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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 1996-07-29 TOWN OF ITHACA SPACIAL, TOWN BOARD IIIIEEa. NG JULY 29 . 1996 6 : 30 P . M. At a Special Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca , Tompkins county, New York held at the Town Hall , 126 East Seneca Street , Ithaca , New York there were present : PRESENT : Catherine Valentino , Town Supervisor; Carolyn Grigorov, Councilwoman ; David Klein , Councilman ; Ellen Harrison , Councilwoman , Mary Russell , Councilwoman , John P . Wolff, Councilman , EXCUSED : Edward Conley , Councilman , ALSO PRESENT : Joan Lent Noteboom , Town Clerk/ Director of Administrative Services ; John Barney, Attorney for the Town ; Daniel Walker, Director of Engineering ; Fred Noteboom , Highway Superintendent ; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning ; Andrew Frost , Director of Building/Zoning . CALL TO ORDER : Supervisor Valentino called the meeting to order at 5 : 35 p . m . , and led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance . AGENDA ITEM NO 3 - CONSIDER QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT Supervisor Valentino - The Quarterly Financial Report was done in a summary form . It does not have each individual account the way it used to be . The Board does not have to approve it tonight , it could be reviewed and approved at the . next regular meeting in August . Councilman David Klein - Is there anything different than before? Supervisor Valentino - The only thing that is different is the total of the pages that the computer generates. This is more of a general overview of the funds . The pages at the end of each fund is the most important page to summarize this for the Board . Councilman Klein - Where could we find the Capital Reserve Fund ? Supervisor Valentino - The Capital Reserve Fund page will not show anything because there has been no activity. There is one certificate of deposit for the Town Hall that was approximately $202 , 6406000 When I re-invested the money I put the interest . in . The figure under the Town Hall Reserve and General Townwide should say Town Hall Reserve ' I think they were mislabeled. If the two totals are added together, they come to approximately $ 1 . 1 million . In the Town's savings account ($2 million) , the Town had $240 , 000 . 00 that had been left . in the - super seven account . In March the Board discussed spending some money, and it was never invested back out into the account . The 1996 budget projects has another $ 160 , 000 . 00 , going into the reserve fund from the sales tax money. r TOWN BOARD MINUTES 2 JULY 29* 1996 Councilman Klein - Should the money in the savings account be put into a repurchase agreement? Supervisor Valentino - Yes . The savings account right now, is down considerably as of June 30 , because of funds of $770 , 000 . 00 for the fire contract . The fire payment was due in July , so we had to take money out of the savings fund to pay it . We plan to be able to get a better handle on our cash flow. A new accounting program will help with that . Councilman Klein - Is there a computer program available to help manage the funds better? Supervisor Valentino - Yes , the Town staff is looking into several right now. Now staff is using Lotus as a spread sheet but then they have to transfer information by hand to the accounting program . The program the Town is looking at will enable us to take it right from the spread sheet to the budget . ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEM NO 1 = VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TO THE CITY OF ITHACA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. Councilwoman Carolyn Grigorov - The Town is being asked to make an in-lieu-of-tax voluntary payment to the City of Ithaca for the property the Town owns within the Business Improvement District (BID) based on $ 1 . 50 per $ 1 , 000 . 00 of assessed valuation of the property. The idea is for property owners to coordinate efforts in promoting a particular area for improvement by assessing properties based on their values. The City has agreed to pay their BID amount , and the County will do the same - I thought the Town might want to also . Councilwoman Ellen Harrison - What would the actual assessment be? Councilwoman Grigorov - The assessment value on the Town Hall now is $644 ,400 . 00 , which seems high . The Town's portion for the BID would be $966 . 60 . Supervisor Valentino - Would that be the most that the Town would have to pay? Councilwoman Grigorov - The Town could pay less if the assessment were reduced . If the property values in this area go down , the whole County will have a problem . Supervisor Valentino - It would be for a one year commitment? Councilman Klein - Is the proposed rate for everyone $ 1 . 50 per $ 1 , 000 . 00 of assessment? Councilwoman Grigorov - Yes , if people own property in the BID area that is what they will be paying . Attorney for the Town John Barney - The Ithaca Downtown Business Group Is a non-for-profit organization would be like contributing to the American Red Cross or the American Cancer Society. If this Board adopts this resolution , there should be another condition added , that the Attorney for th i �. Town reviews it and is satisfies that the Town is not doing something unconstitutional . If there is a- TOWN BOARD MINUTES 3 JULY 299 1996 roblem , I would bring it back to the Board . Councilwoman Harrison - Is the City and the County doing this ? Attorney Barney - I do not think that the County is doing this , but the City is doing it . I would like to look at the agreement before the Town votes on it . Councilwoman Harrison - What is the worst thing that could happen if the Board passes this? Attorney Barney - The Board Member's could be individually liable for the payments that the Town authorized . Councilwoman Harrison - I am wondering if it is worth the money and Attorney Barney's time to research this . Attorney Barney - There are some areas that you should know about before making a decision . Councilman John Wolff - How much is the expenditure ? Councilwoman Grigorov - It would be approximately $ 966 . 60 for this year. ouncilwoman Mary Russell - Is there any other cities in the State doing this ? Councilwoman Grigorov - Yes . There is a question about whether the BID can require this assessment . Attorney Barney - The Town has an agreement with the City. The City does not assess Town property within the City, and the Town does not assess City property within the Town , which includes the water supply system . Councilwoman Grigorov - The BID could get businesses who would benefit from it , which would be anyone who owns property. The City is not asking for that . Councilwoman Russell - The County seems to be facing the same issues. . Attorney Barney - The County is facing these issues in a political level rather than a legal level . Supervisor Valentino - The Town should know where they stand . RESOLUTION NO, 132 : Motion made by Councilwoman Harrison , seconded by Councilman Wolff that the Town of Ithaca Town Board hereby agrees to make a voluntary in lieu of BID assessment ayment in 1997 based on the assessed value of property in the BID area owned by the Town of haca of $ 1 . 50 per $ 1 , 000 . 00 assessed value , on the condition that the BID be approved and TOWN BOARD MINUTES 4 JULY 29P 1996 accepted by January 1997 , and the voluntary payment is found not to violate the New York Stat Constitution . A vote on the resolution resulted as follows : Supervisor Valentino , aye ; Councilwoman Grigorov, aye , Councilman Klein , aye ; Councilwoman Harrison , aye ; Councilwoman Russell , aye ; Councilman Wolff, aye . Motion carried unanimously. AGENDA ITEM NO 4 - CONSIDER POSSIBLE ACQUISITION OF INLET VALLEY PARCELS FROM TOMPKINS COUNTY. Attorney Barney - There was a meeting with the City to discuss acquiring this land . The City is interested in purchasing the property and there has been talk about the Town acquiring the land and keeping title . . It seems that the most appropriate way for both sides to handle this would be for the Town to acquire the land using Town funds , and reserving it for the City to buy from the Town over the next; five years . Arrangements were tentatively negotiated with the City to buy the land from the Town for what the Town would pay for it, plus interest at sic percent per year from the date of purchase to the date that the City purchases it from the .Town . At the end of five years , the Town would have the right to own it free and clear if the City did not buy or terminated , unless there was a renegotiated arrangement . The Town would provide appropriate time for the City to extend the arrangements . There was an agreement with the City, that if during the five year period an environmental disaster wa discovered, and it would require an expenditure of funds to clean up , the City would either pick up th cost of the clean up , or surrender any rights they had to acquire the land . Councilwoman Grigorov - The City would pay all the costs? Attorney Barney - If the City still wants the land , they would have to exercise the right to buy at that point, pay all the clean up costs , or lose their right to buy. If the Town spends the money for the clean up , the Town would own the property with no obligations to the City. Councilwoman Russell - Has the land been thoroughly inspected to detect any problems? Attorney Barney - There was a Phase I environmental report done by the Town Engineer and the Town Planner after a walk through and a look at some old records . Phase I consists of record checking and a visual inspection to see if anything is there . Director of Planning Jonathan Kanter - The Town Staff was fairly confident that the risk was acceptable, but no one could see under ground . What Attorney Barney is suggesting is a great idea , if the deed is going to be transferred to the City, which may not happen , they should participate in the risks . Attorney Barney - There are some hazardous conditions such as an old foundation with a bunk underneath where people could get hurt . There are some things out there that need to be remove . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 5 JULY 29, 1996 fatever the cost to do so would be added to the purchase price , including interest . Director of Engineering Daniel Walker - When the City buys the land from the Town , would that be included in the price of the property? Attorney Barney - Yes , with six percent interest . Andrew Frost - The Town of Ithaca Zoning Ordinance would require an open foundation be filled in by the property owner within a year' s time . . Supervisor Valentino - The Town plans to fill the foundation in . Councilman Klein - Why would the Town buy this land other than to help the City? Attorney Barney - The City could buy the land to use for alienation purposes . The City has a letter suggesting they could use it during their alienation process , but they are not comfortable enough with the letter to acquire the land and dedicate it for park purposes . Councilwoman Harrison - There were discussions at previous meetings about wanting the City to use it for park purposes . ttorney Barney - For a passive park. Supervisor Valentino - If the City buys the land from the Town , they have to guarantee that the land would be used for a passive park . Councilwoman Grigorov - What can they do in a passive park? Attorney Barney - The Town would need to give a definition of "passive " Councilwoman Harrison - Would a passive park require major regrading of the land? Attorney Barney - My interpretation of passive would be allowing people to walk on it rather than allowing ballfields . Councilman Klein - Could they fish off the land? Mr. Kanter - Yes , they can fish , have walking paths , picnic tables , etc . Councilman Klein - There would be no sport recreation ? torney Barney - Correct . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 6 JULY 2911996 Councilwoman Grigorov - Would there be any structures ? Supervisor Valentino - No . Councilwoman Harrison - There might be a bathroom . Attorney Barney - No , a bathroom would not be in a passive park . Supervisor Valentino - This is what the Town has negotiated with the City, so now the City needs to take it to the Common Council , Attorney Barney - I was requested again to check with the Assessment Department about this . I spoke to Mr. Richard who is doing the research . His preliminary ruling was the same as Don Franklin 's . If the Town is holding the land for public use , it would be tax exempt and the Town would not have to pay real estate taxes . Negotiations with the City included their reimbursing is if we had to pay taxes by adding that amount to the purchase price . Mr . Kanter - I checked with the County' s Budget and Finance Department to make sure that the parcels were still available , they are . The County is anxious to sell them . Supervisor Valentino - The County has been putting a considerable amount of pressure on the Town and the City to make a decision . Mr. Kanter - There would be delinquent property and school taxes to pay based on the current school tax rate . Attorney Barney - The Tam would owe all the back taxes , and the Town would also owe the State and County Tax bill for January. It will not be tax exempt until next March . Councilman Wolff - The Town should hold off on making a decision to purchase the land , because the County has some kind of policy that had not been applied , but should have been . The County Board could decide to sell it or give it to another municipality. It is a new policy, and they wanted to give the policy an opportunity to become utilized . Councilwoman Russell - The policy has been in effect for a awhile , and it is not known if it is working . The policy was that the County would review every parcel that comes up to be auctioned off for environmental significance to see if it were something the County wanted to acquire . This parcel should have been put into the review process . Councilman Klein - It sounds like the County is not reviewing parcels . Mr. Kanter - The County has no inventory of County park land or the County park system . The County may have something on paper that they could use . I would be a little careful about holding off on this TOWN BOARD MINUTES 7 JULY 291 1996 luisition any longer. Councilwoman Harrison - Is it true , if the County Board decided they wanted this parcel before the Town purchased it , that they could do that? Mr. Kanter - Yes . Councilwoman Harrison - There is nothing stopping the County from doing that . Mr . Kanter - If the Town Board approves this acquisition , the staff would like to enter into a sale negotiation with the County . Councilwoman Harrison - Could the County Board direct the County Assessment office to not sell that parcel? Attorney Barney - Normally the County forecloses on a property within nine or ten months of the default on the taxes , but the County wants for five years until the period of redemption expires , then the County owns it . I am not exactly sure what the title says when the County has authority . What the Town should do , is to make a purchase offer . f Id rvisor Valentino - That is one of the reasons the Town should buy the land over the City , so we have the control and leverage if we want to trade it . Councilwoman Grigorov - If the Town sells the land to the City, where does the passive park requirement appear? Attorney Barney - In the deed . The arrangement with the City would include a statement that if the Town sells the land to them , it would be used for passive park land . Councilman Wolff - If the City wants the land , are they willing to pay the six percent interest? Attomey Barney - No , the City was willing to put the money up . They gain by not having to front the money , the Town looses for fronting the money. Supervisor Valentino - This agreement would guarantee that the land would be preserved if the Town has control . Councilwoman Russell - The County can not substitute park land right now? Attomey Barney - If the City buys the land right now . Five years is the longest the Town would want save the land for them . The City wanted ten years , and we said no . emsor Valentino - If the City buys within the five years , the Town would have expended a minimal TOWN BOARD MINUTES 8 JULY 299 1996 cost. The Board should support a motion to move forward . Should the resolution include where the money to pay for this land would come from ? Councilman Klein - All the costs should be put back onto the State , including the attorney fees . Supervisor Valentino - The Town is doing the City a big favor, but they want to take out the park land and use it for development . The City can not do this unless they have some land for trade . Mr. Kanter - The parcels are on the east side of the Cayuga Inlet . The City' s southwest park is behind the Solid Waste Facility off of Pine Street . Supervisor Valentino - The City may find out that some of the land would probably not be able to be developed because of the wetlands , and other problems . Mr. Kanter - The Board should realize there might be a possibility that we might not transfer the land to the City. Supervisor Valentino - That seemed like the intent of the Board at the discussion , that is why we moved forward , because we do not mind owning it . Attorney Barney - This Board has already done a resolution authorizing the purchase . The next resolution this Board needs to have is for the purchase approval agreement which needs to be negotiated and signed . A simple resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to negotiate a purchase agreement with the County at a price not to exceed $ 12 , 000 . 00 is in order . Councilman Klein - Is the price strictly the amount of the back taxes? Attorney Barney - Yes , but I am not sure what they are at this point . Supervisor Valentino - The school taxes will be $500 . 00 or more . RESOLUTION NO . 133 : Motion made by Councilwoman Harrison , seconded by Councilwoman Russell that the Town Supervisor, with the assistance of the Town Planner and the Attorney for the Town is hereby authorized and directed to negotiate an agreement for the acquisition of lands located in Inlet Valley from Tompkins County at a price not to exceed $ 12 , 500 . 00 . A vote on the resolution resulted as follows : Supervisor Valentino , aye ; Councilwoman Grigorov , aye ; Councilman Klein , aye ; Councilwoman Harrison , aye ; Councilwoman Russell , aye ; Councilman Wolff, aye . Motion carried unanimously . AGENDA ITEM NO . 5 - WORK SESSION : 1997 BUDGET . i TOWN BOARD MINUTES 9 JULY 29 , 1996 fervisor Valentino - These are estimated budget costs from each Department Head for 1997 . Mr. Frost - The Building and Zoning Budget is the same as it has been for several years . It is several thousand over what it was in 1993 due to the changes in personal services . All the other items are down. We do not anticipate any changes or needs for equipment totaling more than $ 500 . 00 . Under the category of shared services , should we end up with a new building in 1997 , we would need to revamp our communication systems including telephones , computers , and networking . That would reflect some change in the budget . Contractual expenses do not need to be in anyway , and in fact , we may this year finish with excess money. That could be transferred to some other area of the Town where it is needed . Joan Lent Noteboom - Would the excess be more than ten percent of what is budgeted? Mr . Frost - Not under revenues , it would be under expenses . On the last page under Zoning , is, a break down of money that is expended to personal services for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals , what the equipments needs are , conferences , schools , vehicle maintenance , and miscellaneous for gasoline . In 1990 , there was a big question on where miscellaneous was spent . On page 3, there is a break down that was done by the County in 1990 on a monthly basis of how the money was spent through memberships , advertising Zoning Board notices for public hearings , supplies , personal vehicle mileage , tapes for Zoning Board meetings , and minor building supply tipment , It was a mixture of everything . Some of the accounting practices have changed , and it of clear that these types of things would still be under miscellaneous . Councilwoman Harrison - The increase in the personnel comes from raises and cost of living increases? Supervisor Valentino - Yes , anticipated raises are on the new system . Mr. Frost - There is a budget of $2 , 000 . 