HomeMy WebLinkAboutMeeting Notes 7-27-2016
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BUDGET COMMITTEE
Meeting Notes - July 27, 2016
Committee present: Eric Levine - Chairman, Bill Goodman, Pat Leary
Staff present: Mike Solvig, Judy Drake, Jim Weber
Others present: Susan Ritter
Meeting was called to order at: 12:04 p.m.
AGENDA ITEMS:
• Review and approve meeting notes from June 29, 2016.
Committee members reviewed and approved the meeting notes from June 29, 2016.
• Update Status of 2016 Sales Tax Collections.
Mr. Solvig reported that the Town received the June Sales Tax payment from the County on
Monday, and distributed an updated Sales Tax Collections Report covering the first six months of
2016. Total sales tax collections of $1,413,722 as of June 2016 are at 96.7% of the total collected
through June 2015. If this trend persists, which seems likely at this time, this will be the second
year in a row where total sales tax collections are less than the total collected in the previous year.
Sales tax collections in 2015 totaled $3,067,336, which represented 97.8% of the $3,135,084 total
collected in 2014.
• Review and Discuss Preliminary Town Hall Departments Staffing Plan for 2017 - 2021.
This item was referred to the Budget Committee by the Personnel & Organization Committee at
their July 20 meeting. Judy Drake reported that the P&O Committee had directed her to work
with other Town departments on a five-year staffing plan similar to the Public Works staffing plan
reviewed by the Committee last month. (Copy of each staffing plan is attached)
The preliminary staffing plan includes the following changes/additions:
• FY-2017 - Add one (1) new position: Add additional Electrical/Code Enforcement Officer
position.
• FY-2018 - Add one (1) new position: Add additional part-time Administrative Assistant I
position at 20 hours per week. Increase hours for existing Planning Intern position.
• FY-2019 - Add one (1) new position: Add additional part-time Electrical/Code Enforcement
Officer position at 20 hours per week. Make Deputy Town Clerk position, created in 2016 as
a 2-year records management project position, a permanent position.
• FY-2020 - Increase Administrative Assistant I position, added in 2018, from part-time, 20
hours per week to full-time, 40 hours per week.
Ms. Drake stated that this plan was a concept and that each year staffing will be discussed during
the budget process. The 2017 personnel budget will be prepared with adding the Electrical/Code
Enforcement Officer position.
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Estimated increase in annual wages is shown on the following table:
2017 2018 2019 2020
Electrical/Code Enforcement Officer 63,544$ 64,815$ 66,111$ 67,433$
Administrative Assistant I - 21,258 21,683 44,234
Electrical/Code Enfrcmnt Officer P-T - - 33,051 33,712
Planning Intern - 2,550 2,601 2,653
ANNUAL INCREASE IN WAGES 63,544$ 88,623$ 123,446$ 148,032$
INCREASE IN ANNUAL WAGES FOR FISCAL YEARS 2017 - 2020
Does not include Benefits
POSITION
• Review and Discuss Preliminary 2017 Personnel Budget.
This item was also referred to the Budget Committee by the Personnel & Organization Committee
at their July 20 meeting. This preliminary budget is based on the following:
• A 2% cost of living adjustment on the wage scale.
• Includes $32,643 in adjustments to various wage scale differentials in the Office
Classification system.
• Includes three (3) new staff positions at a cost of $166,144.
- Deputy Town Clerk: position approved in 2016 - $44,547 increase for 2017.
- Maintenance Supervisor: $59,613 increase for 2017.
- Electrical/Code Enforcement Officer: $61,984 increase for 2017. This position is needed
to inspect Cornell’s Maplewood Apartment Complex rebuilding & expansion project at
an accelerated time frame. Cornell University has been asked to pay for this position.
• Fully funds the Sustainability Planner position, which is largely grant funded, through 2017.
Total Salaries for FY-2017 will increase to $3,686,620, which is a 6.9% increase over the
$3,449,706 total budgeted in FY-2016. Salaries will increase 8.0% in the General Fund and 11.1%
in the General Part-Town Fund over 2016 totals.
Total Benefits will increase to $2,047,450 in FY-2017, a 1.3% increase over the $2,020,600 total
budgeted in FY-2016. Social Security payouts will increase 7%, in line with salary increase; Health
Insurance will decrease by 1.8%; and Retirement contributions will increase by 2.8%
Total Salaries and Benefits will total $5,734,070 for FY-2017, which is an increase of 4.8% over the
$5,470,306 total for FY-2016.
• Discuss Property Tax Cap for FY-2017.
Mr. Solvig reviewed various tax levy calculations based on the recently received Property Tax Levy
Growth Factor (1.0068) and Property Tax Base Growth Factor (1.0116) for 2017. Staying within
the tax cap, the Town would generate approx. $156,500 in additional revenue in 2017. This is a
1.26% increase in the property tax levy over 2016. If the property tax levy was increased to 2.00%
in 2017, the Town would generate approx. $213,400 in additional revenue over 2016.
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The Tentative 2017 Ithaca Town Budget will be built around a 2.00% increase in the property tax
Levy. This will not be compliant with the 2017 tax cap.
• Discuss letter from City of Ithaca requesting continued funding for City waterfront parks and
facilities in FY-2017 at FY-2016 level.
Mr. Goodman reviewed with the Committee the memo received from Mayor Myrick requesting
that the Town continue to support the City’s waterfront parks and recreation facilities in 2017 at
the same $83,620 level as in 2016. Mr. Goodman stated that he will not be recommending
keeping the Town’s support at the 2016 level in the Town’s 2017 budget; at this time he is
considering recommending the Town’s support be reduced to about $50,000, with a
corresponding increase in the Town’s annual transfer to the Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan
reserve. The state of the City’s finances seems to be improving, with taxable assessed value
increasing 10% in 2016 compared to an increase of 3% for the Town. He also finds the Mayor’s
letter troubling in how it seems to confuse funding for Recreation Partnership and Ithaca Youth
Bureau programs together with this contribution; it has always been the Town’s understanding
that this contribution was used for the “public works” aspects of running and maintaining the
parks, and is not tied in any way with our annual contribution to the Recreation Partnership,
which is not being reduced. The scholarships to Town residents the Mayor refers to should come
out of the Recreation Partnership program funding.
Mr. Levine commented that the City has not been putting forth a serious effort to secure funding
for these regional parks on a regional level.
• Other Items.
- Lake View Cemetery: Mr. Solvig reported that the current President of the Board of Directors,
Tom Wakula, has announced he will be resigning for health reasons. The Cemetery Board will
elect a new president at this month’s meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:22 p.m.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 12:00 pm, Town Hall - Aurora Room