City leaders outline occupancy‑tax portal pilot, foot‑patrol push and plan to comment to DEC on nearby spoil‑treatment proposal

Speaker 2 updated the council on several city administration items. They said the city will pilot the county’s occupancy‑tax application portal (working with Heather Bagshaw, county tourism director, and Amy Collins, city tourism director) so applicants for occupancy‑tax funding can apply online and the council can vote on awards more transparently.

On public safety, Speaker 2 said the city is trying to free up at least one dedicated downtown foot‑patrol officer but faces staffing and detainee‑holding challenges. They described discussions with the county to change an existing memorandum of understanding so officers would not need to sit with detainees pending arraignment. Speaker 2 said Judge Haas has been advocating for this change and referenced a prior MOU signed by former sheriff Bud York and former police chief Tony Lyden.

Speaker 2 also announced Judge Hobbs’s retirement and said the city will seek resumes and interest letters to fill the city court judge vacancy, a responsibility the speaker said falls to the city. The speaker described an internal reorganization to separate building and code functions from planning and zoning to provide centralized pre‑application assistance to applicants.

Finally, Speaker 2 said they will submit a comment to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation during the public‑comment period on a proposed spoil‑treatment operation in nearby Fort Edward and requested a public hearing so Glens Falls residents can raise concerns; the transcript notes the superintendent of the Hussam Hall School District and the town of Fort Edward submitted opposing comments.