A Word From Garden City Mayor Don Brudie

Village Election March 19: The annual Village Election will be held on Tuesday, March 19, from noon until 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue. Village residents will be voting for the following candidates:

• John J. Watras               Mayor - 2 year term
• Dennis C. Donnelly        Trustee - 2 year term
• John A. DeMaro             Trustee - 2 year term
• Richard V. Silver             Trustee - 2 year term
• Robert A. Bolebruch      Trustee - 1 year term
• Allen S. Mathers             Justice - 4 year term

Since the incorporation of the village in 1919, members of the Board of Trustees in Garden City have been elected by a non-partisan vote of residents in accordance with the policies of the Community Agreement.

Absentee Ballot Applications: Absentee Ballot applications to be used in conjunction with the General Village Election on March 19, are available at the Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue. Applications must be received by the Village Clerk by March 12 if the ballot is to be mailed. For personal application, the deadline is March 18.

Budget Work Sessions: I would like to remind you that the board of trustees will be conducting work sessions to review the proposed 2013/14 Village Budget on:

• Thursday, Feb. 28: 7:30-10 p.m. Budget Study - Work Session 3

• Thursday, March 14: 7:30-10 p.m. Budget Study - Work Session - Final

These sessions are currently scheduled to be held in the Board Room at Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue, Garden City. All residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule: The next regularly scheduled board of trustees’ meetings will be held Thursday, March 7, and Thursday, March 21, at 8 p.m.

Swiftreach: During the weeks after Superstorm Sandy, the village’s primary means of communication with village residents was the village website. Village staff updated that website on a daily basis.

The village recognizes that after the storm most village residents did not have electrical power for an extended period of time and could not receive telephone calls placed to their home phone numbers. However, many residents had access to cell phones and smart phone devices. Others traveled to locations (including their workplaces) which had power. Going forward, it is the village’s intention to utilize the Swiftreach (911) emergency notification system to communicate with residents during and after an emergency. This system can send alerts to phone numbers and deliver text messages and emails. To achieve the best results with this system, it is vital that residents provide up-to-date contact information.  Therefore, we implore you to visit the village’s website and input (at the bottom, right hand side of the home page) your home phone number, cell phone number and provider, work phone number and email address. The village will only use this information to communicate with you in an emergency and will not share this information with third parties.

Followers of the village on Facebook and Twitter will continue to receive updates.

If you have any questions, please call the Village Clerk, Brian Ridgway at 465-4053.