NORWICH – Chenango Links hosted its inaugural "Meet the Mayors" Civic Forum on Monday, welcoming City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Village of Oxford Mayor Terry Stark to discuss their experiences and visions as mayors and answer questions from forum attendees.
Carnrike and Stark were introduced by Chenango Links members at the Bohemian Moon in Norwich before delivering opening remarks to describe their accomplishments and challenges while leading their municipality.
Carnrike said when first taking office on January 1, 2016, her biggest concern was ensuring everyone was served the same, regardless of political party. She said she was expecting a smooth transition from the previous mayor to herself, but that no transition took place.
"You see all the discourse that goes on at the state level and the federal level, you can understand that it starts right at the local level," said Carnrike. "And that's something I wish we could change ... Because if you're only going to align yourself with one side or the other, we're never going to accomplish anything."
Because of budget cuts in the City of Norwich in 2016, Carnrike said the City Planning Coordinator and Deputy City Clerk positions were cut. In addition, she said the city was designated by the New York State Comptroller's Office as susceptible to fiscal stress.
"I do want to say I think people need to be educated, whether it's here in the city or the Village of Oxford, to understand the structure of government," said Carnrike. "In the City of Norwich we have six council members and a mayor––the council has the power. The mayor is responsible for the day-to-day operation, and the mayor votes in the case of a tie. So any decisions that are made for the city come from the council. I would like to say I have some influence, [but] as of late I don't have a lot of influence."
Carnrike said she was pleased to report the city is no longer under any designation from the NYS Comptroller's Office and that the city's 'fun balance', or saving's account, grew by $1.2 million in 2016-17 from its former figure of $400,000. She noted that some big concerns for the city remain, like filling its Human Resource Director position as well as its newly created Grants Coordinator positions.
Following Stark's introduction, Stark told attendees he was on the Board of Trustees for 10 years before becoming mayor in 2002, and noted he will be seeking re-election next year. As Mayor of the Village of Oxford, Stark said his first concern was the village's infrastructure: water, sewer, and streets.
"What do I do as mayor? I do nothing, I really do nothing as mayor," said Stark. "It's the community who does it. We have four board members and my job is to try to take all the info from the community – what it is that they do, what do they do good, what do they like to do, which way are they going – and how can I coordinate that into some place where we're all in the same direction at the same time?"
A concern for Oxford, Stark said, is devising a way of retaining its children from moving away after graduating high school. As a result, he said he's involved in the Innovative Community Collaborative (IC2) of Greater Chenango County––an initiative that brings together a variety of community stakeholders to devise ways to get students the skill sets that local businesses need.
