HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-11-02 TOWN40F GROTON
PUBLIC HEARING ON PRELIMINARY BUDGET
TOWN BOARD
MONDAY , NOVEMBER 21 1992 at 8 : 00 P . M .
BOARD PRESENT PUBLIC PRESENT
* Teresa Robinson - Superv :i sar ( art att- ac.hc: d sheet ) �
* Colleen Pierson - Town Clerk
* Ellard L . Sovocool
* Gordon C . VaIIBE.661-tschoten
* Donald E . Cummings
* Carl E . Haynes
( * present )
The following Legal Notice of Hearing upon the Preliminary
Budget Baas reed by Colleen Pierson , Towri Clerk .
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Preliminary Budget of the
To*wri of Groton for the fiscal year beginning January 1 , 1993 , has
been completed and filed in the Office of the Town Clerk at Groton
a7herE-, it :is available for inspection by any interested pE:arsons at all
reasonable hours .
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town Board of the
Toun of Groton will meet and review said Preliminary Budget and hold
rat public hearing thereon at the Town Hall , 101 Conger Boulevard ,
Groton , New York , at 8 : 00 PM on the 2nd day of November , 1992 , and
that at such hearing any person may be heard for or against any item
therein contained . All interested citizens will have the opportunity
to give written and oral comment . Senior citizens are encouraged to
attend and comment . Handicapped persons need :i rig assistance or aids
should contact the govE:: rnment before the meeting by calling 898 - 5035 .
Pursuant to Section 113 of the Town Latin , th eproposed
salaries of the following Town Officers are as follows :
Supervisor $ 13 , 366 . 00
Town Clerk & Tax. Collector $ 20 , 875 . 00
Highway Superintendent $ 34 , 611 . 00
loc -i Justice $ 5 , 134 . 00
Town Justi cE_j $ 4r886 , 00
Councllman ( 4 ) combined $ 5 , 508 . 00
FURTHER 16'OTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN , pursuant to Section 184
ofthe Town Lana , that a Fire Protection and Ambulance Service
hearing will be held on Monday , November 2 , 1992 , at 8 : 30 P . M . at
8 : 30 P . M . at the: Town Hall on Conger Blvd . The proposed contacts
with the Fire Company in the Groton Fare Protection District are
hE_lreby specified as follows :
Groton Fire Department $ 541500 . 00
Ambulance Service $ 48 , 500 . 00
BY ORDER OF THE GROTON TOWN BOARD
Ira
11 / 2 92
Page 2
T . RODINSON ! ( Referring to Summary of F15ca1. Bridget by Funds )
' F We wi1. I start, out with thE_, d :ifferent funds that
4ia have. . T ,rill explain fas we go alorLg . A_ Fnrid
:is a general fund that takes care cif all of thy! 7`[� wrj ;
the Village , the outside , everything . ThE WbQI&-j
'roue of 50 square miles . The amount; of the budget
for. - appropriations is $ 4 £ 7 , 930 . 00 . The estimated
reverluE} that we vJ 11 be re! C � iV :[ rig i $ 86 , 186 . 00 .
The uri � xpcorided "valance :is $ 225 , 000 . 00 . The amount
for taxes .rill be 156 , 744 . 00 . The B Furid , g €Nrkeral
fund , 'is for outside of the Village ; the whole out -
side of the V3 11age A nClUdi llg 1ri thi s i s the ambL.J -
lance fkind .
BERNHARDT : I don ' t understand ghat you mean by oLit .ide the
Village . You mean everything outside the village ?
You said the first one is for the whole Town , 50 sq .
miles , B As for outside tho Villarxgef what part of
oultside th ;1 Village ?
ROBINSON : All .
BERNHARDT : Do you mean the Whole Towill ?
ROSINSON : The Village is not :in thc! 'I' nwn .
BERNHARDT * So B [ s everything bait the Village ?
ROBTNSON : yes .
BERNHARDT : OK ,
ROB INI ON + 5o , this is $ 1. C1 , 91O . 00 . The rev 3nuE�.' is $ 11 , 850 . 00 .
The unexpended ba lance As p40 , 000 . 00 . Whait we are
looking for is $ 69 , 060 . 00 for tares . TbIs 18 for the
HighwayFund ( referring to chart ) Towrnwide . Tails is
E () r Mach11nery , bridges , snow , greeds , etc . All of
this in 111dE: s payrt) ll . We have $ 485 , 50O . 00 . We have
the estdmated revena ) Cl Of $ 80 , 000 . 00 . We have an
unex. p [,lrided balance ,of $ 135 000 . 00 , Md wE.-i are asking
I
for $ 270 , 500 . 00 . This ,_ is 'Khat 'WE" C7. 11 Fart Tovii
imi H :ighzray ( referr :i gig t Code DB ) . Thai s i s j ,ast fr.] r
roads . Th 18 2s for the roads that S-TCr do oilrselve ,s
and the roeids thait we have shipped , Piart of that.
� Qrn8s All from the State . We have $ 204 , 650 , 00 and
I
I
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11 / 2 / 92
Page 3
ROBINSON : we have $ 59 , 400 . 00 for the revenue and $ 37 , 500 , 00
for unexpended balance . We are asking for $ 107 , 750 . 00 .
This :is the main part of the budget . People who i
live :in the McLean Lighting District will be paying
their portion of the $ 3 , 750 . 00 Those that -live in
the Peruv :i lle Lighting District will pay $ 21 100 . 00 i
The Fire District in Groton , which is Fire Protection
District actually , is for $ 54 , 500 . 00 . The McLean
Fire District , which is all set , they have their own
Board , all they do is use us for an :instrument of
collecting the taxes . Their amount is for $ 42 , 077 , 00 .
The total for the whale budget are added into here
( referring to chart ) . Now , everybody won ' t be paying
all of this because , :if you live in the Village , you
will be paying ( referring to chart ) , but if you live
outside the Village , you will be paying all of them .
The other thing you might want to know is that we have
a sales tax . A sales tax has been applied to people
outside the village . So , the sales tax that we get `
from the County goes to reduce this tax down ( refer
to chart ) for the people outside the Village , not in
the Village ,
VONDE: RCHEI; : How much does that amount to ; the sales tax you get ?
ROBINSON : Not very much . Around several hundred thousand
dollars . I can ' t tell you exactly , so that helps
to reduce this ( chart ) down . In the Village , they
take their monAy so that they have to pay their whole
amount .
S . MOTT : The sales tax bell taken out of this yet ?
ROBINSON : No .
A . CONGDON : YOU don ! t know 'what the total amount :is off hand ?
ROBINSON : Not roughly , no . The last six years , I believe: ,
'we had to pay taxes , County taxes . Before that ,
you never paid County taxes because the Sales Tax
took care of it , but because the County taxes have
gone ►.ip so high , that :is how come you have to pay a
portion of J t now ,
T B
11 / 2 92
piige 4
BERNHARDT : I z; wind assume that once you ri:lceive these taxes , the
sales t ;mixes , :it would appear ail the end of the year
budget as R surplx) s or something else , You doll I t
know 'what :it is kip front any Lway , ;it ,is Jost g () ;llryg
to go :irtto Somewhere , whatc,:1ver :it as .
1OSZ [V OI It goes into paying . . . . when your tax, COME-is Out , they
figure it .
1 LRNHARD'I' : But yeti have, aljrec cdy appropriated that moiie . You
have already asked its for that . Yon already asked tZs
for those taxes _ we pa it d you . If that b11dgE:1t ;i
approved , you get a m :i l J a « l7 , three sorneth :i T7g . At
same point dur :luig the year, you are Collecting sales
taxes , right ? It gees to pay some of that , doe .5n l t
it ? Yt) u don ' t IrLnov what you are g (� --I tg to get yet , sr.> ,
what happens :is at the eild of th eye -ar , that just gees
'ii'tto the general fund , probably a surplus .
E . 6OVOCOOL : That sales tax money gees agairfst your County takes �
110t against your town tax .
ROBIRT; QiV : Right . The thing we snokrld do :is probably takr;, the
TOzP� 1-1 tax money and geL the sages t ;lx Marley alld let
the County go , Thei-i you isould pay the fulj Ct) t.tnty
taxes . SO YOU get ;i t crie tray or the other . Bas ;i cal ly ,
what ire are dmirii tc a s $ 706 , 481 , OO . Townvr _i de ;i t will
be $ 3 . 35 . 'that ' s what it Kat q last year . Part town
wd 11 b : $ Z . 23 , rip a penny . The Grotoi,i Fx reL Pro 'L' ect 'i oiNl
zs 93t this 'What ;it eras last year . ThE:1 McLean
Fire Distr1ct , the have nq C011t. rol over that , It
doesn ' t affect t1s . It was X . 70 . TheMcLean Lights ,
if At qm% pp1ie: 8 to your are 674V , they are the same .
