Camillus Dog Law Passed 7 to 0 on July 14, Minutes Confirm, and the Board Just Funded $15,870 in Officer Pay

Camillus Supervisor John Fatcheric and all six ward councilors voted yes on July 14 to enact the town’s rewritten dog control law, a 7 to 0 roll call now confirmed in official minutes the Town Board accepted on July 28. Two weeks after the vote, the board moved $15,870 from its general fund balance into a new part time salary line to pay the two dog control officers whose appointments took effect on or about August 1.

The minutes, filed by Town Clerk Martha Dickson-McMahon and posted to the town website, settle the one question CNY Signal could not answer on July 15: how the votes came down. The answer is every vote, on every headline item, in the affirmative. The dog law, the joint comprehensive plan, both officer appointments and the Harriet Tubman byway resolution all passed without a single no.

CNY Signal reported the July 14 agenda in advance and promised to report the votes when the minutes published. Read the original story here: Camillus Rewrites Its Dog Law.

The roll call, name by name

Resolution 153, offered by 3rd Ward Councilor Fred Covert and seconded by 5th Ward Councilor Chris Cesta, enacted proposed Local Law I of 2026 as Local Law No. 9 of 2026. The recorded roll call: Fatcheric yes, Cesta yes, Covert yes, Mike LaFlair yes, Mary Luber yes, John O’Hara yes, Laura Teufel yes. The minutes then state the resolution “was thereupon declared duly adopted.”

The public hearing that preceded the vote was over almost before it began. Roughly 40 members of the public were in the room at the Municipal Building on West Genesee Street, along with Police Chief Mike Schreyer, Highway Superintendent Ken Stoneburg and Village of Camillus Mayor Dick Waterman. Under the heading Public Comment for the dog law hearing, the minutes record one word: “None.” Not one resident spoke for or against a law that rewrites how every dog owner in town licenses, controls and, if it comes to it, redeems a seized pet. The whole meeting ran 56 minutes, gavel to gavel, from 6:00 p.m. to 6:56 p.m.

What is now on the books

Local Law No. 9 of 2026 repeals and replaces Chapter 54 of the town code in its entirety. The enacted text confirms the framework CNY Signal detailed in July. Violations carry a maximum fine of $250, with minimums of $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second and $150 for a third or more, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation. Owners of seized dogs get five business days to redeem them, not counting the day of impoundment, and must show proof of licensing and pay the redemption fee the board set at $45 per day on June 23. Dogs must be licensed at four months old with a current rabies certificate, licenses cannot exceed three years, and a dog already licensed elsewhere must get a Camillus license within 30 days of moving into town.

One timing detail matters for enforcement. Section 5 of the law states it “shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.” The town has not posted a filing receipt, so CNY Signal cannot yet confirm the date the state logged it. What the town has done is publish the new Chapter 54 text on its municipal code page, in a codified document date stamped July 24, 2026, ten days after the vote. The old chapter is gone from the code listing.

Two officers, 690 hours of funded work

The appointments came as two separate unanimous resolutions. Resolution 159, moved by Cesta and seconded by Teufel, appointed Mitchell Kline as part time dog control officer at $23.00 per hour, effective on or about August 1, 2026, pending successful completion of a background investigation. Resolution 160, moved by Covert and seconded by Cesta, appointed Cynthia Moon on identical terms. The July 14 agenda materials CNY Signal reviewed last month listed Kline as a Camillus resident and Moon as an East Syracuse resident.

Then came the money. At the July 28 meeting, Resolution 166, moved by O’Hara and seconded by Teufel, reallocated $15,870.00 from the general fund balance into account A00.3510.14000.0000, a dog control part time salary line. At $23.00 per hour, that transfer funds exactly 690 hours of officer time. Spread across the roughly 22 weeks remaining in 2026 after the August 1 start date, it works out to about 31 combined hours per week, or roughly 15 hours per officer. That is the town’s own arithmetic for what dog control coverage looks like through December: two officers splitting what amounts to less than one full time job.

The comprehensive plan passed the same night

Resolution 154, moved by LaFlair and seconded by Cesta, adopted the 2026 Town and Village of Camillus Joint Comprehensive Plan on a second 7 to 0 roll call. The plan has been two years in the making. The town and village won an Onondaga County Municipal Planning Grant, hired the consultant team of Barton and Loguidice in January 2025, and seated a steering committee of residents and community leaders in April 2025. The steering committee held its own public hearing on April 9, 2026 at the Camillus Town Hall Gym, and the final draft is dated April 15, 2026. The board issued a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act before adopting.

