
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Cattaraugus County Source 06-26-2025
    Cattaraugus County Source, Special Sections
    Cattaraugus County Source 06-26-2025
    mkeim@oleantimesherald.com 
    June 26, 2025
    Read More...
    {"website":"Website"}
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Salamanca Press mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Salamanca Press on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Salamanca Press

    Submit Content
    Submit News Send a Letter to the Editor Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    Place Birth Announcement Place Anniversary Announcement Place Obituary
    Subscribe
    Start a Subscription e-Edition Contact Us
    Illinois Hancock Journal-Pilot Iroquois Times-Republic Journal-Republican The News-Gazette
    Indiana Fountain Co. Neighbor Herald Journal KV Post News Newton Co. Enterprise Rensselaer Republican Review-Republican
    Iowa Atlantic News Telegraph Audubon Advocate-Journal Barr's Post Card News Burlington Hawk Eye Collector's Journal Fayette County Union Ft. Madison Daily Democrat Independence Bulletin-Journal Keokuk Daily Gate City Oelwein Daily Register Vinton Newspapers Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan Iosco County News-Herald Ludington Daily News Oceana's Herald-Journal Oscoda Press White Lake Beacon New York Finger Lakes Times Olean Times Herald Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania Bradford Era Clearfield Progress Courier Express Free Press Courier Jeffersonian Democrat Leader Vindicator Potter Leader-Enterprise The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright 2025 The Salamanca Press 639 Norton Drive, Olean, NY 14760  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA