Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMeeting Minutes 8-26-19 1 BUDGET COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes - August 26, 2019 Committee present: Eric Levine - Chairman, Pat Leary, Pam Bleiwas Staff present: Mike Solvig, Donna Shaw, Judy Drake, Paulette Rosa Others present: Bill Goodman Meeting was called to order at: 12:02 p.m. by Chairman Levine. AGENDA ITEMS: • Review and approve meeting minutes from May 20, June 24 and July 22, 2019. Moved: Pam Bleiwas Second: Eric Levine Motion Passed • Update Status of 2019 Sales Tax Collections. For the first six months of 2019, collections are at 107.6% for the same period in 2018. Four out of six months have seen collections increase over the same month of the prior year, and Tompkins County reports these are the highest 1st and 2nd quarters on record. Sales Tax collections through June 2019 total $1,747,717 against 2018 collections of $1,623,676. If this pattern were to continue through the rest of 2019, it is possible total collections could exceed $3,600,000. • Review and Discuss Tentative 2020 Ithaca Town Budget. The Committee reviewed and discussed the Tentative 2020 Ithaca Town Budget, including the detailed budgets for the General Townwide Fund, General Part-Town Fund, Highway Townwide Fund, Highway Part-Town Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund and Fire Protection District, summaries of revenues and expenditures for all funds, and the proposed 2020 property tax levy. • Total expenditures will decrease 1.09%, from $$26,657,357 in 2019 to $26,365,751 in 2020. Expenditures will increase in the General Townwide Fund by 19.57%, Highway Townwide Fund by 11.50%; Sewer Fund by 6.70%; Risk Retention Fund by 13.33%; Fire Protection District by 2.93%; and Special Districts by 399.11%. Expenditures will decrease in the General Part-Town Fund by 0.59%; Highway Part-Town Fund by 16.40%; Water Fund by 18.40%; and Debt Service Fund by 4.65%. • Total for Personal Services (employee salaries and wages) increases from $4,155,125 in 2019 to $4,371,403 in 2020, an increase of $216,278 or 5.21%. The following personnel changes are included: - Add the new position of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst under Public Works/ Engineering. This full-time position is budgeted at $65,700 (plus benefits), charged to the General Townwide Fund. - Move the Deputy Finance Director position from temporary part-time to permanent full- time, an increase of $45,000 (plus benefits), also charged to the General Townwide Fund. 2 - The Town and City will continue to share the Sustainability Planner in 2020 on a 50/50 basis. The sustainability program is no longer partially grant funded. • The budgeted total for Employee Benefits increases from $2,203,425 in 2019 to $2,272,275 in 2020, an increase of $68,850 or 3.12%. Total employee benefits in 2020 are calculated at 51.98% of the total for employee salaries and wages. • Total revenues increase 4.12%, from $25,435,746 in 2019 to $26,365,751 in 2020. Revenues will increase in the General Townwide Fund by 22.85%; General Part-Town Fund by 5.54%; Highway Townwide Fund by 2.37%; and Sewer Fund by 6.38%; Risk Retention Fund by 13.33%; and Fire Protection Fund by 3.84%. Revenues will decrease in the Highway Part-Town Fund by 3.77%; Water Fund by 16.40%; and Debt Service Fund by 2.17%. • Sales Tax collections are budgeted at $3,500,000, representing 13.48% of the Town’s 2020 budgeted revenues. Sales tax collections for the Town were weak in 2015 and 2016, with collections falling short of both prior years. Sales tax collections since 2017 have steadily improved, with 2018 collections of $3,388,799 at 6% over 2017 collections. Year-to-date projections show 2019 collections exceeding $3,500,000 are possible. After some discussion about future sales tax collections, Mr. Goodman suggested reducing the 2020 sales tax budget to $3,250,000 with the difference being absorbed by fund balance. • The 2020 Property Tax Levy totals $8,583,950, an increase of $182,300 or 2.17% over the prior year. This increase does not comply with the property