The Peruv :i11 [�,,! L :ig'hts , 81 (p , the same . Thy! drily thi17g
that has g « l7e tip ;i8 cane cclrit 0: r,:1ferring to chard. }
here . Thatis what 'is 90 ;11'ig to be yoiir saJ. es tax
Pike if you 1 'ivE: d ill Lhe couleltry , you mould pay
$ 3 . 35 plus time 42 , 23 plus 93 � . Auiybody have arty
gties bolls "
BERN14ARDT : Are:, we go :i utg to have {z chaince tO Make comments ?
I� OBINSON : Yes , that ' s why you are here .
BERNHAPDT : Note ?
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11 / 2 / 92
Page: 5
ROBINSON : Yes .
BERNI-IARDT : I am Bob Bernhardt , I live up 01-1 West Groton Read .
I happen to live on the place where they put the
expressway :in about three years ago , goring right to
my farm . That :isn ' t why I am here . I have 30 some
years in business working with budgets and forecasts .
So , I know what you people go through . You do a good
job . It ' s a difficult job . However , there ' s always
a but . I think you are massing something . I travelled
:in 15 northeastern states ; been doing it L- o .r. 11 years .
Now , the economy is bad out there , not just in Groton ,
it ' s bad everywhere , worldwide . People are cutting -
back . Plants are closing . We can talk about this ,
I ' ll talk to any one of you , if you like . I mould
like to be able to address the Board some time . It
would take about- two or three hours to tell you
about th :i s . .I. see it personally every day . I took
a look at your budget , I am used to working with
b ►,idgets . I knot,* how difficult :it is . You don ' t look
at what you asked for last year and say , gee , the
dollar :is going to depreciate anyhow to 5 % this year
and for stare , I ' ll be safe and I won ' t overspend .
Ifyou do that , then you are building a surplus ,
as people wall want you to . I think this Town has
had this luxury .right along . By looking at the
number , that this Town puts out ; in 1991. , your
average expenses were $ 951 , 685 . 00 , In 1992 , your
forecast approved the modified budget wb i ch repre -
sented a 29% increase over 1991 ; but , when .I, look at
your expenditures and I look at uThat ' s happening ,
what happer► ed :in 1991 ? It looks like you ' re in
line with 1991 . You ' re winding up the year with a
surplus with that four hundred and some thousand
dollars . It represents 36 % of your total budget
of 1991 . That ' s money that isn ' t spent yet . Yes
I knot; you ' re going to put At back towards the taxes .
.I, can understand if you make a mistake and you
forecast more than we spend , that ' s alright .
T13
112 / 92
gage
SERNHARDT : It is better than possibly forecasting less than
you speed , then you would hive to go « J ) t and hOl: 1: DW ,
bLlt I think if it is to the extreme , t. hat ' s bad.
It is just as bad to be oveir as it is and €_1r .. What.
I need fox 1993 , wel ffar �: cast evell More ; artoth €. r
16 % . 1 see categories , as I pick apart your budget ,
T aee categories vhery we didn ' t spend arty :in 1991 ,
In 1992 , you forecasted inoney , you didn ' t spend it .
In 19921 , you are farerast :irLg np aga :i 1-1 . You know
plaints are onatask. er ;ityprograms , Thely are Cutting
back , They are Caking out what they don ' t need ,
This Towvi has to dry the same thing . I 11v8d here
ii7 1. 953 , in Groton , I liv �; d here up until that' pr llut .
We had clot of indu8tr :ies :in this Towii . I call tell
your we4 had five cLir d €: al �; rsh ;ips , we had a mill ,
s%Te had an internat _iorLal harvester diF:1a1er8hip , we
had all kinds of i � . We don ' t have that today . Our
tax base has changed . For those people: at Smith
Cr,) rc na , si ,x days ;:E s�reek , } hours ,� y ; you could
hear them manning do-vi7 there . Our tax base today
is il () t , Inot evert foi: the farmers . They got at just
as bad as the homer>z,T :� ers dry . Our tax base today ,
is basc�,! d upon , I don ' t mean to plat. down per> ple 1 ;ike!
Mike Post oi� people lake tbls , they .ire doing alright. .
They are cre .Itil7g three or four jobs at each place ,
maybe Len or fifteen , We are t. alki rLg , MERrIkIf act €tri ng
zri ll never come: buck 1-- o the northea -s L` . It ' s goo .
It ' s not going to come back , I have: seen it ;i n too)
Many places . T krEow sahy its left Our tax base today
:i s based izpon landnwne ,rs ; peopl E:., who or, rn hou .9es .
Come the first of this year , we .E� re not going to b €_1
i n trouble , You know whcm.! YL Smith Corona does away
u i th 850 J fibs , we are not goo 1'ig to be. In trouble ,
We are, going to be An tre 'Puble next fall . Those people
L aye goring to have money t. h ;i year , but come next
Six ;i leg , they are not go 9 ng to have a t . YQu know
v i th fall this :industry , everybody left this Tovin An
1953 oi ' in that ar �} a , thel ' 50 ' s , the other people
i
T F3
11 / 2 / 92
Page 7
BE NHARDT : stayed behind , the people. that %,rere born here , They
110W arr., on fixed 'irtCornes . We have a Town with a
great 1' u nber of pe0plr_1 one i f :ixf: d incorne . The
diffe .rence between ei Lher their, taxes in Torvii -are
more this year than they vere last year and zather
they survive or not d (u,! pends upon that $ 10 . 00 , These
p 1) p1 (,: do n ' .t _ Stop pt :a placo - , andop ;i ck ' up a clap of
Coffee . They look i n the :i r pocket first tc sc:1E', if
they helve: th _1 MOYI ' y or not . They don ' t go to {]
B1krvicr J� :ing t) r Something , they look to see hou
I
much gas they got :in their car because they gat to
go to vork the next day . They got to have money
in order to buy it & I am I'LOt going to tsll YOU ' . . .
I ' m not missing it at all . Come next fall , if ive
can ' t do something about the taxes , I ' m talking
abort not forever , if for a ,year , even of no matter
who ;i s �llected Pr [ si dent , Jif he tiirns the economy
azound in the first uartc e! r next year , we are Ing
to Lag t, hzZt by 12 to 24 months . We are not going
to feel, the effec It right away . It i s going to take
that long before ire even feel it . We are just riot
go :[ ng to see it . These people , corns! next fall , are
going to be hanging on by thE} ir fangc:, rtlp !s sayir,E9
hey , wheL• her they ai e going to borrow money to m?, ke
ca mortgage pavm ( rnt , borrow i t for, Eood , cloth �:,! s ,
oaf . fray thc 'i r family . Where am I gr) 2 199 to get the
tax money due, frnin ? I am serI011s . I found myself
in this position last Falla At a company I worked
for out in Oh2c� , their taxc'18 weze so bad , they had tc)
reorganize . They did avay vath all the regional
M �lnagELI: S Z was terminated by a phone call . 1
had to g « out a111d foam a bcisi ]JeSSe fr> ,l: m 41 cr� rporatiorc .
All 1 ' rt� s . yl ]jg 18 ] t ' S takE:' Yc me a I M 0 S t cz yr;' ar try get
it all together . 1 am now .representing a Couple of
b :ig machine manufacturers , this As for Environmental
purposes , alld dr} ing Consulting vork . All thesrl 800
t1rid sonic; pelop aren ' t go i ]7g to bE able to do that .
We gent a bunch of thrt� m that lave ht� lrel . These people
r >3
11 / 2 / 92
Pace S
I
BERNPARDT : fare go i17g to bp s :ittilig there saying , where am I
going to gf', t a jt) b ? T call ' t go i . o SyrRCIIs [L, . Those
people, are coming herE:, looking for Tfrork . People
:iri Binghamton are com ;irig here also , Thy: (only vay
they sire gc� i1'ig to get jobs is Lo Move out Of the
;mire . What they are going -to weigh is h €eta much
equity they will 'rave can their property ; do I stay
here aid not gclt a job or do I mnvEN and give up thelt
grt) it to the bank ? W� are gc� i � ig to Zd ;t17d [JP With a
bunr, h of houses si tt l rig around the Toun . What T
I-rvktld sxyggest -sae do , I am confident. we Can d €> ;it ,
I sat on a Town Beard JrL a 'town South of here for a
few yE:1azs . What I would suggest t. we do , that you
folks do , and I am not Putting anybody dowi7 , don ' t
get me wrong . T am just suggestAng . YOU talCe1 a
look cl , what you spent i11 1991 nd stay , hey we got
to get me4an lr here . Ile got to cut out some of these
things that k, e thank are. ncjcess :itiels . I am talking
about the services - We got to look at , if you had
to tak :1 a cut , 0 ter 30 % In your wag [,ls , permanently ,
they are not going to come back for a whiluf what
4Tt] uld you do to the Town , to thf! services , so that
yt� tl c0111d St111 ;afford to kcop your house ? N :) t
your standard of livAng , just still afford to keep
it till ? That ' s 'what these:1 people ran�.! go 'irig to be in
the p (� sirir.} ri t €) d �) , k1here are we go� Lng to find 8Q0
al'id SO MG obs for these pe €� ple from Smith Coroi i
l'iext year ? I have already dealt with 'the Mayor of
Corti -eind . I wanted to start a bus ;i riess over there .
1' sr s try .1haig to work with h :im . They are rfc� t goi11g
to get help , They are! nc) t gr) arig to rand that many
lobs . Those people ar �!' go :irLg to be. €inemployed . They
only get 26 weeks unemploymelat benel< i is . I suggest
yol) take a look at 1911 ' s actual expenses . T :ighten
tip your belt , Go back to these Depaf meat heads .
Co back to your diffelrE' nt categories and say , zrhatt
Could we do to opezate vi thin those expenses ? T ,ry
to get your budget a million dollars or less . What
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11 292
Page 9
BERNHARDT : do we have to do for a year ? Le: t ' s see: what the
economy is doing , Let ' s 8E1e how its {effected the
pt:! oplE�, :ILn the Tovrin . Maybe you got to do :'It for
1994 , but hopefully 1995 . Even 1994 , t -he people
art: go :i rig to be f _i nanci al. l. y better off and now you
Call say UK gRiys , I'LOW z+r (cl xrer' going to get back to
vbere we were _in 1992 ? bot you k1nou what ") You are
going tr) save all these people . Thr} re ' s slat 011t
there1 who are ret -ired , with people on fixed s incomes ,
people being laid aff . There 'isin ' t nothing that
any candidate has offered that is gazing to hapP (,.,1! j't
-with them within the next 12 moliths . It may , but
these peopl (,:! arL ali still operating wi tb the same
monies that they ivere getting right along , No :increases ,
110t evc ' l't jobs . T would suggest yoil take �.,i good look .
Try to come in at a million dollars or less . You
are going to have alot c) f happy people in this Try;,art .
Thee :in , tTro years , raise the taxes F :'If everything , that
is the econr)mje , is start .,h'tg to grow again and tje are
better off . Try to get back to -t,Theze we are: today .
That doesn ' t dry nothing for your growth :in th ;i s Town *
Yox) are go ,[ ng backwjLrds , but you ' re: going tc save s lot
of periple their homes . You zre going to save clot
of people their lives and yr.) Il know, wbat ye) tt can do
Zbr t1L the tax base ? If I look ten yc! ars :into the
future for th ,[ e Town , we are go a]] g to be looking at
pr- oplei movJ rig _into tftis 'Tovii from Cr) rnell . That ' s
where we got to have the hope to build our tax. base .
011 fi:tculty of someone form Cornell , TC3 , Tthaca
College , or places like these . They are <alvays going
to be hE:' re . It :« a tourist Tc)wnr People want to
send their children tip here to be students . it
NIS allvays going to be here , but yr� t,i ' re going to give
them the: i ncentJve:! to bi.iiYd 211 Groton instead of
somewhc:1re else . Noone :is lowering the taxes during
this groat depress It () JAI we ' re, :i n . This ;i s the worst
our economv has bE (,4 in Since the: Great DepressiMI ,
I fc ,rgOt W tell, YOUr I 90t a Masters Dt:� gree in
r
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1, 1f92
Page 10
BER NIR T : B €:, ss . I have worked w i th this type of thing
for a long time . ThEly are aithCir go .'[ rig to break
or they ' ll stay . TATe are going to see slot of
per) ple doi lIg :i t . A mi l l i r.) i3 or. less , OK ? You are
01il'k .q to hFive blot of happy people .
ROBINSON : We had more tha:% r, � m :i ll :i orE last year . WEe had more
tha:tri a million In the budget last yela r .
BLR ]IHARDT : We had more than a millagl-i last year , yE; S , but you
d ;idn ' t spend :it . I ridded part of yr, ur surpit.is , You
didn ' t spend a m :illioii dollars ,in 1992 . In 199 .11 I
,added 'it al 'so , aiccard ;ing to your figlize , it C` FLnc to
$ 951 , 000 . 00 . You ' re under a m 'illi () rj three + Ynix
could save $ 400 , 000 , Take that off of thy:, $ 706 , 000 . 00
Y011 I%Tere� going to raise in taxes . Here , you are
.looking about . . . . that $ 706 , 000 . 00 represents 51 %
of your proposed bixdget for 1998 , but your unexppnd �ld
surplus is 38 % of your 1992 budget , That iuiexpended
Surplus of two hundred and tome thousand dollars is
more than half of, ?ghat you got undezrleath here ,
getting tax Money + You can save . You can cart - the
tvclxL� s . We might have to borrow , but if we don ' t ,
th€? se people are_ go ;i 7 g to surv ,i VC! , but they acre not
901rig to if -ve C 0 YL t 'i YIII E:' to raise} tan .rE:' S . Gave t -hF,1 cwi
tax cut , Take ai7other look at :i t . S (,:ILN what You Can cut
dr>?ali . I fe € L cr,� i � fi'! dent you cian come in at a m :illjon
or less . Take some risks , but you are going to save
a 10 t 1) f l 'i ve s .
B •: , MOTT : They forgot Smith Carona when they moored out in 1981 .
R0131, NSON : Ooes rain br> dy else have ,any other quest l oris ?
S . STRFUD : Are YOU gn :ing tr) go over the catClgor ;ies piece by piece ?
ROBINSCN : 7 hadt-i ' t planned on :i t .
TROUD : I have clot of g ilest :i ot-ts .
l0 }3r T5pN : ;4ty don ' t you g ;ivs1 me your questions and he ' ll work
it oUt like that .
STROUD : For one thing , I �! uujd like to know , vc hired
a bookkeeper and I IL1101i1d like to knogr where tlie:; money
J s coming from this year to pay her and why th a s
person is going to be gett :ing , st,ipp08edly working
TS
11 / 292
Page 11
TROUDv pFirt time + -at 20 hours per 'seek , 5 'vee % Ls ;a year ,
p �:trt tame Mahe » we have,, everyth 'irig Q11 a c ()mpjjter ?
That ' s f :igiar ;il'jg try about $ 10 . 00 all hour at 5 {reel s
Pc:, r year . I think under Lhe+ CcItElgOry of bookkeeper ,
sc; rv ,icc s , Secret a .r :ial , :it adds aria to r> .r iS ai l () tived
$ 15 , 000 . 00 pc? r year ,
ROBINSON : We put that 011 thc:1re b e ;lure that was thE? salary thta -l .
{-Tc prom ;ised that vie Ivefe go 'i -ig to give .
S 'TROUD : HOW MMY weeks a year ?
ROBINSON : Let me expla ;ij1 some � hing to yt� kz . At the begirart :ii1g () f
1991 , lec:l had Some d ;ifficUlties wAth the IRS . 5o� WP
were go3 ng to have a boukkec,:lper .. I a bookkeeper ,
fn thaL- Sense of, the ilord . we have had f,] mE: d ;iffi -
cillt ies . We decided that it 11rould b £! better to have a
bookkel(,:: per do the job . hle -hired 8oml_lbody for s ;i r
months and nothing seemed to get dome , so there are
hired somebody Lo straighte:! i't it out . Believe ire ,
she has earned her M01'LE:' y last yc:1a ,r and this year .. she
has e (Rrl7ed c:' very cent that she ' s got bc" cause she ' s been
trying to work and get it ,i5traightened out . They g4ave
our number out to twr,,) diL• fezerlt people . They have
confused us , they have past nor monio. 8 into t 'vo differel7t
funds that wercin ' t ours . Tt takes a lorjg time , 'if yt) a1
leave ever had to lvork vi 'L' h the IRS , to get ;it str -aightened
a ,r:ound . Believc_1 rug: , .rATe area very close to having it
all dome . She has worked th :is year tr) get it stzcl ;ight -
e ]'i -tac; ire ant :ic :ipatij) g rie ;ct ye: ftr at,
figuring this of ; t and seeing what htippens . F3e .l ,ie: Ve
me , she is ;11 ,SO d o :i ng same of the workL tha L- thew Clerk
vould be dr> li Pig and somc:l of the irork that Mr ,. Cornel 'i is
Would be do --it-Lg . She is helping them so that they don ' t
heave to dO as mtich wAth - some of the= se th :i1-1gs .
S . MOTT : How coloe we never get a public accountant to do the
bookwork .if zee lrc% having thEr! sc,; types of problems ?
HOW cr) me We dgei ' t hare+ ;:t public iccoUntartt to do
call of the bookwork A t we a ,rc hav ,i rag IRS troubies ?
