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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB 2024-11-07TB 11-7-24 Page 1 of 4 TOWN OF DRYDEN BUDGET HEARINGS & MEETING November 7, 2024 Zoom Hybrid Present: Supv Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Leonardo Vargas-Mendez, Cl Christina Dravis, Cl Spring Buck Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: *Cassie Byrnes, Secretary to the Supervisor Amanda Anderson, Bookkeeper *Indicates attendance via Zoom Deputy Supv Dan Lamb opened the meeting and public hearing on the budget at 6:07 p.m. He asked that speakers keep their comments to three minutes. He announced there are green light bulbs available for those who would like them to show support for veterans. Mason Jager, Chief of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company read the following statement: Dear Town Board Members, First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak before you this evening and for your careful consideration of our budget. I was able to watch the recorded video of the special budget workshop held a couple of weeks ago and wanted to bring to your attention two issues that I think were misunderstood during those deliberations. First, I would like to clarify our dual-budget submission. In response to your August 5 letter (attached), we provided two versions: the first detailing only essential, legally required expenses— utilities, fuel, training, etc.—while excluding member support, food for meetings, open house costs, and public outreach efforts. Our success in recent years is owed to the strength of our membership. We are the only department in the town of Dryden with a fully implemented shift system and 24/7 coverage. Without support for our volunteers, we could face significant recruitment and retention challenges that would compromise our ability to handle the growing number of calls and our mutual aid responsibilities with Etna and southern Dryden. Our members work tirelessly to make the VVFC a model department, and we believe they deserve support similar to that afforded to other departments with approved full budgets. The second point is in regard to the “Brooktondale agreement”: contrary to what was mentioned during that meeting, we did not consider this expansion in our budget submission. We had not received confirmation that the proposal was approved until immediately after our budget workshop. I had emailed the town supervisor on October 3rd specifically requesting an update on the Brooktondale contract status to inform our budget planning, but unfortunately, I did not receive a response. Our budget was submitted before the Town Board's decision to change the contract and expand our territory. While this expansion will likely result in modest increase to our call volume, this added work is made only more difficult in light of the funding cut from our full budget. We appreciate that the town board is working with a limited amount of money with which to provide the TB 11-7-24 Page 2 of 4 emergency services in Dryden. However, our department has grown tenfold in the last few years, and we are now taking on additional territory. We respectfully request that you reconsider approving our full budget request, which would allow us to continue providing exceptional service to the residents of Varna, Ellis Hollow, and Etna without sacrificing support of our membership, maintenance of our aging apparatus fleet, or replacing outdated mission-critical equipment. Supv Leifer arrived at 6:12 p.m. Cl Lamb said the board recognizes the additional territory and responsibility Varna is taking on and is willing to think about it more. Mike Parker, Freeville Fire Chief, questioned the amount posted for their contract, stating they had demonstrated what they need to maintain their capital reserves service. Things have increased. Their requested increase was to maintain, not increase, vehicles, and maintain the reserves. They are spending wisely, but need this to maintain. They are asking for less than Varna and have been responding to calls that Etna isn’t responding to . Supv Leifer said he had asked departments to stay within 4.5% increase. He asked if they are requesting more from the Village of Freeville since they are a village department. M Parker responded that they are. He is concerned that they had to pay for parking lot repair ($138,000) from their reserves and that has a negative impact on their financial planning. Cl Lamb said he prefers incremental increases. The town is trying to manage four departments with four different styles, and all make a good case. He asked if they ever talk about the different responses and what the dialogue between departments. M Parker said they need to increase reserves to make necessary equipment purchases and if that doesn’t happen, they will be in the red in next few years. They have fulfilled their contract and are asking to be where they need to be. Town Justice Jules Ravo asked for a larger increase for the court clerks. He would like to see a 10% increase in wages. The tentative budget provides for a 5.5% increase. They will be taking over the Freeville court and that will increase their work about 25-30%. The addition of the number of traffic tickets per year from Freeville will make Dryden’s court workload equal to the City of Ithaca. He used the towns of Lansing and Ithaca for comparison purposes and is asking for enough to account for a 10% increase. He suggested the court security line could be decreased to cover the increase in wages resulting in no net increase in their budget. Supv Leifer asked board members for any suggested changes to the tentative budget. Cl Dravis said the court clerks are taking on an extra workload. It is a special circumstance. She is confident they can do the work and would prefer to compensate them for the work. Cl Lamb said this opens the board up to discussing every other salary in the budget and would be setting a dangerous precedent. The current proposal recognizes great work and then some. This increased workload has not occurred yet. There isn’t a staff member in this organization who isn’t taking on more than they did last year. In fairness to all employees, he will vote against it. Cl Buck said having been in the same situation, she gets it, but it should be equitable across the organization. Others have similar workload amounts. TB 11-7-24 Page 3 of 4 Supv Leifer said if the board is not doing it for anybody else, they shouldn’t do it for one department. RESOLUTION #162 (2024) – INCREASE COURT CLERK WAGES Cl Dravis offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board make the following changes in the preliminary budget: Increase A1110.102 to $67,280 Increase A1110.103 to $53,130 Decrease A1110.105 to $20,000 2nd Cl Vargas-Mendez Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck No Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb No Supv Leifer No Cl Lamb suggested that because of recent discussion, the court security can be reduced. Judge Ravo is not in favor of this. RESOLUTION #163 (2024) – REDUCE COURT SECURITY BUDGETED AMOUNT Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby make the following change in the preliminary budget: Reduce A1110.105 to $25,000 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis No Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Cl Dravis said she understands that the Executive Director for Dryden Fiber is paid a salary from grant funds and asked where it appears in the budget. Bookkeeper Amanda Anderson explained that capital projects are not in the town budget because they do not relate to tax levy and rate and do not have to be published. In December there will be a resolution to appoint the executive director with a salary that will be public. There was a question about the position being in the budget once he becomes an employee. There may need to be an adjustment in 2025. There was discussion about the fire department budget requests, including a breakdown of Etna’s calls that were covered by other departments, Varna’s increased territory, response stats and how those are broken down, and whether contract amounts should be adjusted. RESOLUTION #164 (2024) – AMEND VARNA CONTRACT AMOUNT TB 11-7-24 Page 4 of 4 Cl Buck offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby increases the preliminary budget amount for Varna Volunteer Fire Company to $440,000.00. 2nd Cl Dravis Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes There was discussion about how accurate response reports are and how to compensate other departments to respond when Etna can’t. Can responses be divided into fire and EMS responses? Supv Leifer suggested the Village of Freeville could use the amount they usually budget for their court toward fire protection. It isn’t known whether adjusting contract amounts after those amounts have been published is a possibility or that having published the total levy amount is sufficient. B Avery will reach out to the Association of Towns legal team tomorrow to get advice on how to proceed from this point. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk