Taxi Law to get public hearing
Glens Falls is about ready to unveil the new Taxicab law the city has been revising for well over a year, Ward 5 Councilor Mary Gooden told the Common Council on Tuesday Sept. 27. She chairs the Special Projects Committee that is overseeing the changes.
She and others on the dais said that the law is largely the same as reported earlier: It would allow taxis to charge $15 per ride in the city — up from about $4 — but also would give seniors, or others who need the financial boost, access to taxi tokens as a subsidy to pay for those rides.
[Read our coverage about the changes here.]
A red-lined draft of the law is ready to show the public.
“Taxi stands [locations] are in place,” Gooden said. A new map of taxi stand locations will become part of the law. The locations had to pass muster with the Board of Public Safety and safety officials in the city.
The city attorney Karen Judd said the next step will be to create the resolution to announce a public hearing.
“I know you guys were working on it,” said Councilor-at-Large Jim Clark Jr. who had been integral in the revision process. “I appreciate it.”
$9,000 for one year of SeeClickFix web application
The Common Council approved a $9,000 contract with CivicPlus of Manhattan, Ks., for the SeeClickFix software that will work with the city’s nonemergency “report a concern” webpage. That page allows residents to report problems with the city’s infrastructure from broken playground equipment to potholes in the streets.
The new software is part of the upgrades at the city’s Buildings and Code Enforcement office, and will allow for better tracking and communication, officials have said.
[See our earlier coverage here.]
Where the report-a-concern feature on the city’s website is a way for people to communicate with City Hall, the SeeClickFix app will allow the city to gather data such as the number of complaints and the time required to fix a trouble. People who use the app can enter contact information and receive notifications on progress, officials have said.
The contract is for one year, with an extension of another year available at $16,197.87. The city or CivicPlus can cancel the contract at the end of the first year, so long they give at least 90 days’ notice.