TOFSTPVSON : Wee are Y10t rclally hr,) Virig IRS problems ;in the sense
that we ;:are coring money or th ,ing ,.s like, that , Z think
TB
1193
Page 12
ROBINSON ._ there serums to be thi s conf us i 031 tha i , i f You h -ave
[giver worked with them ; I ' ve:, received s ,ix letters in one
day and every C) hc!: of them Say somethxi'ig d :iffern:lot :
YOU 017e! , y () t,i d01V t 0WC4 yGii 11) xae , yet1 have part f
this , aI1 c) f this , car ;rhatever . Bal :ie1vO ME" , if YOU
have had try deal wI th them , you know this :i s true .
B R HAF',DT : True . It d �lpends (� 11 'Who the aud :ito .r• is . one Acluditor
4r1II say this is great , this is ghat You ought to do
next year , then the ric_ t ycl:lar , a� llothez auditor says
that You arc_, doing it all wrong .
ROBINSON : Wc; have:, attdltors wr) .rking wi th �,is � 1z � lt� i7g .
BERNHARDT : I ,am talking about the IRS -
ROBIN ON : Oh , yes . Sri , that ' s one re! ffa8o t that thlt ' s in thc2rc_1 .
STROUD : Why , in the minutes , from one of the last few mc: etillgs ,
a� ,id it say we o 'te the IRS $ 3 , 000 . 00 ?
R05INS0N : They al + se1'it us a Check foil $ /23 , 0D0 . 00 .
STROUD + The other thing I would Izlke to know is , fagur ,it,ig on
this y ; ars tazges . the hr) ok ]teeper ;is being paid $ 10 + 00
tll� hour {and she lust start0d this year ; sax Months
ago or whatever . I vant to kt,io -why she ' s mr1king more
tharin C11) 11ewfNrl alld she l s been here lb yp:tars , per hoof ?
ROBINSON : Sh �l doclsn ' L- work here that m ..7c-h She isn ' t working
here as much as Oollee1rt .
STROUD : Then �! hy does she ni ake morc_o per ho4zr ? Does she have
any benefits ?
ROBINSON : She :is part - tim1; 1 and she doesi7 ' t have any berlef 'itS .
She doesn ' t have Plue Cross +
STROUD : Does she have sick and vacat :iwt timf} ?
P08INSON : Nr) +
L . BRENNAN : I ' ll ansleer for myself . I get paid by the: houii 5 that
I work .
STROUD : Ho-tr many hours it rr�; ek zi re you figuring on at $ 15 , DOG _ 00
because that will Make , a s11gn 'if :ioarit differeMce An the
dollars per hour this person is bei �7g p � :id ajid :if the
r) ther people are getting a 4 % ra :iee , then I �.rarit t (]
know how much this person d s getting :i r1 a ra :i se ?
Rl� BINSON : They are, getting a 4% rzlse� , -the-it ' s � p � .
STROUD : She must be 98ttzrlg morrr than 40w an hour becaiuse
TB
11292
Page 13
STROUD : 4 $ equals . . .
ROBINSON : 4 % of $ 10 . 00 is 401� .
STROUD : Flow many hours per week ?
ROBINSON * Sometimes she is here alote, then sometimes she isn ' t
here half a day .
3 . MOTT : Shouldn ' t we have a time clock in to check on this ?
You know , ring in ,, i ring out ?
L . BRENNAN : I do keep hours .
S . MOTT : I know she ' s just trying to make a good living .
L . DRERNAR : I can speak . I keep track of any hours and I get paid
for only the hours I work . I don ' t get a salary like
Colleen ,r, and maybe I get mare than Colleen because I
am a bookkeeper and I have accounting axperience . I
don ' t believe she does .
S . MOTT : Aa far as bookkeepers are concerned ,, they get nothing .
You can go any place and get bookkeepers _
L . BRENNAN : I am a municipality bookkeeper which is in a specially
licensed field .
STROUD : Do you have a degree in it ?
L . BRENNAN : Not, but I have 13 years experience in it .
.STROUD & Colleen has 16 gears in her jab .. What does a Clerk
dory what is that ,, typing ?
BRENNAN : She ' s just a typist .
O . PIERSON : wait a minute ,, I do slot more than just typing . I keep
alot of books also _ I don ' t want to get into anything
with you .
TROUD * It ' s nothing against your, but the idea is that we hired
somebody to do all this bookkeeping and I don ' t see
any single reason why we are coming out ahead .
ROBIN ON & welly, let me tell you something . Let me tell you one
thing . I worked for this Town for 14 gears . I worked
up until the last 22 years on the books . We never had
any trouble when I took care of them . I never got
paid any extra . The bookkeeper is getting another place .
B . MOTT : Is this part of your job ?
ROBINSON : Yes ,, it ' s part of my joky .
B . MOTT : Well , thehnx, why did we hire a bookkeeper if it ' s part
of yoi3r lob ?
rI+ B
11292
Pcage 14
ROBINSON BecaUSE-1 I �srs not € n experienced bookkeeper , There
ZS1Vt another `I' ovn :in th 'iS Couillty that doesn ' t have
a bookkeep ;lr . Theze isn ' t anothez Town . We .ire the
list 01-Le1S to have: a bookkeeper .
13 . SPERGEks But your salary is clot more than any Td ,wn in the
County , toom
ROISON : Right ,
B . MOTT : If you are i7ot gl1walified for the jLob , do17 ' t rlln Eor
it . I WOuldl's ' t run for yoiil job :if I didn ' t know
bookkeeping ,
ROBINSON : I d 2 d do the bookkeep :i t'Lq r for about 12 yelars .
`4OTT : If You have done this for 12 years , :i t ,i 8 just hike
dumpling it .1 fight out in the door yarn , right oi,Lto
st me3bOd ,y ekes lap . I,ihy did you do it for 12k years
and the17 all c> f c� snuddc -L you itUr1'L aroand and hire
another lady to take it over if that ;i s part of your
job , zrhy ?
ROBINSON : I don ' t know ; it I-raSn " t part cif my Sob .
S . MOTT : That ' s where the mistake i as made . TF it 'wasn ' t part
cif yo t.Lr jqb , You should rLevE_l ,a" have b �_l � 11 c� r> i � sg -Z and
tM s Lpooz little g ;t ,rl here rarouldn ' tr bel catch ) ng tonight
over ;i t .
ROBINSON : She ;i n ' t ca tch :i rig arLy 'l: h i 17g . She Is a very goad
and competent person , and she ' s got the Tc)xii book -
keeping right ap to snuff . L d0i7 ' t understand ziThy you
aze, landlrLg on her .
51' ERGER ; 14, are only trying to raise otlr p 3i n t of v .L ezti* . Wp
sped t1D cnt th :i s budget . It seems J. x e. w(� just
keep adding and adding , 1it ' 8 time:' try . Ubkzact fQr a
;phi le . We j list ot11'111 o t ke [:lp on this fray .
ROBINSON : t^Thy dr) YOU latld 011 thr;Mt ?
SPERGER : That _is just on �w quest ;ic) n she had out of a whc) lp
banch of queStitons .
ROBINSON : T.rt: t ' s } 1 � � r rs t'Lothc'; r one ,
Srt'ROUD : I am wDi•Lder1119g , tinder A - I con tracttirfa1
the mod f i ed bodget cimOUYLt r rLn money vas Spent yet
it is projectirig ai11 incl ' e ;':slse of 13POOOvoo for that .
What is that going to be. usEiA for al'Lca shy the jump ?
7113
1129
Page 15
ROBINSON : We ,I! 1 . I ern not quli te, st1re:� �lxactl. y ;� he? re t1� �L 't sr€� u1d
be used , but ;it is a field that 'we hfid to o into
ovCrt31 t1mes on dAf. fererit LMrigs like working
with lawyers and different things )_ il; e that .
BERNHARDT : 11hen I came d € xiej here , ,I, thought about this budget ,
One of the th ;i ngs I wauted to do was point out to
yoa that you (wire {ask ;itlg for ta ;w €;, s by cr�mi ]jg t;Lp sq* it. h
a budget , which is a very d :i f f l cul t job . You are not
spending ;it rwi11 . What I ,gym askii79 YOU to dry is take
ariothej� look at ;i t and try LO comet up with a budget.
that would ,refle! ct what yoar expenses have belein
thus far , then t ;ike u l () () k, at ttrc:, sE o ;itegc� ries . I
purposely stayed a wzjy from 'i t . I d ;i d not 'krarl t to get
,inter a contest between you and me , this Board and mE:, ,
s tG z,*hy ire yoir doilig this -and 1,' hy are ynu doing
that ? I p � lrpc sel, y dr {At ' t vant. to do that . It viIJ.
takze us all night . I am sure You kilov More about
,Thy y- € u have those -appropr :i ati orws than I do , For
all I knowx You May just th :i nk , hey , -t�* e may need i t ,
TPJ €:1 d0Y� ' t kh0Ir , zae dory ' t care: . What I -eim a; eLally say ng
tQ y 0 u 'L s , :L f yoti are th1 rLk91 ng & I , we11 , we Yiug, ht to put
some money i ri try th 'i s fund so thaat in two years ive can
buy something . Don ' t, think it any more . Don ' t do :it .