The only friction on the record was a family matter. During comments, Councilor Luber asked whether revisions requested by her father would be implemented. Fatcheric answered that the topics were already covered in more general form, that the suggested changes would require commitments from other entities and on private property outside the town’s purview, and that they were not raised during the plan’s development phase, so they would not be included.

The village’s half of the joint adoption remains publicly unconfirmed. The Village of Camillus scheduled its own hearing for July 20, but as of August 4 the village minutes page lists June 15, 2026 as its most recent posted meeting. CNY Signal will report the village vote when those minutes appear.

Tubman byway support, also unanimous

Resolution 163, moved by Covert and seconded by Teufel, put Camillus on record supporting designation of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Scenic Byway. The resolution describes a 544 mile corridor and a steering committee of representatives from 22 municipalities along the proposed route, with an advisory committee that includes relatives of Harriet Tubman and descendants of Freedom Seekers. The resolution commits the town to work in partnership with other municipalities along the byway on future program development. It passed unanimously.

The one no vote of the night

The only division on July 14 came over carpet. Resolution 157 accepted a $16,217.23 quote from Floor Coverings International to carpet the Municipal Building auditorium. Luber voted no, telling the board the town should first create a building improvement committee and invest in architects, designers and engineers to develop a five year renovation plan for the Municipal Building before paying to carpet the auditorium for use as additional business space. The measure carried 6 to 1, as did the companion budget amendment in Resolution 162, which moved that same $16,217.23 out of a special building fund reserve and also shifted $38,603.26 from insurance recovery money into the police vehicles account for repair expenses.

The rest of the July 14 money moved without dissent: Warrant No. 13 at $380,513.52 in checks and ACH payments, a $45,787.50 Ford pickup for the highway department paid from the equipment account, authorization to advertise bids for the Municipal Building elevator addition, and a constable agreement between the town and Holy Family Catholic Church.

What happened on July 28

The follow up meeting on July 28 drew a far smaller crowd, roughly 10 members of the public against the 40 who watched the dog law pass, and it wrapped in 25 minutes. Beyond the dog control salary transfer, the board approved Warrant No. 14 at $219,058.19, signed an engagement letter with the accounting firm Bonadio and Co., LLP, and moved $15,044.39 from a state snowmobile and law enforcement grant line into the police vehicles account.

The board also opened its next land use fight. Resolution 167, introduced by Cesta and seconded by Covert, advanced proposed Local Law J of 2026, a zone change on Chapel Drive from residential to Limited Business Office to allow a convent to be converted into an adult housing facility. The resolution notes the site holds several parking lots, a vacant commercial lot and two religious structures, and that Chapel Drive runs parallel to West Genesee Street, a busy commercial corridor. The board issued a negative declaration under SEQRA, referred the application to the Planning Board, and set a public hearing for August 25, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at the town offices, 4600 W. Genesee Street. That roll call was also 7 to 0. Separate resolutions authorized code enforcement to hire contractors to remove nuisance vehicles and clean up the property at 201 and 203 Westfall Street.

Around town

Mayor Waterman told the board on July 28 that the village Family Fun Day, postponed from July 18 by weather and poor air quality, is rescheduled for August 15 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. He also said the village has held extensive discussions with the Finger Lakes Railway about the condition of the bridge over West Genesee Street at the village entrance, and that proper repairs will require closing the road for approximately one week, with notice to come before work begins. At the July 14 session he reported the Byrne Dairy project progressing on plan and still on track for an October opening.

Residents used the July 14 comment period to raise concerns about wildlife, wetlands, traffic and a proposed zone change for a subdivision of nine lots between Canal Road and Sands Road, along with complaints about recent paving on Golden Meadows Way and Gordon Parkway. Councilor O’Hara announced a traffic forum for 6th Ward residents, held July 29 at the Municipal Building.

For dog owners, the practical timeline is now set. Kline and Moon are on the clock at $23.00 per hour, the $45 daily redemption fee is in force once the law is filed with the state, and the next chance to watch this board vote in person is the Local Law J public hearing on August 25 at 6:00 p.m. at 4600 W. Genesee Street.