Karrie Allen in The Chatham Courier reports that Chatham is addressing its budget shortfall by hiring a deputy or a sergeant from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office to give out tickets on the Taconic State Parkway to raise money for the cash-strapped town. Councilman Henry Swartz was the only no vote on the proposal. “We shouldn’t be hiring a deputy to make money for the town,” he said after the vote. Residents on nearby Bunker Hill Road and County Route 32 have complained about speeders, but the New York State Department of Transportation denied a speed reduction on those roads. Instead, an illuminated sign has been placed on roads in the town to alert drivers to their speed. Chatham Supervisor Maria Lull told the assembled at the town meeting that, “We are $227,000 in the hole for the 2016 budget.” David Levow told the board reducing speeding was fine, but the town was “dead wrong” to increase patrols to boost revenue. Read the full story in The Chatham Courier.