Just hold off for a couple of years, Don I t gj roi-r .
That was the mh €ale theme I was trv 'ing to cut across
h :lre . Let ' s set still and save! some people their
laves and homes sLj7d t€ 11 those thingo ; not spend , not
Plairiii7gBrze en lal . Fi rE the rd; , spy 17 €: dO17 ' t
deed you for .two m :', re years . We didn t wat,Lt tea
I-Fit pick On these differ €:lrLt things . You can cnnvince
me that you hcard wh -at I saild , trhrxt we s ;:Lid , of you
coml. back with a 'Midget L• hat reflects mr) r €:l oloSely
to whit your expendItares a.rel If you coo that , I think
evC! rybody here ;'Ls ra :i Rig to b �: happy , RertIIy
RODIN QN : I ' ll t €.111 y0ti on th i lig r _i ght r'Lorer . I presr:A'ItE.rLd
this budget . A budget is a budget thma t sh €) t11d be
presented r:Lecr,) rdin9 tO what vOu want in the future .
TB
11 9
Peage Ifs
ROBINSON : When I p .resont the budget to the Boar, d , the Beard
171) zks on it ; task them about i L` .
BERNHARDT : Who , on this Board , goes tO all the people who
present their case ; wild say hey guys , w8 want you to
look Cat cutt :ing thi ]� gs . We doi,p ' t want you to ter.111
US whlit you want . Tell us what you reed to just
get by . Maybe after you go back to the ' 50 ' s and
' S0 ' s ; when I see that s )' of plow go by , back them
I C001d jUMP irL my car and go dountown here in ,rotor -r
bUy anything I want , because; :it Sras here . You can ' t
do that anymore . I got to go to Cortland or Ithaca .
Again , I am j' ot putting anybody down here . Then I
rush home before the road closed . He gives us.
great service . That read is always open . Maybe
we got to cat buck can a t . Maybe I got to have the
ancc nvei7 -1ence ref hav111g plo,k%red roads every day .
Maybe we got to have the inconvenience of having
a bumpy road . I personally. look fori-rard to it .
Then they got to slow down) when they go to my farm .
R05TN � 0N : You live ran -' a Cr,� �inty rc, ad .
BERNKARDT : Brlt ere hfcvc a representatJ-v sitting on the County
Board who pays that nnoney and nitimately , z-re are
payz ng part of :it too , You shon1d , as a Trwl7 Bi% ard ,
should be saying to the County Board , crxrrc on guys ,
IEW s quit spend ;i rig . Take :'It easy on thew, people .
We are not going to survive . That ' s what I would like
to se _1 . If you come back with a realist -ic budget ,
I would say a milljon or less , I would be happy , so
wouid alot of r> ther people , They are not going to ask
You wYry you put somethi ng z 11 . You didn ' t spend A t
in 1990 or 1991 . You xppropr :i ated it ill 1992 ind you
1f didn ' t spend it then either arld you ' rr asking for
evcji more in 1993 . 1 don ' t want to ge.lt into a kind
of contest v i th you . [ire ' d be here un to 1 torflorl cow
Mori.) i ng .
ROOINSOIN : Anybody else ?
TROUD : Ts the Board going to modify this so that whiprI
el ct ;inYr passes a Pres ;idcnt or are thr= y going to
TB
Ll92
Page 17
TROUD : tvike artothe .r. Crack at .it and come back and levE_1J
funding ? 'There are p€, ople that are living 011 faxed
:' ncomes sncc) can ' t afford much .
ROOTNSON ; Don ' t talk to me abou L money , you see what I earn ,
TROUD : I kric � It doesn ' t make any diffeiz 77Ce .
ROBINSON : You can ' t live on that .
STROUD : You ;:tre ask ,irtg for almost a 1 'iricrease overall it'i
taxes . T probably will get a 4 ra :i se cat work .
`these people 011 M4 ., dl[ CRrG , Social Security , whcatevel: ,
l
thc, y or i� etiremerit. , they are only going to gcat
3 or 4 % z ise . How ar � they going to justify
prtya ng 12 % more in taxes ? I also take offense a L
the comment made .in one of the last me- etings i-rhich
said :in the minutes that the Town taxes were going
to be raised , .it said the Town pelople wouldn ' t
notice , that they 'would look at the bottow line and
not know the difference .
ROGYNSON : I left that :irE the:12: e for ;.k very good i� ea8sonl I was
going to he upset about it , but, one of the things
that really both !:lrs me is that. ,T. wanted my Beard
to go through this budget ,
5 . MOTT : Hou do uel know the Beard ,is going to do anything
about 'It ? H04r a z are going to know ;i ,f, they Ire even
gating to look at Jt ?
PERGER : Nobody is sayi rjg a nyth :i ng . They are just s l tt i rig there ,
S . MOrl`T : I havE_1rt ' t heard a krord out of a one of th [: m . They
jUst set by and riot a 1-70rd « Kit of anybody .
O . NAYNES : I 'will be hippy to speak , but there ' s been an awful
lot of La .lk ,i ng going on 80 T just been li z ' ei7Ang .
That is what we are, here fojr tort 'ightI is to listen .
1 will at least speak my op :[ rt ;i on can a CogplE? of tb ;i i7gs .
First of all . 1 ,rant to Clarify some: fsacts . Last
year had a 3 ;6 decrease :in Towi7 taxes , but that
'sras Cftrflouflaged iohen YOU goL• Your bill because the
County taxes wcj,tt up mere than that . When you pay
yc) nr 'irt JaMuiry , the Town arid Ootuity tax is � comb 'ined
Gild you sometimes dori ' t se e the fact that the ' o' ,rn
taxes went dr.)wn . The budget thaat yc) tj are looking at
TB
11 2 92
Page 18
HAYNE : right here Is a 0 increase .in taxes ; it ' s rj �) t art
i ncreaSE:' , "I t: ' s not ra. dec re sa . 'that ' s the second
go ;irtt I wanted to Clarify . The third polint is T.
zclally do ;:Egree with Doh : that I think that there
is clearly Some cutting that Can be done in this
budget , What we art_ obligated to do when wig ? present
a btadget is we have to present a budget at a hear I ng
like this . We cart ' t stlbmxt anything -that can be
modified An any way so that the only thing that we
cart dry to a budget is to modify :it after ' a certain
date and after we have a hnaring of this 'tat tare .
I think we are hearing load and clear . I don ' t
think there is any question about that + I am not as
confi derlt that we can get by Bob ' s gc) .sl . T, ' 11 tell
you the reason I Bay that i s because , I am n (� t sure
I Can a .rtici) latES this very Drell - I just have this
kind of gut feeling that the surplus that ,you generate
out of here ;is what really you Lase to fui-ld the
Tr>-wn surplx) s . If yoL.i talce thftt surplus out of there ,
if YOU d0r, ' t USER the-it at a11 , them you no longer
have myth -ing to f, uultd the f0l1 ()1r :i1'Lg year . If you ' re
over 50 , you ' re Shooting yourself art the foot for
the following yea f + You could br! having a tell or f :i f teen
pE! rCeTLt decrEYase irL taxes this year nad having a
twenty percent i ncreasr! next year . You ' ll hc:Lve the same
level of spendAng , if you look at that carefully ,
I need to undei' rstand , you Deed to have some people
show us hoer that loutzld work, Cart ure cut to at least
back to last ,years budget leV81 ? 1 d (in ' t think there,
;is any question about thatill mymirLd . Coold we du a
l :ittle better thari that ? Possibly , T am spare the
Board $7111 Coll Sider4 V V W
S . MOTT : Well , of you just hold the budget' from last year ,
hold rt for this year , rlothiiig going onr that would
b �, a help , :i f 9-it Mays peat for one, year or sc� , to gEr, t
cuff the, bftck side artd gE" t MOViTtg aga 'irt .
H? YNE : No doubt .
BERNHARDT : The only rE_1aSort T grit tag ELai7d hE: re is because I got
11l2I9
Page 19
13FRNHARDT : a hard time hea ,rIjjg , srhether th(,:, acoustics are: back
i n here or vhatevei� . Whe'M L• ' s wrong 'wi th expect ;i rig ,
FlOW thl S i S to the: (-' xtrE = me , what 'Is -sgTrong -with
expecting a 7. ero balance An the e_lj-Ld of, the gear ?
What
y �} i [s vrong with that ? Aga i rr f thl s is to the
li lltl em: e, .
I•IAYNVmS . I think it ' s Poor, budget mal.ragrt� ment .
