The day before Thanksgiving, Rachel Seeber – the Queensbury At-Large Supervisor – announced her resignation, which will be effective January 2023. Seeber hopes that the two-month notice will give the town board time to fill the position.

Seeber said, “I am, of course, hopeful that given the two months of notice to our community regarding the anticipated filing of my resignation in the next several weeks, that the Town Board will actively seek a representative to appoint to the position effective late January to ensure that Queensbury will continue to have full representation on the county board.”

Seeber has been a vocal advocate for change of the legislative format: “We are one of about a dozen left in the state, and frankly, our at-large reps are elected in Queensbury are incredibly rare to see. I think it makes it difficult for the candidates, and frankly, it can be confusing and frustrating for the voters and constituents. That being said, it is the system that we have to work within at this time, and anyone interested in being appointed to my unexpired term – about 11 months – would send a letter of interest to the council members for Queensbury,” Seeber noted.

The Queensbury At-Large Supervisor serves two-year terms on the county board. This board oversees the county government services such as the Department of Social services, county Department of Public Works, Sheriff’s office, and county Clerk’s office as well as others. With Queensbury having the highest population in the county, the town’s representatives have the highest weighted vote count on the Board of Supervisors. 

In 2021, Seeber was elected as the Warren County Board of Supervisors’ first chairwoman, but only served one year. At the time, Seeber was completing her doctorate, and stepped down to focus on completing her degree. 

“It’s time for me to refocus on my family and my professional career full time. Politics is not my career, and you will never hear me say that it is. I believe our government should be by the people and for the people – with this in mind, and having proudly earned my doctorate just a few short months ago, it is now time to focus on teaching college full-time as the spring semester for 2023 approaches,” Seeber reportedly said.

Seeber also announced her resignation on various social media accounts; she first ran for office in 2013, and her resignation will be effective January 23, 2023 – her current term would have ended on December 31, 2023.

On the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving – November 22nd – the City of Glens Falls approved its $22.6 million dollar budget proposal. The budget was approved despite having two “No” votes; these votes against passing the budget came from Ben Lapham of the Fourth Ward, and Diana Palmer of the Third Ward. The budget was increased by $590,885 from the previous year. The budget passed by a margin of 4 “Yes” votes to the 2 “No” votes, and will go into effect as of January 1, 2023.

Ben Lapham (the Councilman for the 4th Ward) is a software engineer, and has been a Glens Falls homeowner for the past 10 years. In his Green Party profile, he states, “I want to see greater governmental transparency and less waste.” The 4th Ward extends from Broad Street and Hudson Ave to Horicon Avenue and Crandall.  “I still have concerns about the amount of money that we’re going into the fund balance for.” Lapham said. The city is budgeted to draw $1.6 million from the city reserve of $7 million.

Diana Palmer is the councilwoman from the 3rd Ward. Palmer is a Marriage and Family Therapist at True North in Glens Falls. Palmer is serving her second four year term on the Common Council. The 3rd Ward extends from Fort Amherst road to Washington Street and runs from Bay Street to Crandall Street. Among Palmer’s main concerns were legacy costs that now must be included in every future budget. 

Moving forward, Palmer would like to be part of the budget discussions. Palmer’s attempts to address the budget throughout the year did not lead to a discussion. “I want to have the discussion. And, I want to make it clear that we need to open this up next term. I’m not comfortable this year, because I don’t feel we’ve really vetted this.” Palmer said at a budget meeting earlier in the month. This is a concept that Mayor Collins supports: “It doesn’t hurt to have the conversation, let’s have it throughout the year” he said.  Increases to the budget include cost of insurance, fuel costs, and new employees in the police department. The budget also includes a 2% increase in property taxes, which amounts to approximately $218,662 total; real estate property taxes increases are capped at a 2% increase in a yearly budget. The Mayor did not vote on the budget.