tax cap for 2020. Property taxes are the Town’s largest revenue source, representing 33.06% of total budgeted revenues. The property tax bill for a typical property in the Town of Ithaca will decrease to $2,081.35 in 2020 from $2,112.67 in 2019, a decrease of $31.32 or 1.48%. The typical property in the Town of Ithaca is a single-family residence with an assessed value of $300,000. • Water rates are proposed to increase from $7.59/1000 gallons of consumption in 2019 to $7.97/1000 gallons of consumption in 2020, an increase of 5.0%. Sewer rents, billed on water consumption, are proposed to increase from $4.91/1000 gallons in 2019 to $5.16/1000 gallons in 2020, an increase of 5.1%. Based on these proposed rates, the quarterly minimum charge would increase from $62.50 in 2019 to $65.65 in 2020, an increase of $3.15 or 5.0%. • The Water Benefit Assessment Fee is proposed to increase from $150.00/unit in 2019 to $160.00/unit in 2020, raising revenues of approx. $1,329,300 to be used to pay the annual debt service on the Town’s outstanding long-term debt for water infrastructure improvements. The Sewer Benefit Assessment Fee is proposed to increase from $45.00/unit in 2019 to $55.00/unit in 2020, raising revenues of approx. $438,470 to be used to pay the annual debt service on the Town’s share of outstanding long-term debt for improvements at the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility. • Discuss and consider request by Tompkins County Public Library for increased funding in FY-2020. Mr. Solvig reported the Tompkins County Public Library has requested the Town increase its voluntary contribution for FY-2020 to $15,000. This would be a 25% increase over the Town’s 2019 contribution of $12,000. Mr. Goodman informed the Committee his Tentative Budget includes a $500 increase for a total contribution of $12,500 for 2020. The Committee discussed the requested increase. Pam Bleiwas was in favor of the $3,000 increase. 3 Pat Leary did not feel such an increase was appropriate. Mr. Goodman will leave the $12,500 budgeted amount in the tentative budget and let the Board vote for any additional contribution for 2020. He also asked if we can find out the amount the City will be budgeting for this next year. • Continue Discussion on Lighting Districts and LED Conversion Program. In 2019 the Ithaca Town Board approved the purchase of 272 existing Streetlights from NYSEG and conversion of the existing lights to LED’s through a New York Power Authority (NYPA) Energy Efficiency Program. The cost of this project was estimated at $208,762 for the purchase & conversion of 272 streetlights. The average cost per light is estimated at $762.51. Of these 272 streetlights, 91 are located in the Town’s Light Districts. Based on the average cost of $762.51 per streetlight, $69,843.17 of the estimated project cost should be charged to the light districts. As none of the light districts has the funds available to pay the cost for this program, the Town will have to pay the upfront costs and be reimbursed by the light districts. The Committee reviewed the memo and schedules detailing the estimated costs to the individual districts. The first schedule shows the total cost to each district. The second schedule shows the annual cost/tax levy to be collected to repay the Town for the paying the upfront costs. This repayment would be spread over a 5-year period. Annual payments range from a high of $3,352.00 for the Forest Home Light District, with 20 streetlights, to a low of $335.00 for the Clover Lane Light District, which has two streetlights. • Continue Discussion on Sidewalk Districts. Mr. Goodman informed the Committee that this will be discussed at tonight’s Study Session. • Continue discussion of proposed Water Rates and Sewer Rents for FY-2020. Water Rates: At the Budget Committee’s July meeting, initial discussions on water rates and sewer rents were based on an assumed 4.0% increase in Bolton Point’s water rate. Subsequent to that meeting the Bolton Point Commission approved a 2020 water rate of $5.41/1000 gallons, a 5.0% increase over the prior year. This