SERNHARD 'i : rise i t i s . whc n lve ' ve get i ng elcanomy or
stable economy . We don ' t have that , TAre} got atl
ecf� r� c)my that is doing thls ( ha I[
'ii'IC� 1C �1t1 () J7 di) Wll
ye-lt wel are not going to see it tl:Irrred around for
ti-rcllve to twenty four months , Sometimes under thosc:l
cond 'i t :i ona , yc r.i have tra d O e:l tZE:lMe things . If you
don ' t , these taxpayers aren ' t going to be here . I
don ' t ruiYld a zei co balance , but . . . . . .
Hkl'LNEH : You mentioned earl :ier abort groilth ; people: moving
here . That ' s alre ;:Mdy hBPPfA'L ,irig . I think irhen pcopls
are movi lig ;i ]'li1to a commun ;i tly like th -is , they want the
services along irl th i t , George can te_111 YOU abort
the T7i ml1 erI8 of l ncrea ses in tha s down economy tha L
welIvE. had An ol'i 'ij'ig pe=_ rmits sll7d J'iE1rT hc� llsing gild ilev
m« b ;i le how � s . ThFi t ' s new pe ople mov ,i 1 � g 1 nto the
area . I j rust thought i � �,• t:ts ;i �� the i'i �? :i ghborhood
cif t r + mxllion dollars On the tag. base .
SE1, NHARDT : That ' s 'nrhy 'lie shouI d tr y _ to nave.- t� hi. her . tai ., ba to
and be , a bZe . tf - s L Xf - riot :i r� .r2i sc3 the taxes oi'r the
i �� dxv � cJl,itzls .
HAYNES : HrIJEe.lver , along IrIth maze people comes mare services .
]3ER N RDT : AJ. J, Lighte and the', To ,* n has clot of services . None
of the ' :irLd ;ividiz ;ilSF ,T, am not be; ;il'[ g fflceti01] 5 herd ,
we dori ' t have erior.igh lnd 'ivddala. ls to e qu -cal the amount
of se ' vices . It ' s a rl :i Ccy 1 'i ttl �! T �) {rrr t alot bE�: tter
th -,in Locke , Mni avi a r DrydLan , To vn8 t h a t were competing
v_-i th us years .age + We are better than that , There
is st :i ' 1 inceiltivel to :r= nve here} . It ' s more con -
venient to Cornell from here , What we area loak :ir, g
at ri ght now i s doling same extreme things . Le= t '
say whtit do -we need as a Mil'r :imum to operato. this
i1 / / 92
Page 20
BERNHARDT : ToOy foiz One year ? Oi7 �= ye: ,;� r , until we Bee what is
happe �71 to the Cconomy 4and the press i dency and Ms
office and whit they are doing zboilt 'i t . Vhat {are
they dl�)Jyig 4about people:, with fixed :incomes ? Let Is
see what they are, going t () dog , them after a ye:tar ,
Let ' s give them a break . Le -L .S jest go with a rminimum �
we n Lb8d arLd if VC, have fr catastrophe ; let ' s borrow
mori Cal y . We got to pay for Jt , we 2Are going to ralsc-
youf taxes to pay for :it . Hey , you icnr, wr :it ' s worth
the risk . There ' s .clot of people vho have.,! been supporting I
this Town all their lives . IL rein a risk of lc� sirrg
their homes . It ' s that bade Bex ;ieve me , T ' m ,'iot
exaggerating . I don ' t belong to the Doarn25day C91urch
or anything , but I ' m [, ell ,hvy yr, ii , the economy is
bid o �� t there . tKx folks May i.r () ha � Fe se ri i t yet .
i
I have seen it . I Sele CE plants , the', Plant rx .f, the
F tit L.1 , eFitt UrE• Vkt ;111 eight yC_ r-,1rs ,ago) , cost billions;
1„ f dollars , ca ose, its doors this yeai , move all the
gr) ipme :it oyit , be �aJltlfrll p ,� ar� t . GR people from ,?tll
ove:lr the area comer to see that Plant and Its f .:Mcil . it :iest
be:' ca IIS �:' the ec () nOmy U 'i 11 r1 [] t slxpport it, tiny m1„ re3 .
Sane w .,[ th our people, Ire:1rP . We are 111 troable3 . You
need to not just held the we need year to j us t
r, oil SldE ° what we can afford , I don ' t care how you
do 'I t . Maybe, yOU got some advice;' . That -S%To xl d be
grc , t . 7 would bl::, 91. ad to gave rccornmendations . T
could look at at . I don ' t want to 3 () 'thit . You do 'it .
MO 'A. T : Just because of the ecoriomy ;In the comrrinity , T
think sore ought to kind of lc) ok t it . The:, farme:1rs
can ' t takes the: jolt all the while either . That ' s
the ira -r ;i t ' s been going here: for quite same t_ i me .
I think you ought to look at :it fror: tbis side of
v ;i elf ,
B . M0 "r . That ' s ieby they ' ve:, got se,) m {z " y 1781-* houses godrLs up ,
becaUsE_ the farmers arCl 90 :11'Lg r.] 1rt .
S . MOTT . So , SZll the Vre:1w houses belvig 1,, uiZt and all that tax
Tnoney should be pit ;irr the budget and tto reliev (� tYr �,
cJlre? s t " at is already tin the tax roil , It shouldli ' t
W
T13
11 / 2f9
pctge 21
S : MOTT : be spent . It should 19•e brought bt-,tck and put onto the
orL _' s that ' s Already on the tax roll , used ill th -It
budget . It: shouldn ' t bi-' spent , That would cut
doi-ni the t �,ixes .
B . SWEARIAGEN : I h [ivt beeii around a 11i ttD lvhi le a rL GrOt OYI . l -rave
been here 65 year „ . I seem to kigow ti little b ,i t of
what w.as goii-tg or; , vrhtit ' s beers do17e � i'id irbat ' s bcen
happening . I h ' E ' seei7 the same thing as the others .
I have beei-t a resident n11 of your 11fe prob4ably .
I have seerL .it go from grocery stares , five � r six Lip
TowrL ; Live Or s 'ix dealer s.s I in Toxiq , grt ;_' stat :iorls ,
ai-Ld so on . Th :i s gay ( i r) d i ca L' i ng B . Peri7htlyd t. ) , I
agree v i th him 100 . 1 ag .z- ee zr ;i th this fellow {}Ve r
here , that -we 81..ou1d rrut . We are seeing brig hales
iiq there , We should CUt Tire h1v ':_b had LYle
beiiefi t of people T,rho have came to Grritoi,i to btl ;i Jd
developmelits An 17l-- re ; whc_' >re d 'id all t ], rat tax mi,'irtey
go and do to the tax base through the years ? VPllerL
1` was biuildirlg houses here , I pleaded With the .> ank
to give: me r1 loan to b [;L2 1d the hoases v i th, I built
houses also -with ,7ertrti rtgr . Dri you kri () v Plow marry
houses Ore built here :i rt Graton at the time ? TYi{o .
Ywo houses , that ' s all. . Jzniltings buJl. t one: and I
bui It oiie . That ' s l) 13, we cr,) k) ld get becaiise: 'we had
to take the monev out of O1ir owi-i pocke! t . `1'hl rigs
was g ,>: o-wing then , at that time . The types zlter
comp ,,Iny lyas really be omll'Lg . Th ;:tt ' s VhE_ I'k YOU should
have belle:' ri orL tote ball alid building houses . Of collrse ,
it- ' s e: vclsy to look back t;Lt the th :illgs that ' s ITE? tlt
dr. wn the draAn . lire, aze 'ir't cL s :ituat '[ c) rt today , that
oa . r =._ aIl.y .heed , tt . Ctit . Where I built my home , as
a yonng man , I bL7ilt a garage' first aria] lived :ii-L
that , therL J. built the house . It took all year . Y
i bui1t ,it myself . It co8t me 75 , 200 , 00 for the whale
thirfg ; Iand , house , {rho1cN th :i1'tg . Today , our r, i) ng
people jiist startirfg otit, , we hav-e a Pl -ann _Lng .Beard
and Zol-idr1g Board , which ill My e8t :im ._ttl () 11 'S,Te d {} 1'] ' t
reed . If the oLirf ty Hoc cI lth had dare_' thy? i r job , �rhi ch
TP
Il 2 92
Page 22
SWEAR INC EN thE_ y d ;iclrt ' t do �irtd hadn ' t done , 11017 y00 cart " t bta :ild
a house: today unless ;i t ' s all f :i ni shli:, d before
you move in . How do these young people dry that ?
The same wi th a t .ra l ler . Retired people ; ;i if you
waijit to put 'R traxlPr kip on a lot (Dr snm �1th :iFkg , YOU
got to have z great brig 70 ft + trailer , lA tt . v -ide ,
or you doll , t do i t . I ' m a ;; et ,i red pcwrsort acid my
ir ;t fedoesn ' t want. to cl. �_" arL a brig tra il €:� r lake that .