00 for conferences and schools . The Code Enforcement people are required by the State to have 21 training credits per year . The State in the past had provided some good training opportunities , but they were cut out of the State budget , so we have to go to conferences to pick up those training credits . We never seem to have the time to get away the conferences, so we have not exhausted that budget amount . We have only spent $445 this year out of a $2 , 000 . 00 budget . Councilwoman Russell - Why is the amount for miscellaneous going up this year? Mr. Frost - The actual for last year was $ 2400 . 00 . The actual to date for this year is $782 . 00 spent , it has gone down from last year. This is what has been budgeted from year to year , and that has remained unchanged since 1993 . One of things that is hard to predict are the Zoning Board of t peals meetings . We have tried to consolidate the number of cases to one meeting a month . proximately two years ago we were having at least two , and maybe three meetings a month . They now taking five or six cases in one meeting . They are having fewer meetings , as construction and TOWN BOARD MINUTES 10 JULY 29, 1996 property sales are down . Councilwoman Russell - There is a significant cost for copying services from the Wordpro . Mr. Frost - That was for the reprints of the Zoning Ordinance . Those prices have gone up over the years. Our budget provides for the cost of printing the Zoning Ordinances , and the revenues from the sale of the ordinance does not come to us . Councilman Wolff - Does the Town have a contract with Wordpro ? Mr. Frost - No , we received quotes when we printed up the ordinances . Councilwoman Harrison - Is the Town trying to have the fees cover the cost for this office ? Mr. Frost - The revenues should exceed what was anticipated from last year . Councilwoman Harrison - What aspects of the zoning office work does the Town expect the fees to cover? I thought the Town set the fees to cover the cost of what that fee is for. I am sure that there are many things the office does that we appropriately think should not be supported by fees , but are tax monies supporting the office? Mr . Frost - If personal services are taken out , the revenues for this year have almost doubled . Councilwoman Harrison - I think it makes sense for the Town to pay for your professional development . Personnel time is a large bulk of permit related fee activities , and I would expect that to be covered by the revenues and the fees . Mr. Frost - The revenues right now , year to date is $29 , 072 . 00 . Councilwoman Harrison - That does not pay for one of the salaries with fringe benefits . Mr . Frost - I do not know about the fringe benefits . The secretary is making $ 18 , 000 . 00 . Councilman Klein - There are some municipalities , such as Rochester, where building permit fees- are extremely high , and I believe it was to fund the zoning department . The direct costs were related to issuing building permits and getting buildings inspected during the construction . The building permits were to cover those costs . Mrs . Noteboom - The Uniform System of Accounts has a recommended structure where fees are suppose to pay for the expenses. It is a good theory , but if you were to charge appropriately to do that the fees would be exorbitant . Councilwoman Harrison - Are you better off embedding it in taxes , and have taxes look exorbitant? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 11 JULY 29, 1996 Jebody must pay to cover the cost directly associated with the work that needs to be done . For eting purposes , the Board needs to discuss what the Town' s position is . Mr. Frost - On the Town's fire and safety, we are and should be recouping the actual cost for fire safety inspection costs that we now charge to the people on a hourly rate . That would even out the cost of the newer fire safety inspection . Councilwoman Harrison - In terms of the staff, how much time is spent on things related to building permits? Mr. Frost - On some projects , there might be a four or five step process for a building permit . The application and plan review is process one . There would be a footing inspection process , foundation inspection process , framing inspection process , and with private water and sewer there would be plumbing inspections . There is an insulation inspection , and then a final inspection . For a room addition to a house , there could be six processes involved . If violations were found , we would have to go back for re-inspections . Councilwoman Harrison - What are we looking at in the amount of time the staff may use in doing these things? Frost - What we are attempting to do, is have the building permit fee reflect a higher fee for a more Alex project . The only other option , is the hourly work charge to raise the fee . Supervisor Valentino - How long ago were the fees reviewed? Mr. Frost - In 1995 . Councilwoman Harrison - What you are asking the Board to do , is ask the Town taxpayers to subsidize those who are doing the building . That does not seem to be legitimate . Mr . Frost - For a private residence , as soon as a building permit is issued , a copy is sent to the assessment office. Unfortunately , it is close to a year before the taxes change on that property. The taxes reflect the construction project in that regard , except for Cornell University and Ithaca College , Councilman Klein - The Townwide tax rate is pretty low, so it benefits the school district and the County when there are additions to the assessment rolls . The Town does not get the direct benefit in return . Mr . Frost - We spend a lot of time on enforcement of zoning Aolations . uncilman Klein - Councilwoman Harrison is saying is it is not to recoup 100 % of salaries , but that ertain percentage of staff time involved with the construction process and multiple inspections uld be. The Board needs to figure out whether or not to make , adjustments in the fees to directly TOWN BOARD MINUTES 12 JULY 29, 1996 cover the cost of administering those building permits . COunciNmman Grgorov - The inspection for building permits does something for the Town in the way of public safety by making sure there are no violations . Supervisor Valentino - If a new home goes up , would the fee be based on the value of the home , such as a $250 , 000 . 00 home? Mr. Frost - The fee would be approximately $400 . 00 to $500 . 00 for a home having that cost . Supervisor Valentino - How much would a $ 100 , 000 . 00 home be? Mr. Frost - A $ 100 , 000 . 00 home would be approximately $300 . 00 , on a sliding scale . Councilwoman Grigorov - With five inspection visits? Mr. Frost - That would be depend on the builder. It would be approximately $50 . 00 for the component of that . Councilman Wolff - How long has the new fee schedule been in effect . Mr. Frost - Since 1995 . J Councilman Wolff - Does that account for every point the .Board is making? Councilwoman Harrison - This should be a rationale assessment based on the Building and Zoning Department staff knowing how much time they spend on a project with salaries , fringes , and vehicle costs. I want a rationale reflection of the fees , not the full cost of what it amounts to , but the full cost of what it takes to watch over and approve an addition . I do not think this should be subsidized by taxpayers . I would like to see that kind of rationale applied for budgeting . Mr. Frost - Some of that is easy to do during a field inspection where there are no interruptions . This kind of time keeping is relatively easy. A review of a set of plans for a single house could be on my desk for five days because of meetings and interruptions throughout the day. I think is it unrealistic to try and figure out when you can take phone calls , or speak to people who walk into the office . Councilwoman Harrison - It could be done . Mr. Frost - You can make up numbers , but do they accurately reflect the time being spent ? Councilwoman Harrison - I believe the Town owes the taxpayers answers . Supervisor Valentino - The Board did that last year , and decided the fees were close to covering those TOWN BOARD MINUTES 13 JULY 293 1996 t of things . Councilwoman Harrison - What this proposed budget is saying , is less than a third of your secretary's time and your assistant' s time is spent on dealings for which fees are accessed . Do you think that is accurate? Mr. Frost - Looking at the revenues where people are paying $ 10 . 00 a permit? Councilwoman Harrison - I am talking about this past year, when revenues were $30 , 000 . 00 and the expenses were four times that . Is this a wrong estimate that only a quarter of the time the people in the department spend on new items , and the rest of the time is spent on enforcement problems ? Mr. Frost - The revenues are about one-third of the cost of the department . Councilwoman Harrison - What percentage of departmental time would the staff spend on the type of things the Board has been discussing , such as building permit related activities , reviewing the plans , making the site inspections , talking to the developers and the builders? Mr . Frost - It is hard to say because the staff is doing things from safety inspections , to zoning , to answering questions . The amount of time spent on a building permit , sign permits , zoning fees 9uected , fire safety inspections , etc . , are the revenues totaling $30 , 000 . 