HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2009-03-23 FINAL
Study Session Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 5 : 30 p.m.
215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY
Town Board Room
AGENDA
1 . Call to Order
2 . Discuss April 13 , 2009 Town Board Agenda
3 . Discuss future Study Sessions
4 . Report of Town Committees and Other Committees :
a. Budget & Management
b . Operations Committee
C , Personnel Committee
d. Planning Committee
e. Public Works Committee
f. Codes and Ordinances Committee
Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board - 5 : 30 p . m. , Monday, March 23 , 2009
Town Board Members Present: Supervisor Engman ; Councilwoman Leary ; Councilman Stein ;
Councilman Levine
Excused : Councilman Goodman ; Councilwoman Hunter; Councilman DePaolo .
Staff Present: Karen Billings ; Dan Walker; Jonathan Kanter.
Public : Stephen Wagner, Media (4 reporters) .
Meeting Notes .
Supervisor Engman brought the meeting to order at 5 : 30 p. m. He asked that the following items
be added to the evening ' s agenda (Board agreed) :
• Discuss Attorney ' s Fees
• Signing of multi-year contracts and contract extensions
• Executive Session to discuss possible acquisition of real estate
2. Discuss April 13, 2009 Town Board Agenda
Councilman Stein added discussion items regarding TCAT and gas drilling to the April 13 1h
agenda.
3. Discuss Future Study Sessions
The Board discussed whether or not to continue holding study session meetings . Board
Members did not express strong opposition to continuing the meetings , but the consensus was
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that meetings should be held less frequently or as needed. It was decided that the Board should
discuss it at the April 13 `h meeting in order to get the opinion of other members . Supervisor
Engman suggested that a meeting schedule be established with the idea that should there not be
enough items to fill out an agenda, then the meeting(s) be cancelled. Board Members agreed.
4. Report of Town Committees and Other Committees
Budget and Management Committee :
Councilman Levine gave a report from the Budget and Management Committee meeting . He
said that the Committee was anticipating reductions in Town revenue due to the economy. He
said the Town has a healthy fund balance, but the Committee thought it was important to plan
ahead for the next few years .
Supervisor Engman reported that he discussed reducing costs by 2 % with Department Heads at
the last SAC meeting i 1 order to save money towards the 2010 budget.
Reports were given for the following committees/board :
Operations Committee
Personnel Committee
Planning Committee
Public Works Committee
Comprehensive Plan Committee
Records Management Advisory Board
Please refer to the March minutes of each committee for details of committee discussion .
Attorney Fees
Supervisor Engman stated that SAC discussed this item at its last meeting . He explained that
attorney ' s fees have been rapidly escalating over the past few years and the Town is now
averaging over $ 100,000 per year in attorney fees . SAC brainstormed ways to reduce attorney
fees and Supervisor Engman wanted everyone to get into the practice of only contacting the
attorney for legal advice—not policy advise or for editing. Supervisor Engman also wanted staff
to gain permission from their department director prior to incurring any legal costs .
Councilwoman Leary asked if it would be less expensive to have a staff attorney . Supervisor
Engman responded that it is getting to the point where the Town has to consider it .
Councilman Stein asked that reports be given to Board Members regarding how the legal
expenses s/he was responsible for. He thought it would be a burden for him to have to think
about whether of not an issue would be a burden to the attorney. Supervisor Engman responded
that that was what he was trying to avoid ; he wanted Board Members and staff to consider the
amount of time a request would take for the attorney to answer. He noted that the attorney bills
are attached to the vouchers each month .
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Councilman Levine offered, as an attorney himself, that up front fees can be requested of
counsel , prior to having her fulfill a request .
Recurring Agreements
Supervisor Engman stated that there are many agreements that recur annually. He wondered if it
would save time if in the original agreement there could be language authorizing the Town
Supervisor to sign recurring (supplemental) agreements up to a certain period of time . He said
that, legally, the Town cannot sign a contract that is longer than a 5 -year timeframe .
Councilman Stein stated that he wants to look at contract(s) if an issue arose . He added that the
problem is that contracts would be out-of-sight ; out-of-mind . He thought it was good for the
Board to know that the Town has these agreements . Councilman Stein suggested that contracts
could be automatically renewed provided that the Supervisor informs all Town Board Members
that the contact(s) is going to be renewed . It could be setup similar to the consent agenda where
if someone has a problem with a contract, then it is pulled for further review and discussion .
Executive Session
Upon Motion of Supervisor Engman, and Councilman Stein, the Board entered Executive
Session at 6 : 30 p . m. to discuss the acquisition of real estate where said acquisition could be
negatively impacted if discussed in an open meeting .
a Supervisor Engman adjourned the meeting at 6 :48 p . m.
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