A nice: little trailer ? Nor you clan ' t do that ,
We Ire locked gt,it , but yet you can put lit Jin a park .
I could stanll here all night and tell you the things
th .,it rare wrong , t7-tings that are unjust + S +,? ml-; th :ing
has got to be don €: about i t , I could say more ,but
I ' M n € t 90111'Lg tO
ABE CON DON : My name, Is Abc Congdon . I would like to add to that
urb ,i .le we are on the subject . I have a lx s8
that :i8 20 sq . ft. . .larger than the Legal size trtailc, r
;irt thy! Town (DE Gi: otort . Last year , ur-hell they riaised
the assessment , my hrjuse 11TE" 11t. tQ $ 6 , 000 . 00 and ,I, urould
lake try as 'r ;xny of yot) that ' s h :11: e tonight if you
know of a trailer that :is assessed for $ (: 2 , 000 . 007
Also , my expen8 s havE_ a .lre: ady gene sip For tbls ; my
€ s�rn ttEa-iith insuranes� went Kip $ 410 , 00 , f ,ir �! 11 Ilk Siarar« E�
Went tip $ 100 . 00 , and the ut :i l i t. :i es weint kip to $ 150 , 00 ,
sor that makes a tot {41 of $ 590 , 00 already t. h :lE; year ,
QV :1r li8t year . I have ' i ,ad a heart matt. aek as some, of
YOU )UNOtir catld I don ' t have of :111corne . I tetlked
to one sf the land :iE" s 'here ton -irrht, . We h ;:tve ?i } d
three vadows in thls Town recently + Where are they
going ti-7 get m011e ,y to pay these taxes ? You gtl s got
tr> consider these People . They are human beings .
treat thelm l :i Ice
MO II' : A rio they thing that buthej� s me is wh1:n016 you look clos �!
paper ;and loo < at all thE" peol., le who hftvert ' t
pa :10 thrrl 'ir taxes ; if they cc� n ], dri ' t p �jy th �: m for last
yE!, ar , hOW tfre the,Iy 90illg to pay theta for this
Think about it . If t. hE} Y couldn ' t do it last yeaj� , }low
are they going to dog :i t th 'i s yE_la .r ? There r s alot of
theta out thc:,lre .
TB
11 / ' 92
Page 23
B . MOTT : I 'would like to a8k Mr . Swet: ri rig i in {] VE-" there , suing
as how he r.L) nly paid $ 5 , 200 . 00 to p ;.-Lt tip has houi , e ;
hoZIT MuCh FLrE1 Y011 paying on that fur taxes now EaS
taxes 1 .C.' Ei today '
S1gf- AR1NG, EN : I sold that housc:1 for $ S16 , 000 . 00 1 ESars ago , It 'Was
1 orth lieach less than tl -,. zt . Hy little camp spas set
for $ 3 , 300 , 00 aerd FLUW ;it ' s a8BeESE-1d f (xr. $ 95 , 000 . 00 .
It isn ' t just here An + roton� it ' s -all OVef .
The place I s$ t3 $ Lalking about eslaer iaas assessed for
$ 4 , 200 , 00 , About two YE-lars ago or when ti-lely raised
the assessm (i.:! r, t , they jkimpcd :it tip to $ 80 , 000 . 00 .
I weint dowh tired T raised the d :iekens vith them .
They cat it dowi'k $ 1 , O00 . O0 , so , there :is rrt) j1) 8t3f1rcti �
tAr) 7k iher += , whatsoever . That clamp h ,-,rs been thr! re fr) x`
13 YLNars « z vhate. ver .
RAANES : It ^ rl'isides` ed a AE:1cr atiorIal th ;irk .
5WEA2IAC8N : When the 141dy came +7. oi-eln , I told her fight to her .f zce:1
tihr= d :idnItr do her job . My sore - 'ii7 -- lair s , ! :id get !off
hES .r ;-J ::pcic . I didn ' t think I was that hard on her .
She s 'riouzd havLN drone hE:lr j r) b . Ye -Irs agD� they ' d
sit with you and task you x-rhat the value, rf things
Today , they sit duwn there vrith a camera on their
car , putt a price: on it ; whether it vorth it or
not . W i i•. 11 vile the -rvay it Is . . . . My hr u8e,' a s
assess �! d .at $ 60 , 000 _ 00 . 1 'vould hate to sell that
to ai'iybody for p60 , 00Q . 0O . I 11iII g :ILve you pother
example ; A 20 acre wood J. v I bought A fo .r $ 21200 . 00 ,
noii :it ' s ivorth 4` 8 , 800 . 00 . That ' s gulte a jump , so ,
I sold :if _ I sold it for $ 2 , 500 . 00 . I had 50 phone
Calls Io .r- th4:At prope ,-� ty . I thought th ;� t was a pz 'lCe
thaat I could make a good profit cuff of . Things aye bad .
A . CONGDON : T have 1 i ste ),ICd to Bd ll talk a3u) ut his) ci ssL, ssment .
That same lady came out to my place at the time . She
doe $ ]V t kri () W a ovio by four from a tshurbo pad . That ' s
the W9 pro 'vlem . People in thrj, s (,:, o :cfices that do pv,*
know thc: :ir jr,) b . Vils : s what m2ikes it bade if 01d4Ly
they knew hair to do their job + She said you can ' t
bull ld a 11011se 1 -1 ke this fvv� * 90 , 000 . 00 _ I tot_ ; her
TR
Purge 24
CONGDON : to go x- :ight back down to her job . I 4allso Lol, d her
to lank on Sears Roadm There' s four houaes not;
o e of totem 'vent_. over $ 40 , 000 . 00 beccaose myself and
My soYL bt•iai lt. i t . W €; scat on the last one unt i .i. ue
sold :i t .
RG � :INSpN . Well you should Coll tact the County Ic,: gislaturC aria
tell t hern that they Fetter be c .aro - f ul who they hi re .
CONGDON ; I am .
ROBINS ON, T don ' t i'lave allyLb :i )-ig i . o do mith that . Th {_ y have
a forinl) la they test:: . The formula here is less than
it IS 111 rnost other parts of the Co , •-. nt y . You have to
cans j der that too ,
S . MOTT : When you wc� s re talking aboi t formulas , this perE5c> n
or nersoiis , whatever , who comes to h €:, hnuEE, , I wart
to know why my taxes are so high ? You got rQad
f rontage . OK ; I got road f .r, ontZige _ ? That about
the land in behind i t9 T g ;1 ve that na wav ? They ought
to ` } a n r [ a little cr.> [nMo jo sel'isk) . �zat bee ;An5e I 4jot
road ffontage, , ;it only collects garbage from people
throur i ng It oiit their car .s,TI ijdc�.w �). )' Y Way .
3 . MOTT : kT :ith t E trash thing ; dtjmpailjg fec s : n* hatever , costing
higher 1ror haul -ing fees ; we pick tip a bag of garbmage
a ueek on our road , ot 'he! rw :l se it would be spent can
equ1pil _erit .
ROBZ' N .SON . Anybody else hive ariytb i rig ort th+- budget ?
B . VONDERCHE1) : One. thing I want to 511g9cest 'i s , If lit goes through
and yc> li didn ' t spe' 171;3 this moneji ',; he last two years
4 r the! yi ar before , ff ; ' gei� about i t . Take 'it right
out of there as sofnething wel don ' t need . The taxes
are high enoogh as it :is . No Sense Ipprc> priV. t ;illg
something if yc> ti ire go :it'Lg to spend wily a r.] f ait .
l^ e have: tc) cut { , his stuff out .
RFm 'a ON : Ori ,_ of thew th :irLgs that happel75 is , I hFAV €:, txrt e plal•1 ,i -
tion fQI: some of ,it ; the reci8on :is that one time
In one year yoL.1 might have ft deed for this and
anothei� year yuu doiv t 9 Whr,:ln yoti are! fixing a budget ,
:it doesrt ' t make carry differenc 1 . There, are, t :imE:,!5 Yrhert
yOu cut sornethaing and then icater , You w1sh you had
it . if it isn ' t in your budget , you have. to
TB
1- 1 2 9 2
Page 2� 5
ROBINSON : amend youi. budget , s €) , we pried - to stay urlithln the
bladget that zre have , I also walat to say that ue
are sevQ� nth :in the State ;iri raising taxis , Sri the
lowest arnouy[ t of taxes that have beei7 raised ;
8 even L• h An the State . and the lowest . That ' s over
a ten y : ar period , see , I doi7 ' t warMt Somebody to
say that we are spendthrlfL• becai) sc 'we ' re not ,
AuLybody else "
G . VANBENSCHOTEN
I just want to Comment € it l a es , espec i ally to
W -1 11 rind Abe . I ivould l i ke to share frith yoia that
a fear Cott 7ti es have been tbrough the same tb :[ ng .