00 . ncilwoman Harrison - Are sign permits included in the fees? Mr. Frost - Everything, including fire safety inspections . I handed out a monthly report which provided the break down of revenues . Mr . Kanter - The Board is not talking about the Planning budget , but the fees are even more complicated in the sense that each building has a mixture of different things . It assesses two lot subdivisions to cover hearing notices and processing fees . I think the Town Board' s intent in the past was not to set unrealistic fees for those very minor actions . The fees would cover operating costs , but not the full salary of staff completing those applications . Councilman Klein - What covers the Planning Staff time ? The Town Board instituted the fee structure , which was not changed , so developers could plan projects that may result in no building permit issuance , the project fell through ? The developers were consuming thousands and thousands of dollars of staff time , Planning Board time . The Town was paying the Planning Board Members , paying the Attorney for the Town , paying the minutes secretary , and etc . The Town Board instituted those development review fees to partially discourage people who wanted to waste time . I Noteboom - It is working. On the zoning fees line item , the actual for 1995 was the amount before new fees went into effect year . Last year when the Town did the budget , Mr. Frost estimated , 000 . 00 in revenues for this year based on the fact that the Town did not know what the new fees TOWN BOARD MINUTES 14 JULY 29 , 1996 would generate. Councilwoman Harrison is saying that based on the average Mr. Frost has collected for the first six months the Town would more than likely receive approximately $58 , 000 . 00 to $60 , 000 . 00 by year end . Mr . Frost - The Building and Zoning Department will not be pulling in $60 , 000 . 00 in revenues during the wintertime because construction will drop . In 1984 , the New York State instituted a requirement that there would be a building code enforcement in each municipality. The municipality enforces the code or the State will do it for them . The Town , since 1960 , has enforced their building codes . New York State used to reimburse the Town for some things like fire safety inspections . The State no longer reimburses for those things . Councilman Wofff - Has there been any noticeable effect of the new permit cost on any member of the public ? Mr. Frost - I would say that the building permit fees have not effected them . Every time New York State changes the law , or every time the Town modifies their zoning ordinance , the Department look for people violating the law, and there is no fees collected for that . Councilwoman Harrison - If the actual to date collected is $30 , 000 . 00 , what would be projected by year end? Are most of the permits been applied for this year? Mr. Frost - Again , that $30 , 000 . 00 , as shown in the last monthly report is not just building permits , but operating permits for apartment complexes , fire safety inspections , etc . These are all included in zoning fees . Councilwoman Harrison - I am trying to figure out what should be covered under these fees . It should be fire inspections and new permits . It would be helpful to have a more realistic estimate for this year . It would be useful to look back over past years and see what portions of money came in year to date . Mr. Frost could do a much better projection for the estimate for the full year . Supervisor Valentino - It would be a little hard since the fee structure was changed last year. Councilwoman Harrison - The pattern of receiving money in permits is not different , so if Mr . Frost said in most years by the middle of July , they should have received two-thirds of what they would get for the year. It seems that in the estimated column , both this year and next year , the Town could do better than $30 , 000 . 00 . Mr. Frost - If the Town were receiving the same fees they were receiving today , say in 1987 when there was a "building boom " , our revenues would probably go over the cost or near the cost of operations based on salaries today . It is so hard to predict what kind of building season It Is going to be . Councilwoman Harrison - What percentage of time , through a course of a year, is spent on the kinds TOWN BOARD MINUTES 15 JULY 29 , 1996 kings these cover? Fire inspection , operating permit , and new building permits . If 40 percent of time is spent doing that , then the other 60 percent is spent doing what , enforcement efforts ? Councilman Klein - Mr. Frost is meticulous in tracking all the field inspections . He knows on a daily basis how many hours were done on inspections for buildings . Supervisor Valentino - If the Board looks at the revenues , the Town would realistically generate approximately $ 10 ,000 . 00. After looking at the estimates for this year, and then looking at the actuals from last year, the Town has over projected . Mr . Frost - In 1995 , the Building and Zoning Department received approximately $ 1 , 000 . 00 more revenue than was projected . Councilwoman Harrison - When the Town redid the fee structure , I do not believe there was an analysis of how the staff spends their time in relation to the fees . The estimates for the budget should be rationalized in a way that makes sense . Supervisor Valentino - In some ways , looking in other places makes some sense too because of the added cost of putting up a building . #er ncilwoman Harrison - The Town is either putting it on the buildings or on the taxpayers . I would put it on the building . Other Towns may not enforce very much , and I think that some of them pretty laxed , that is not the Town of Ithaca ' s style . Supervisor Valentino - The Board needs to realize that everything the owners add onto their buildings is also going to add onto the cost of the house , so the homeowner has to pay for it . Councilman Klein - The fact the Town is getting a Code Enforcement Officer to inspect their building is a benefit to that building owner . Mr. Frost - A lot of the time is spent going around in circles with somebody because they do not want to comply with the ordinance . I will do whatever can be done to accommodate the Board's questions . Councilman Klein - Mr . Frost is making sure there is a smoke detector in the house , so the owner should not complain why he was there . People should understand that is important . There is a benefit to the person who is paying the fee , and they may not like it , but it is a benefit to them . Supervisor Valentino - If Mr . Frost could come up with some numbers for the Board to look at , they may want to revisit the fee schedule based on the new information . SKanter - From policy discussions , the Town Board was starting to move in that direction . I do not k the intent was to fully get there yet , because if the Board did , the fees would have gone up . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 16 JULY 299 1996 Councilwoman Harrison - The Town Board needs to continue to keep an eye on these issues to see that they are going in the right direction . Supervisor Valentino - The Town Board implemented those changes in 1995 and the Board has 1996 to look at . When 1996 is finished the Board could .review the fees to see where they are . Mr. Frost - The State mandated that everyone enforce the building code . If there was not a Building Department, the State would enforce the code for you . The Department used to keep track of certain activities, and fill out a questionnaire to send to Albany . At the end of the year the Town would receive $18 ,000.00 to $25,000. 00 from the State . We no longer do that . The law is constantly changing and getting more complex requiring more time spent . In 1994 , the miscellaneous line of the budget was $5 , 200 it is now $4 , 000 . 00 . Everything has gone down , except for salaries . Councilman Klein - Under one of the expense items , Zoning Board of Appeal Member' s personal services actual last year was $ 1 , 485 . 00 , and now it is going up to $5, 000 . 00 . Mr . Frost - That has been the same every year . Councilman Klein - These figures should get close to actual as possible . Supervisor Valentino - There has been some substantial changes in the past year in the Accounting Department . Staff has gone back to try and trail some of these items where there was no real trail before . Councilman Klein - Is the Board Member' s personal services at $5 , 000 . 00 based on two meetings a month ? Mr . Frost - Yes . Councilwoman Russell - Are the Zoning Board of Appeals paid for each meeting? Mr . Frost - Yes . Councilman Klein - There are five board members at how much a meeting ? Mrs . Noteboom - $50 . 00 a meeting . Mr. Frost - For most of this year , the Zoning Board of Appeals were only having meetings with four members . The fifth member just joined last month . Councilman Klein - That would be $ 250 . 00 per meeting , at two meetings a month , $500 :00 per month , so that would be $ 6000 . 00 for the year. Mr . Frost would need to budget that . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 17 JULY 29 , 1996 Frost - The Board has not had all members at each meeting . Supervisor Valentino - How often do they usually meet to spend only $ 1 , 485 . 00? Mr. Frost - The monthly and annual reports break it down . The last few years I have consolidated meetings to get the cost down by having one meeting a month , and with lower construction there has been less demand . Supervisor Valentino - The Board Member' s per meeting actual for last year, can not be right . Mr. Frost - Again , we were operating with four board members and less meetings . Mrs . Noteboom - The miscellaneous fund is technically an illegal account according to the State Comptrollers Office . Each fund has a contingency line item budget for unexpected items or miscellaneous. A contingency account cannot be expended without Town Board approval . Example , you would have $5 , 000 . 