At the December meeting of the Claverack Town Council, the Town of Claverack became Columbia County’s first Purple Heart Community, joining other municipalities across the country along the symbolic Purple Heart Trail.

As a Purple Heart Community, Claverack pays tribute to our nation’s military service members who have been injured or killed in combat.

New York State Senator Daphne Jordan was on hand at the meeting to present the Town Board with a Senate Proclamation. 

“This is a special honor for Claverack to be able to formally thank and pay tribute to our wounded military members,” said Claverack Supervisor Kippy Weigelt. “I thank Senator Jordan for her support of this program and her leadership on this and other veteran programs and issues. Most importantly, I thank all of our Purple Heart heroes – living and passed – for their service and great sacrifice.”

Senator Jordan’s office is working closely with local governments all across the 43rd Senate District in encouraging more localities to become Purple Heart Communities to help recognize the courage and sacrifice of the men and women of America’s armed forces. 

To learn more about becoming a Purple Heart Community, e-mail Senator Jordan’s office at jordan@nysenate.gov. 

The Town of Claverack has been designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), recognizing its leadership in reducing energy use, cutting costs and driving clean energy locally.
 
Announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in August 2016, the Clean Energy Communities initiative supports local government leaders across the state by providing grants to eligible municipalities to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development projects in their communities. 

The Town of Claverack received the designation for completing four of 10 possible high-impact clean energy actions identified by NYSERDA as part of the Clean Energy Communities initiative. 
 
“We are so proud the Town of Claverack has achieved this designation. It will allow us to become more aware of energy efficiencies, lower are utility costs and take advantage of the technical support now available to our Town when working on future projects,” said Supervisor Kippy Weigelt.
  
“Congratulations to the Town of Claverack for making this important step towards a cleaner and more renewable energy future,” said Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA. 

Claverack taxpayers will see their third straight year of tax cuts in 2020 under the watchful eye and conservative budgeting practices of Town Supervisor Kippy Weigelt, Deputy Town Supervisor Steve Hook and fiscally conservative members of the Claverack Town Board.

The 2020 budget contains a tax decrease of 1.9%, the largest tax cut for Claverack taxpayers in recent history, and is more than $58,000 under the New York State Tax Cap.

The budget contains $2.7-million in spending.

While the budget includes significant cost savings to Claverack taxpayers, it also includes several upgrades and increases to meaningful town programs and services.

The budget includes a 2% raise to payroll and increases in the minimum wage. It also contains funding for assessment re-evaluation with the County, includes funding for additional park maintenance and repair costs and increases spending on senior programs.

“We’re focused on doing more with less,” said Town Supervisor Kippy Weigelt. “It’s not an easy job cutting the budget, but our taxpayers are at their limit. They need relief. We’ve done the hard work they elected us to do and we’re doing it without cutting services.”

The Town of Claverack has been able to control expenses through increased efficiencies, including consolidation of town positions and job duties, sharing services with other municipalities and creating a long term capital spending plan. At the same time, the town has made improvements and upgrades to infrastructure, town parks and highway equipment.