I have a camp and my ] attl [ Camp was assessed for
$ 3 , 300 . 00 . It cent up t �) � 96 , 000 00v It ;isn ' t j [lst
in Tompkins Caunty . Leurie 11vE" S i17] the Town of Miley ,
He vent thri) ugh the same thJ1119 L1 year ago . I think
� - he got hit equaiiy as bad . I can ' t Speak for the
rest uf, the Soard , but we. hear the message . I am sure
tire are, going t €1 defiliitely see -what 'we can do ,
S . MOTT : There 'is ]� €� jlast ;i .fEClt3 [} ]7 there vhatsever . That
camp has been there foil 33 ycars or Vhatever .
VONDERCHEK : When does the f :i scal year begin and when have you
got to have the budget in place ?
RO5 " N ON .: , It has to bc.; .111 Place by November 20 , 1992 ,
C . PIER ON : It has to he ad1] pted by the 20th ,
S . QTT : Hoer come , another tYllirig , we don ' t do i
�' s stax: t
this budget eai tier sty t. h , L• you . can get a chalice
tt) 5N) rk can it ? This is € my about 18 days t €1 operate .
BERNHARDT : It tapes a wh A le to get everybody d oi; n here togelther
t €> C0FnPl �.t i Tk M
ROBIN ON + We have beeli working on the budget for some time .
I ' ve been woi ' ki ]'ig oil the budget ,fo -r a long time .
SkTEARrNGEN : Would :i t Ise Possible to get some kind €� f � c�m �li ttmerlt
as to u* hat thely are 90i i� g to do on the budget ? T14 we
is so short , Sid ve would know .
ROBINSON . Probably ve 'would have to have another he ;3 ,-., iilg so
YOU would ha �u- e to came hack .
VONDERCHEK : ThE: 11L it has to he b [Nfore November 20 , 3, 992 .
13
1129
Page 26
BERNHARDT : TATe retilly kni:91tr hc� w beneficial that ;is . When yc ii
guys get all through , yc� �a � �tst take ;it , either bass
i t or turd :i t dalrrL . We don ' t have any say n n that
arEy zany . am ritt say :irLc ;it ' s fair , that ' s the way
t ,iS W'i-en you get all through here ; by November 20th ,
you are either gr.) ing to pass the budget , then Tire are
stucd s-r _ith it . -_ The only recourse we have is two
years from now ;; We may be building another phase On
here .
ROBINSC' N : We have to have another hearing . We aren ' t golf-Ig t-, ()
nass it Without can (Aher heaj� ;ing being p ,=lssed by the
rllblic .
PIERSON : You don ' t have to have another bear-1ng _ It ' s an
ope =-. meeting 'when the Board wazl� s c :it ; but ;it ' s
riot another hear � i� g .
� F
- �B�y }.I/y N SyI ,ON : Passed
assed by the pub :, i c ?
y'y + � J
1 IERSOT : 1� 'y
A . CONGDONe Them we wasted our time .
HAYMEB : I don ' t think yotl wasted youi7 time at till .
ROB ' NSON : This do (., sn1t fall I) n ciE� af ears .
I�LIYME '%> : This is ray fifth year on the Beard and Z
g o t to
that this is he first budget hearing to be held
;:. hat there has ba � i7 more than three pl.� gpile in the
room . Frankly , i t ' s One of the th i ngs that I am
happy to see . W are all ki
e€ nd of in the dark on
what tQ do as to ghat the people, ri: ally waist . fall
didn ' t . z-raste yaut f, :iMC' fit all comil79 drawn here . We
hL� ard the message , Dutch has spoken , I have spoken ,
and therr= isn ' t ally question that we are going to be
modifying ti-lis budget . I feel vEy POSIt:1r ] ve ab (put
that . If you people were ]' ' t he3 � e tonight , and -sire
had the same ci ovd that Ve had at the last four
Years that I ' ve had on this Board , rind there has
only been tuo or three people interested ; -tahethcr
tbE% y dMI ' t care or arei,t ' t :i n ter (1;1sted . you get a
` increase . Nobody eras down here last year uh ( n
we had a 3 % decrease ] 11 taxes . ThA s , year lire anti
g ;iv :irkg a 0 algd I VIAS a littlo unhappy about that .
me
' 11 / 2 / g2
Page 27
kaYEE5 : we Said throw it oot and see what the taxpayefa
= ant . See lrho. t ha228n8 . 50 . that ' s #tat we did .
Now we heard , sO you didn ' t waste your time at a11 .
Come down again next feat .
S . MOTT : One of the thingS I tbinR e ought to have is more
open meetings .
ROBINS The Board meetingsaare Open . All you have to d0 it
come .
E & 7NE3 = MoSt eights you could blox a cannon in her@ and not
'Wouldn ' t touch a ticker on anybody .
S u : MQTT : I let / oQ get nwe7 with 31.. for two years . I thought
you was doi2g a good job , then I began to wake by
t & i8 ye El f . How long JET aS ttiS budget lrto the « ohm
that it ' s { g no7 ?
ROBINSON : The Preliminary Sodget2 The last 20thp October 20tt .
S . MOTT : It doesn ' t give YOU gUYS mach time to look it over .
There should se timer o ! di9COSSiun . I think it
needs more K ] me . now 3 knov it does .
ROS ' NSOE = Get them down he = A , they ' ll do it . ( e £ @ £ £ ; n7 to Board )
a £ 2wkkk5T : $§ @ £ @ should be more time .
ROBINSON : anybody else ? Seafltg over ,
I . SANDRA DEE DILLONP DO Cz2T £ FY THAT I did take the
minute £ of the -November 2 . 1992 Snag@t tea = in ) . Bne the afo £ egoing
is a true and accurate co1y Of sa } d tearing to the best of my @alliE / .
"e �,a
Z � '
sand £ a o . Dillon
. �
TOWN OF GRGToN
TOWN BOARD
PRELIMINARY BUDGET MTG . - FIRE BUDGET - 9 : 00 P . M .
November . . t+ 199
Lee Shurtleff represented the Fire Department on the
discussion of the Eire Budget . The following is the continuation
of the Pri� liminaz7y Budget Hearing on November 2 ,� 1992 .
T . ROSINSON : Lee is represeating the Fire Department , Lee ,, do
you have some figures that you wish to discuss ?
La SHURTLEFF : I can tell you the figures and how it relates to
last year . Going back to the beginning of this
year ,{ 19921t we took a slight decrease in our budget
and the tax rate dropped from 950 to 93 . We took
into account the financial conditIon which includes
the Village and the Town . we did bite the bullet
1st year and held the contract at the Same amount .
This year we requested an increase of $ 2t1000 . 00 each
On the contract to the Fire Department ,, soj the in -
crease far the Fire Department is from $ 52t, 500 to
$ 54 ,, 500 _ It maintains the same tax rate that you had
in 1992 for 1993 . There are two reasons we are asking
for an increase . one is equipment that has got to
be replaced and larger equipment ,, '-, being ,the pumper
and an ambulance . We have decreased all other expendi -
tures that we do have outside of the truck replace -
ment is strictly federal and state mandated equipment
like protective gear and a number of other major pro -
jects that are involved with this year . We have got . :
an EMT program going on again in Groton . We have got
a . . State Certified instructor and over twenty Groton
people are involved in the course in one way or the
other . We are one of the few areas in the State where
we have been able to train EMT ` s who require over 100 hrso
of training for each and you have - to have a State
Certified instructor . We have taken that outside of
our budget to finance that , it will cost appfoximately
$ 101; 000 . 00 , It " s something that we have made the
committment to fund in order to maintain the ambulance
and its expenses : Our number of calls aye up ,, of course ,+
nearly 500 ambulance calls in 1992 � that ' s close to
TB
` 11292
Page 2
Fire
HURTLEFF : double than what we were doing ten or twelve years
ago : whether it ' s because of new structuresr, very
little industrieE ,, etc . I don ' t have anything else
to bring up at this point . I would be pleased to
answer any questions .
ROBINSONO `` Any questions for Lee '
VONOERCHEK : I think that the only thing that is really perfect ;
is the fire protection and ambulance . They do one
hell of a good job . I know with taking care of
Maude and Leslie . If I needed an ambulance ,, they were
there , and I know that ' s the one thing I don ' t see
anything wrong withr+ period . I thinly it ' s great .
They are doing a great job ; they really are .
I
I1t SANDRA UEE DILLON1 DO CERTIFY that I dick take
the minutes of the Preliminary Budget Dearing on
November 2 11 199 'r and the aforegoingiisgittueeandd
accurate copy to the best of my ability .
r,
�UCt t ' G
Z3
!A
- Z3
Lee.
C