00 in a contingency account and then when someone needed to have money moved to their specific line item it would be appropriate the Town Board to pass a resolution authorizing the transfer from the contingency to the specific line item . It has been the standard practice for the Town of Ithaca to have a miscellaneous fund . The Comptroller does not like I is cellaneous lines because that is a way for money to be hidden from the Board for expenditure hout their approval . I would recommend that each department show how the miscellaneous line pent and create new line items for specific purposes . Then have a contingency line for the whole d so this Board will always have to approve anything that is not within a normal line item . Supervisor Valentino - The miscellaneous list for the Building and Zoning Department shows how it was spent . Was this Ilst for last year? Mr . Frost - No , that was 1990 . Councilman Klein - Should more columns be created? Mrs. Noteboom - Yes . There could be a specific line item for each one of the things , such as books and publications . I think there are ways that the Town could fine tune this budget so it will help Mr . Frost to know how much he spent each year , rather than using miscellaneous . Councilman Klein - Does the Town still have an outside person doing the minutes ? Supervisor Valentino - No , that has changed also . There is a Keyboard Specialist that does all the minutes for the Boards . That would be another item to take out of the miscellaneous line , r r. Frost - The Building and Zoning Department was without a Zoning Board of Appeals Secretary for ny years . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 18 JULY 2991996 Councilman Klein - If you are paying a contract employee , then there should be an outside service . Mr. Frost - That would come out of miscellaneous . Mrs. Noteboom - The Board should be talking about fine tuning many of the appropriate line items to their specific titles rather than using a miscellaneous fund . The Board needs to understand that it also saves money by not having a miscellaneous fund . When the auditors come to do the yearly audit , they research the miscellaneous expenses , and they charge by the hour. The less they have to research , the less money the Town would have to pay them . Councilman Klein - Mr. Frost said he did not expect any equipment purchases , and last year he spent $ 101 . 99 . Yet he has budgeted up to $ 1 , 200 . 00 for next year. Mr. Frost - They are the numbers that we put down year after year. Supervisor Valentino - When I was checking the fund balance at the end of the year and try to get a real number the money ended up in a non-appropriated fund balance , essentially either sitting still or earning some interest , and not being budgeted the way the State said it should be . Some of those funds look pretty substantial because the money has been over budgeted every year and it is just sitting there accumulating . Councilwoman Russell - The auditors pointed out that the Town should not be ending up with large fund balances . Supervisor Valentino - The Town Board should look more closely at what was actually spent last year. Mr. Frost - The only line item that is of concern would be to change the conferences and schools , because I am hoping staff will have the time to attend more training sessions . Supervisor Valentino - The Board is not talking about taking money away . Councilman Wolff - How many computers are in the Building and Zoning Department? Mr . Frost - Two , one is a new computer this year . Supervisor Valentino - Which line item does the new computer come from? Mr . Frost - The new computer came from shared services . Councilwoman Harrison - What is shared services ? Mr. Walker - The shared services was setup to bring all the departments to a certain level of capability i for people with WordPerfect , word processing , and spread sheets . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 19 JULY 29, 1996 'I Noteboom - The only computer expenses that were appropriated for were in individual artments like the GIS for Planning and Engineering . All other computers that were requested by the ADP Committee were to standardize to a 486 computer with certain software . That was budgeted for out of shared services from either the A fund or the B fund . That is why the computers did not show up in individual departments , only the GIS was budgeted for separately. Councilman Wolff - Should the ADP Committee (Automated Data Processing Committee) be thinking about the context of the shared services ? Mrs. Noteboom - The shared services cannot be looked at tonight , because the Town staff does not have a good idea on their break down. We should be able to give more specific details for the shared service line items next time . Supervisor Valentino - What we are hoping for , as this discussion continues , is to get some ideas of priorities . As the Board goes through the budget process we can keep in mind the things that the Department Heads have told us . Mrs . Noteboom - These budget numbers are preliminary . We realize that many of the numbers would need to be fine tuned . Shared services in both funds should cover the computer requests . The own should not budget them within each individual department . . Walker - That depends on where the funds are coming from . There are multiple sources of ding . There is the water and sewer funds , which are two big generators of revenues based on consumptions . There is the lighting districts that generate their funds to pay for themselves . Supervisor Valentino - The Town' s basic income is the tax base from the general fund and sales tax . Mr. Walker - The Town needs to support water and sewer maintenance , that should not come out of the general fund , it should come out of the water and sewer fund . Mrs . Noteboom - The lighting district and the water and sewer funds are the only two funds that actually pay for themselves . Mr. Frost - The building and zoning budget recognizes that the staff could cut back dollars here and there . The subtotal of everything excluding salaries for staff, is $ 15 , 000 . 00 . Councilwoman Harrison - How does the vehicle costs get factored in ? Where is the cost the Town is paying for vehicle maintenance ? Councilman Klein - The Highway Department has a listing on every car . Noteboom - That tracks gas , oil , and parts for the vehicles . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 20 JULY 29 , 1996 Councilwoman Harrison - Shouldn't the zoning department budget reflect the cost of those cars? Mr. Walker - It does . There is a separate line item in the budget . Councilwoman Harrison - It is fully paid for, so the Town is not paying for vehicle costs? Mr . Walker - Correct , the Town has already bought it . Councilwoman Harrison - What about the insurance ? Mrs . Noteboom - Insurance is paid out of general fund . Mr. Frost - Depending on the make and year of the vehicle . Councilman Klein - On line item . 404 , do those figures come from the costs at the highway garage ? Mr . Frost - In some cases . Some work has been done by outside vendors . Councilman Klein - Does the highway garage make any attempt to predict the maintenance expenses? Mr. Noteboom - We do not make any attempts for estimates , but we do provide costs when ever anything is done . We provide the departments with a report on how much things are going to cost , so they budget for them . Mr. Walker - The Town has the fleet program . Mr . Noteboom keeps track of all the expenses on the vehicles whether they are done by the Town or by outside vendors . Mr. Noteboom - It will take a few years to complete because we just started tracking those expenses this last year . Supervisor Valentino - I have been working on looking at the revenues for the Town and anticipating them before looking at the expenditures to get a better understanding . I want to share with the Board from the County Assessment Office , the Town 's assessed values this year. The good news is , the total assessed value was up by $ 26 , 816 , 000 . 00 . The total assessed value was $ 711 , 803 , 448 . 00 for 1996 , and $ 738 , 620 , 262 . 00 for 1997 , but the bad news is that the reason it went up is because $41 , 728 ,000 .00 was added to the Town' s tax rolls from Kendal alone . Kendal is contesting it as being too high . If the Kendal assessment were taken out , the Town would have lost approximately $ 15 million worth of assessed values this last year . Last year , former Town Supervisor John Whitcomb ' s notes suggest that in prior years the Town of Ithaca has lost one percent each year in assessment , but to go from last year to this year with a $ 15 million loss in assessed values is scary . The County believes the loss is due to the lower cost houses are selling for. Councilwoman Grigorov - What is the percentage of last assessment this year? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 21 JULY 2911996 Incilman Klein - Approximately two percent . Supervisor Valentino - The two percent effects the Town . The Town would pick up approximately $35 , 000 . 00 more to spend if the tax rate stays the same as last year. Councilwoman Harrison - Does Kendal pay taxes? Supervisor Valentino - Yes , they are fully taxable . Mrs . Noteboom - Kendal is protesting the amount . Councilwoman Harrison - Why would the Town lose that? Supervisor Valentino - The rate is based on the assessed value . Councilwoman Harrison - The assessed value has gone up . Supervisor Valentino - The assessed value has gone down without the assessment for Kendal . Councilwoman Harrison - Right , but it is not just the general area , it is the northeast area . ervisor Valentino - The Town can not look at just one thing and say that is the problem , and there different things that are causing the lower assessment , the market value of property, the economy , people moving , Kendal , etc . . Councilwoman Grigorov - Two percent is a lot less than what the actual property values have gone down in the Town . Councilman Klein - My house property value has fallen 15 percent in the past six years . Councilwoman Russell - Did you have it reassessed? Councilman Klein - Yes , and I have protested it once , but it keeps falling . Supervisor Valentino - I wonder how they do that ? Mrs. Noteboom - The equalization rate in the Town of Ithaca is based on the market value . If a house were bought five years ago for $ 100 , 000 . 