Politics & Government

No Details on Union Contracts, New Water Prices Highlight Town Board Meeting

The Harrison Town Board covered several key issues during Thursday night's meeting. Here is a quick roundup in case you missed it.

HARRISON - The Harrison Town Board accepted another donation, explained increases in water costs and kept details on union contracts close to the vest during Thursday's meeting.

Price of Water Could Increase 28 Percent

Water will be a little bit more expensive in Harrison if the town board accepts a proposal to increase the cost of water 28 percent within the Town and Village of Harrison.

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The board explained that the jump in price is a result of several factors. The Westchester Joint Waterworks, which provides Harrison with its water, is going through financial difficulties as a result of increased production costs. Also, the cost to customers has not increased in over five years. The increase would mean that someone who currently pays $94.98 per quarter for water would now be charged $144.98. 

No Details on Union Contracts

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Although it was announced this week that the Harrison Town Board has come to an agreement on salary negotiations with Harrison's three major unions, the board supplied few details on Thursday. 

"We are not going to give all the details right now because, even though there is an agreement, the words need to be printed," said Harrison Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh.

When pressed on the issue Councilman Joe Cannella, who facilitated negotiations for the town, would not clarify if money saved during the negotiation was the result of a deferral or a give-back. Cannella said that he didn't want to comment while negotiations continue. 

With the three largest unions in Harrison on board with the modifications, there remains now just two smaller unions still to vote on the modifications. These are the Foremen's Union, which is a five person collective bargaining union under the CSEA, and the Downtown Firefighters Union which has fourteen members.

Commercial Garbage Still a Concern

Two residents from West Harrison voiced objection to the new fee imposed for commercial garbage pickup. Sam Fanelli, who owns a business in the area said that he represents several business owners who don't think it is fair that there is essentially no difference between commercial buildings that create large amounts of garbage in comparison to smaller businesses that require one sanitation pickup per week.

Walsh promised that the board will discuss the issue.

Charitable Donation

In one of the Harrison Chamber of Commerce's final moves before the resignation of its president and executive board, Chamber President Ada Angarano made donations to the Harrison Food Panty and Harrison Meals on Wheels. Each donation was for $250.

Unveiling Ceremony Next Week

The town board announced that there will be an unveiling ceremony of the Emilio Scatenato Congress Street Park on May 1. Several people took the opportunity to share stories about Scatenato and why the celebration will be important for the town.

The Town Board Takes a Stance

The board also took a stance on proposed hydraulic fracturing that would extract valuable gasses from the Catskill Region. After speaking with the New York City DPW and reading into the issue for almost a month, Walsh announced that the board is officially opposed to the idea. This resulted in a brief applause from a few residents in attendance.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here