higher than anticipated rate requires the Town to adjust its proposed water rates to cover this increased cost. Based on a 5.0% increase, the Bolton Point rate would increase from $5.15/1000 gallons in 2019 to $5.41/1000 gallons in 2020. For the Town, our portion, used to cover our operating costs, would increase from $2.44/1000 gallons in 2019 to $2.56/1000 gallons in 2020. The total amount charged to Town water customers would be $7.97/1000 gallons in 2020, an increase of 5.0% over the $7.59/1000 gallons charged in 2019. Sewer Rents: The amount charged to Town customers is proposed to increase to $5.1 6/1000 gallons in 2020, an increase of 5.1% over the $4.91/1000 gallons charged in 2019. Minimum Quarterly Bill: The quarterly water & sewer bill is based on a minimum usage of 5,000 gallons of water and 5,000 gallons of sewage. The minimum quarterly bill will increase from $62.50 in 2019 to $65.65 in 2020, an increase of $3.15 or 5.0%. (see schedule on next page) • Other Items. No other items were discussed. 4 MINIMUM CHARGE New Rate Structure : 2020 5.41$ 2.56$ 7.97$ 5.16$ 65.65$ 2019 5.15$ 2.44$ 7.59$ 4.91$ 62.50$ 2018 4.96$ 2.35$ 7.31$ 4.81$ 60.60$ Old Rate Structure : 2018 4.53$ 2.15$ 6.68$ 4.40$ 102.00$ 2017 4.44 2.11 6.55 4.31 99.98 2016 4.44 2.11 6.55 4.31 99.98 2015 4.35 2.03 6.38 4.27 97.96 2020 0.26$ 0.12$ 0.38$ 0.25$ 3.15$ INCREASE 5.0%4.9%5.0%5.1%5.0% WATER RATES AND SEWER RENTS PER 1,000 GALLONS OF WATER CONSUMPTION TOWN OF ITHACA YEAR BOLTON TOWN POINT OPERATING W ATER SEWER The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m. Next Meeting: Monday, September 23, 2019 at 12:00 pm, Town Hall - Aurora Room 5 • Continue discussion of proposed Water and Sewer Benefit Assessment Fees for FY-2020. The Committee reviewed and discussed the Water and Sewer Benefit Assessment Fee spreadsheets. The revenues received from Water and Sewer Benefit Assessment Fees are used to pay for capital expenditures and/or for the annual debt service payments on long-term debt issued to finance past capital expenditures. As the Town continues to issue new long-term debt to finance capital projects, annual debt service payments will continue to increase. Water Benefit Assessment Fee: At the close of 2019, the Town’s outstanding water-related long- term debt will total $9,271,000 with annual debt service payments of approx. $1,170,500 in 2020. By year-end 2022, the Town’s outstanding water-related long-term debt will increase to $14,874,000 with estimated annual debt service payments of $1,860,000 in 2023. In 2020, there will be an estimated 8,308 Water Units on the county tax roll. At a proposed Water Benefit Fee of $160.00 per unit, the Town will collect revenues in the amount of $1,329,300. This revenue will cover 101.2% of the $891,973 in debt service payments made in 2019 for principal and interest on long-term debt issued to finance past water projects. For the Water Benefit Assessment Fee to continue to provide 100% of the revenue to cover the annual debt service payments, the annual fee would have to gradually increase from $150.00 in 2019 to $220.00 in 2023. Improvements to the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF) are financed by long- term debt issued by the City of Ithaca. The City makes the annual debt service payments and is reimbursed by the Town for its share of the annual principal and interest costs. In 2019, the Town’s payment to the City for annual debt service payments is estimated at $366,500. By 2023 the Town’s estimated payment will increase to $426,000. Sewer Benefit Assessment Fee: In 2019, there will be an estimated 7,956.55 Sewer Units on the county tax roll. At a proposed Sewer Benefit Fee of $45.00 per unit, the Town will collect revenues in the amount of $358,000. This revenue will cover 98% of the $366,000 Town share of debt service payments made in 2019 for improvement projects at the IAWWTF. For the Sewer Benefit Assessment Fee to continue to provide 100% of the revenue to cover the Town’s share of annual debt service payments, the annual fee would have to gradually increase from $45.00 in 2019 to $55.00 in 2023.