00 , and it sold this past spring for $ 85 , 000 . 00 , when the closing goes through they charge the State equalization rate by the amount of the market value they have placed on the property . What the house sells for is what it is assessed for . Our State utilization rate is based on full value . ncilwoman Russell - The sale effects that equalization ? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 22 JULY 29, 1996 Mrs . Noteboom - No . Councilwoman Grigorov - Does it effect the actual assessment for individual property for the sale? Mrs . Noteboom - It does eventually. Councilwoman Grigorov - Not at the point of sale . Mrs . Noteboom - It will do it at the next taxable status date of the property . Councilwoman Harrison - For individual properties , but they will not go into my property to redo it necessarily just because my neighbors sell their house . Councilman Klein - No . Every three years they adjust it . Mrs. Noteboom - The Town of Ithaca does not practice the "Welcome Stranger Policy" . The Welcome Stranger Policy is whatever the property sells for is what the assessment goes to automatically. There are approximately 5 , 000 properties in the Town of Ithaca . The County uses formulas like the equalization rate and the market value of the property within the area to come up with what they feel is a proper assessment . Councilwoman Harrison - They do not review every property every year? Mrs . Noteboom - No , not every year . Supervisor Valentino - They are suppose to do it about every three years . Councilman Wolff - Theoretically the assessment would automatically change with a sale , but the actual amount on the taxation lists looks as if the owner asked for an assessment change . Supervisor Valentino - When someone buys a home assessed for $250 , 000 . 00 , but they bought it for $200 , 000 . 00 they would go to the assessment office to request that the assessment be lowered . Councilman Klein - The full market value assessment is for when you just bought the home? Supervisor Valentino - We need to be alerted to the fact that the Town is loosing assessed value . Councilman Klein - If Kendal protest is successful , the assessment would be going from $41 million to $ 15 million . Councilwoman Harrison - We have lost value on the other properties , but because of Kendal the total assessed value in the Town is going up . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 23 JULY 299 1996 er Asor Valentino - That only effects the General Fund , it does not effect General Part Town Funds , d it does not effect the Fire Protection Fund . Mrs . Noteboom - Kendal was not given the reduction at the grievance hearing that they wanted , so they have gone the next step , a suretuary suit against the Town and the County to have it lowered . Arrytime between now and the time tax bills are printed the second week in December, the court could lower that assessment. The Town passes their budget November 7 , 1996 for the tax year 1997 . This Town Board determines a tax rate per 1 , 000 based on this assessment . The courts could lower that between the time the Town passes the budget and the second week in December when they print tax bills. The Town's rate may not be what we anticipate it to be . It will more than likely be much higher. The Board may need to account for this possibility . Supervisor Valentino - The Town would see a lower final assessment roll for the General Part Town Fund, outside the Village . The Town has always had a zero tax rate there because we have always been able to sales tax money . The Town ' s fire protection will definitely be feeling the effects of the lower assessment, because the Town' s contract with the City did not include Kendal . The Town does have funds that are being directly effected by the loss of assessment of. other properties . Councilman Klein - Does the Town pay the Village of Cayuga Heights on the same basis of the W ssessed property? s . Noteboom - The Village of Cayuga Heights has different formulas . The Village tax rates are erent , and they are based on what the Town pays them . Supervisor Valentino - The Town has a stable amount that we pay the Village for the next few years . The Town just renewed that contract for five years . Councilman Klein - Or , is it an assessed value like the City has ? Supervisor Valentino - The Town pays a flat amount . Councilwoman Harrison - Is Kendal in Cayuga Heights ? Mr . Walker - Yes . Supervisor Valentino - The amount the Town needs to raise in taxes to pay that contract will increase , more for the people this year because the assessed value is down by $2 million . The Town has been subsidizing the fire contract with sales tax money for years . Former Town Supervisors Shirley Raffensperger and John Whitcomb have always thought the Town should get away from doing that . The budget for fire protection , $ 2 million , is pretty hard to meet without the sales tax money . . Kanter - My cover page gives a summary of the current year budget for the Board to see how the nning Department is shaping up . Without looking at any specific numbers , everything looks pretty TOWN BOARD MINUTES 24 JULY 2911996 much on track. I do not think there are going to be any major variations from the approved 1996 budget , although there were some shifts within the budget . The Planning Department was able to purchase all of the GIS equipment that they had wanted to start with including software for less than what they had originally anticipated . There is approximately $ 2 , 300 . 00 remaining in the equipment budget . We are looking at additional GIS needs that could be purchased this year. The Planning Department is holding off on any major additional computer GIS requests for 1997 at this point . The major shifting in this year' s budget was between the salary account and the Planning Study for funding from the end of May for the new Planner position . That involved a budget transfer from the Planning Study account ( 8020 . 406 ) into the salary line to cover the different benefits . The 1997 budget proposal will be presented with a five percent increase over the 1996 figures . Most of that increase is for salaries . The Planning Department is requesting full funding for the new Planner position in 1997 . Personal services will be going up a fair amount from last year , about $36 , 000 . 00 , but it will be offset with the equipment and computer lines going down substantially from $ 10 , 000 . 00 to $ 2 , 500 . 00 . The Planning Study account ( 8020 .406 ) is proposed at a much lower number. The estimates that are shown do not necessarily match up with the actual 1996 budget , so I wanted the proposed numbers to fine up with the adopted 1996 budget figures . The estimated revenues for 1996 was $ 8 , 000 . 00 , and it would be the same for 1997 . 1 did a few calculations and it looks like the Planning Department might actually come in around that figure . The year to date figure of $ 2 , 980 . 00 as of June 30 , 19963 is the actual development review log and checks received . It does not include Saddlewood Farms . $ 8 , 000 . 00 in revenues for the total year will be for the Planning Board fees , including the escrow account . Mr . Walker - The engineering budget had $ 1 , 000 . 00 for review fees in the General Fund . That is actually coming out the same money the Planning Board is using . It is for the Engineer' s time , and we have not had as high a number of hours . The review fees should be in the General Fund . We are not sure where those monies are being credited to . Mr . Kanter - The Planning Department has been trying to get the development review accounts in order , and it has been difficult to figure out where all the money is going . I think the Planning Department has gotten better at doing this within the last year. We are keeping track when the checks come in as to where each project is being credited to . We are also keeping close track of staff time in terms of who is working on which project . We then match them up with the fees being collected . It seems pretty clear that the Planning Department ' s staff time is not being fully covered by fees for the development review time . Councilwoman Harrison - Does the $ 1 , 000 . 00 out of the revenues listed under the Planning Board fees , belong to Engineering to pay for the engineering review time ? Mr. Kanter - For engineering staff time . Councilwoman Harrison - The balance would account for the amount of time spent in the Planning office . The Town is not at the point where fees are covering the review costs ? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 25 JULY 291 1996 Kanter - It is fairly easy to tell when there is a specific project the Planning Department is working and it is easy to put down the hours , but there are a lot of other activities that are difficult to contribute to a specific project . There is a lot of time spent on the Planning Board processing , administrative time . Mr. Walker - It would be dlfiicult to account for . Out of those fees , there are three major sections . The Planning Department has more staff time in the development review . The Town Attorney has the highest dollar amount in the review . These development reviews do reflect the charges of the Attorney , and it comes out of the same place . Councilwoman Harrison - If the Board was to actually look at the cost for development review, it would include the Planning Department time , some Engineering time , Attorney time , Town Clerk time , legal notices , etc . The Attorney' s time appears as a separate item . Mr. Walker - We are trying to recoup those costs . Mr . Kanter - The Planning Department does a quarterly composite of staff time and collects the Attorney' s hours . ouncilwoman Harrison - The amount being collected is far below development review costs ? Kanter - It is probably more out of line with the staff time . Councilwoman Harrison - What can the Town Board do about it? Councilman Klein - If a person is ready to build , a cost of a building permit is part of building their project. I think development fees will be so high that everyone would go to Lansing , and the Town of Ithaca would not have any development . Plus the other fees for the architects , engineers , and surveyors would scare people so they will go to a lesser cost fee area . Mr . Walker - Is the Town charging fees on small developments ? Mr. Kanter - Those changes are primarily application fees for, say , two lot subdivisions where there is really no project costs . In some cases , it takes time to process the paperwork . Councilwoman Grigorov - How much do you charge for an application ? Mr . Kanter - The application fees are based on the number of lots or dwelling units . Site Plans are based on a cost estimate of the project . councilwoman Grigorov - How much do you charge for the least expensive subdivision ? Kanter - It is approximately $ 100 . 