A message from Town Supervisor Rick Keaveney!

To Fellow Canaan Residents:

Welcome to another New Year. Although our economy continues to recover from one of the worst downturns in its history, the Town of Canaan is in excellent financial shape. The Town Board reduced the Town of Canaan 2010 tax levy by 15.2%. Coupled with the 2009 tax reduction the Board has reduced Town of Canaan taxes by 20.5% over the past two years. We are committed to getting more done for our community using less money, regardless of economic conditions.

In 2009 we continued making improvements to the Town Hall, Stoddard Field’s pavilion, gardens and recreation facilities, and the Highway Garage’s structure and heating. A speed limit reduction to 35mph was affected on New Concord Road between Chatham and Sayre Hill Road. We changed health care providers to lower costs while offering increased health benefits and reduced out of pocket expenses to our employees. Our bank accounts were moved to First Niagara increasing our interest rates, eliminating service charges and improving our inventory of banking services. A new maple bench was installed at the Town Hall eighty percent paid for by a grant from the New York State Court System. The bench offers greater seating capacity and will flexibly serve our Justices, Town Board and all other boards and committees. Our Highway Department replaced two older pieces of major equipment with newer editions at very reasonable prices.

In 2010 our assessment revaluation will be completed. Public Information meetings are scheduled at Town Hall on Saturday February 6th at 10:00am and again on Wednesday February 24th at 11:00am. The new assessment and tax impact letters will be mailed to residents in early March. Discussion meetings with the revaluation company and the assessor can then be scheduled by residents with questions or concerns. The preliminary assessment role will be provided to the County on May 1st. Grievance day is scheduled for Tuesday May 25th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm.

Also in 2010 the Highway Department will begin replacing the large culvert on Peaceful Valley Road and continue its customary work on improving the quality of our roads. Now that the reserve account is fully funded the Town Board will be studying proposals on various sand/salt storage facilities from our engineer. We will schedule public hearings on these proposals in the spring and then a referendum in early summer for residents to vote on whether to continue the project.

Lastly, the successful management of a small town requires communication, compromise, participation and community spirit. If you are interested in volunteering for Town boards, committees or events, please contact us at Town Hall.


I wish you a terrific 2010.


Rick Keaveney
Town Supervisor

Questions? Suggestions? Use Contact the Town.

Town Hall2:
The Canaan Town Hall can be found on County Route 5, just south of the intersection with Route 295. The mailing address is PO Box 459, Canaan, NY 12029.

The Canaan Town Clerk's hours are:

Monday & Wednesday & Thursday & Friday from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Thursday 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The Clerk's office can be reached at (518)781-3144, ext. 1. If you have a question about the town, the Clerk probably has the answer! So give her a call or feel free to stop by.