BUSTI - Residents of Busti with questions on town codes and local laws will soon have an easier way to receive an answer.
The Busti Town Board set a public hearing for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6, to discuss the new more organized town code and local law book. In November 2010, Loriann Shura, General Code spokesperson, gave a presentation to the board on services her company offers municipalities. General Code updates municipal codes and local laws to an electronic, more organized version that can be viewed online by Busti officials and residents. At the time, Diane VanDewark, town clerk, said the town hadn't updated its local law and code book since 1989. She said with local laws and codes constantly being changed, an electronic version should be done.
General Code viewed the town's documents to make sure codes and local law information was accurate and well organized. Joel Seachrist, town attorney, said the company made changes to some of the town's codes and laws to make them more streamlined and adjusted fines to be in line with what other state municipalities charge.
The company charged the town around $12,000 over a three-year period to organize the codes and laws. Also, there is an annual $1,200 fee to continue using the service.
Local municipalities like Jamestown, Chautauqua and Westfield also use the company's services.
In other town business, a public hearing will be held for 7 p.m. Monday, July 16, to discuss the proposal to increase the water hookup fee. Town officials charge $1,300 to connect residents to the town's water system. The proposal is to increase the fee by $100 to be $1,400. The proposed change will go into effect Sept. 1 to give town residents not currently connected a chance to hookup to the water system before the fee increases.