00 . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 26 JULY 29, 1996 Councilwoman Harrison - In terms of projects like the Saddlewood project where the Planning staff has spent considerable time they have been assessed a fee , would they have to be paid back since they withdrawn the project ? Mr. Kanter - That is true of any development review account where the check was deposited to cover the cost. If there was money left over when the project was closed the Town would refund that portion . The staff would add up all the hours spent on the project . Councilwoman Harrison - Do we charge by the hour for a project of that magnitude ? Mr. Kanter - The reviews that are involve anything above a two-lot subdivision are charged the actual cost of staff time. We do not always collect that in their initial check . The basic approach is to use the cost estimate of the project, and take a certain percentage of the net amount in the deposit check. Part of the discrepancy is because there are a lot of small reviews that do not come near the actual staff time involved . I think the staff is in good shape on the larger reviews because staff has a back up provision in the Zoning Ordinance that allows charging the actual time of staff review. Councilwoman Harrison - Would that include the Attorney' s time ? Mr . Kanter - Yes . Councilwoman Harrison - The discrepancy is that there are two-lot subdivisions which are not paying their way? Mr. Kanter - Yes. I do not know if I would recommend increasing those fees significantly because they are not developers, they are the homeowners wanting to do something small . Some of the very small site plans are not commercial operations . The staff usually has a better way of getting actual costs for site plans . It would be interesting to look at the actual figures involved and see how the staff is coming along. It will be hard to identify all the staff time that is contributed to some of these projects , but I think we could come up with a fairly accurate number. Councilwoman Harrison - If there were $ 8 , 000 . 00 in Planning Board fees taking away the $ 1 , 000 . 00 for Engineering fees , what amount of the remainder would be part of the Attorney' s fees? Mr. Walker - The $8 , 000 . 00 budget figure may be appropriate for Planning . Councilwoman Harrison - Does the figure include the money that would be paid to engineering? Mr . Walker - No . Councilwoman Harrison - Then the engineer is not getting paid . If the total revenue comes in at $8 , 000 . 00 , what does this pay for? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 27 JULY 29, 1996 Walker - Planning staff time , the Attorney' s time , and my time to review the developments . I have seen the money in that account yet , and I know I have charged time against it . The revenues from year to date have been deposited into the Part Town Fund , and nothing has been put into the General Fund . Most of the development reviews are done by the Planning staff. This year was not typical because the biggest development review project was Ithacare . Mr. Kanter - I do not know the amount of the staff time , on Ithacare , but it was a lot . Attorney Barney's time was significant . Mr . Walker - The Planning Staff probably gave them approximately $20 , 000 . 00 of review time . Mr . Kanter - Saddlewood Farms is a good illustration of when you are not collecting anything from them , but you are spending a significant amount of staff time . Attorney Barney and I have been keeping exact times that have been spent on the review of the Saddlewood project , it would be a substantial amount . Councilwoman Harrison - How much have the developers of the Saddlewood project already paid? Mr. Kanter - The first check was for $ 6 , 000 . 00 . t r .uncilwoman Harrison - The actual year to date does not reflect that? Kanter - It does not reflect that yet , and I am not sure what is going to happen with that project . Councilwoman Harrison - They have not called it off yet but they want us to rezone the area before they come back to the Town of Ithaca . Councilman Klein - The timing of the tax credits for the project were difficult . Councilwoman Harrison - It sound like the figures are far off. The Town Board might want to make a policy decision to leave it that way. I know it would be helpful to have a better understanding of how staff time relates to development reviews . It does seem like the revenues are very low compared to time spent . Mr. Kanter - I will try to put some numbers together as soon as possible . Councilman Wolff - This seems to be an opportunity where it would make sense to develop a policy of fairness . If the Town did try and implement such a policy , what effect would it have on the development activity level ? ouncilwoman Harrison - As a policy matter , the Town Board needs to look at it and decide who ould subsidize that development . Should the person who is doing the subdivision actually pay for cost of doing that , or do the rest of the taxpayers subsidize that? This is a policy question the TOWN BOARD MINUTES 28 JULY 29 , 1996 Town Board needs to consider. Councilwoman Grigorov - It could be that too much time is spent on the projects . Mr. Kanter - There are some ways to simplifying the review process procedures .. Councilwoman Grigorov - Right , that would save some money . Mr. Kanter - The Planning Department was listed on the budget for the Conservation Corp . I do not know why because we do not do anything with that other than Conservation Board scheduling . Supervisor Valentino - It comes from the youth funds . Mrs. Noteboom - Assistant Town Planner George Frantz does a lot of work with coordinating the Youth Conservation Corp . Mr. Kanter - Mr. Frantz does not oversee anything on the Town' s behalf for that revenue , so I do not know where is comes from . Mrs. Noteboom - The Conservation Corp revenue is what the Town gets from the County through the Joint Youth Commission , they reimburse the Town . Councilman Klein - Doesn't that wind up in parks? Mr. Noteboom - It ends up in the park , but it is used with the YCC . Every other year it shows up like . this , with a $6 , 995 . 00 line item , but it will not be in the budget for 1997 . Supervisor Valentino - The Town shares the cost and projects with Lansing . They get the project one year and then the Town of Ithaca gets the project the following year . Councilman Klein - Why is it in Planning ? Mrs . Noteboom - It is not just in Planning , it is also in the Highway portion of the Part Town Fund . Mr. Noteboom - I have high hopes with the new accounting system that the Highway Department will start to track expenses better . This year the Highway Department was going to start tracking the revenues because we were never able to put a handle on it . We decided to hold off on doing that because the Town is going to get a new accounting package to get some of these issues straightened out . Mr. Kanter - The two revenues that were flagged were the CAC and DEC reimbursements , which do not exist anymore . DEC has discontinued it ' s local environmental assistance program . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 29 JULY 299 1996 Noteboom - I did flag some line items in Individual Department Heads forms because I did not , 10 where they were coming from . Supervisor Valentino - What is the State Aid per capita ( 3001 ) ? Mrs . Noteboom - The per capita is the amount of money that the Town receives from the State of New York . Councilwoman Harrison - Is this part of this year' s State budget? Mrs. Noteboom - I have not got the total definition of all the State Aid within the different funds yet . I will update everyone once they are received . Supervisor Valentino - I thought the Town was not getting any per capita anymore ? According to the estimates , the Town received it last year, but I do not know whether it was received or not . Mrs . Noteboom - I do not know if this is a correct classification . This may be some kind of State aid from the County for youth within the Part Town Funds , and this may be mistitled . t ouncilman Klein - Is $66 , 000 . 00 what the Town is expecting to receive ? pervisor Valentino - I think this money is received from the County . The staff will need to track it wn . Mr. Kanter - The appropriation budget worksheet itemization of estimated Planning Department expenditures repeats all proposed budget lines with the details shown . Supervisor Valentino - This is something the staff has asked the Department Heads to do . I think it has been very helpful to keep better track of them . Mr. Kanter - The personal service item line , has several things that will result in a substantial increase . We are including funding for the year for the additional Planner position . The others are general cost of living and salary adjustments . The third , already in the 1996 budget , is the share for the minutes secretary. The minute secretary is spending time on two Planning Board meetings a month and one Conservation Board meeting a month . The Planning Department' s share is one half of the overall line item . Councilwoman Harrison - When I look at the adopted 1996 budget , the personal line was $ 1273758 , 00? r. Kanter - That is different from the estimated cost this year because there was a budget amendment fund the new Planner position . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 30 JULY 29, 1996 Councilwoman Harrison - Does $ 127 , 758 . 00 already include the new position , or part of the new Planner position ? Mr. Kanter - No, the $ 127 , 758 . 00 was the original adopted budget number, it did not include the new position . Councilwoman Harrison - So why is the estimate this year more than $30 , 000 . 00 less than what was budgeted? Mr. Kanter - The estimate of $ 142 , 058. 00 reflects that amount : The Board Member personal services , is for payment to the Planning Board Members for attendance at meetings . There are two meetings a month , with six members with one person getting a slight difference . The 1996 Budget has the assumption of eight Planning Board Members when the eighth person was the Agricultural Member. Then the Town Board changed the number of Planning Board Members to seven . This resulted in a slight reduction from the $9 , 900 . 00 in the 1996 budget . The CAC personal line item used to be used for the specific Conservation Board secretary , but since there is the minute secretary this account is not needed. Student interns , I am proposing a slight decrease from last year . We are still trying to accomplish a number of different internship opportunities . The spring internship and the graduate summer internship are graduate students working on specific projects to help the Planning staff. It has been very valuable . The CIVITAS interns are under graduates in a work study program at Cornell University. That is very low cost to the Town . Engineering and Planning have utilized many items at a very low cost to the Town . Mr. Walker - The number that is estimated on the budget for next year is a new number or did you just guess it would go up ? Mr . Kanter - I got something from CIVITAS saying that would be the new number for next year . Supervisor Valentino - What was the number for this year? Mr. Kanter - Fifteen . Supervisor Valentino - It used to be 20 , and then they lowered it for a while . Mr. Kanter - I have received a letter saying that they may go back to 20 . Councilwoman Harrison - Why is the estimate going down , do you need less students ? Mr . Kanter - The reduction really comes from the deletion of the archeological intern which was $ 1 , 600 . 00 for this year . Mr . Walker - It is a contract . Cornell pays for all the appointment costs . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 31 JULY 29w 1996 funcilman Wolff - This is the Town' s share ? Mr. Kanter - The graduate intems are temporary part-time positions ( 20 hours a week) , they do not get benefits . The equipment is quite a bit less than last year, because last year's budget reflected the GIS acquisition . Between now and the end of the year , the staff willing be looking for some software additions to help enhance that system without using 1997 funds . There -is about $23 , 000 . 00 left in this year's equipment budget. I think the staff might need to use some of this for the intern networking . Supervisor Valentino - The Town needs to figure out how to budget that and estimate those costs . Mr . Walker - There is an immediate need to network the Planning and Engineering computers and printers . We are looking at being able to connect into a bigger local area network . There may be a chance for a SARA grant . Councilman Wolff - That would be very expensive . Supervisor Valentino - There are some things that the Town could do over a couple years of budgeting to make it work. i . Walker - We could , but it would be more efficient for the Town to do it all at once . pervisor Valentino - What do you mean by very expensive ? Councilman Wolff - It would be a significant expenditure . It would be approximately $25 , 000 . 00 to $ 30 , 000 . 00 . Councilwoman Grigorov - On the other hand , there would be a limit to how much the Town should spend on it . Councilman Wolff - It would be a significant expenditure because the Town would probably want to have a network administrator to review training and other things . We would have to find the computers that would operate the network , upgrade each computer , and standardize everyone ' s software . All those steps involve some kind expenditure . Supervisor Valentino - While the planning for this system is underway , there should be budget estimates put with it . Mr . Walker - Some of it may be done with what is left in the budget from this year . Supervisor Valentino - After getting some budget estimates , the Board could see what is realistic to f uend on the system . There is no sense planning for a system that is not going to be approved . ncilman Wolff - The ADP Committee will be putting together a report that will be presented to the TOWN BOARD MINUTES 32 JULY 29 , 1996 Town Board outlining the system and the budget estimates . Councilwoman Harrison - If the system the Town has now is inefficient , what would change with the new system ? Councilman Wofff - The Committee could provide a rationale of why this is going to be beneficial , and how it will improve the staff s work. Supervisor Valentino - I want to spend a significant amount of money to upgrade the accounting system . Mr . Walker - That would be tied into this , because it would serve both systems . Mr. Kanter - There are two new items that the Planning Department wants to acquire next year . Two traffic counters , estimated at $800 . 00 each to be used in conjunction with the Town ' s transportation . The Town really needs updated traffic counts on the Town roads that do not have traffic counts . Councilman Klein - Has the Town been borrowing the County's traffic counters? Mr. Kanter - Yes , and the Town has a couple old ones at the Highway Department . There are new ones that give much more information and better data . The Town could use more than two counters , but I only put two in the Planning Department' s budget . Maybe the Highway' s budget could add a couple of them . Councilman Klein - Having the Town do their own traffic counts seem more realistic . Mr. Kanter - The State does not recount intersections or important areas for long periods of time . The County is better at getting counts . Councilman Wolff - Would the County accept the Town's data ? Mr. Kanter - I think they would if it was done using proper procedures . It would be more important for the Town to get current information and an overall picture for planning purposes . A new slide projector would be nice also . The Town has one , but it is very old . Conferences and schools , I am proposing the same amount of $4 , 000 . 00 as last year, to cover the Planning staff, and the Planning Board Members attending seminars . This would be for attendence at the New York Planning Federation Conference , which the Board Members should be going to . The Planning Staff has gone to the GIS conference for the past few years . The American Planning Association holds different conferences . This amount is usually used fully by the end of the year . Councilman Wolff - The toner cartridges for the Laser Jet HP cost $ 125 . 00? Mr . Kanter - Yes , they are expensive . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 33 JULY ?9, 1996 luncilman Wolff - Is that a page for each minute ? Mr. Walker - The HP 4 is a four page print . That is a network capable machine , and it will print up to 11 inches by 17 inches . Mrs . Noteboom - How many people use that printer now? Mr . Walker - Two , people right now , but it would be used by the whole Planning , Engineering , and Zoning Departments . It is one of the outlet devices that we want to link to the network . Mr. Kanter - The miscellaneous item line (405 ) covers these kinds of things . I have tried to break these things down to several more identifiable items . The numbers here do not necessarily add up to that total , but I have tried to break it down . The planning and feasibility study account is one we have been talking about where the budget amendment was used to fund the new Planner position . When we find out a more specific number on the Northeast Corridor study and what the County would be getting in 1997 , the Town can encumber the - funds from the Planning study account this year for $ 3 , 000 . 00 to $4 , 000 . 00 . The County is estimating that amount for that study . The County will be putting that in their 1997 Capital Budget . They have committed to doing that . The $3 , 000 . 00 to $4, 000. 00 would reflect the Town ' s local share for that study . We would be participating with others such as Lansing , Dryden , and the County . uncilman Klein - Does the Town just transfer it to the account? Mrs . Noteboom - The Town encumbers it until next year . If we did not encumber the $3 , 000 . 00 or $4, 000 . 00 it would go into fund balance . We do not want it to go into a fund balance , we want it to go into an appropriation line item for next year' s budget . The reason the Town should do that is because the money was probably raised on a lower tax rate than it would be for next year . The Comptroller says if funds need to be rolled over they should be encumbered them , so the Town would only be charging the people based on the tax rate of the budget year that it was supposed to be spent in . Mr. Kanter - The Planning Department could use the funds for hiring a consultant to help the Transportation Plan study . If the staff knows they would be working on that next year, there might be a small element the Town might want to get help on . I also envision this account being used for things like Phase I of the Environmental Assessments if they need to do be done for acquiring a property , or even appraisals . Targeting this kind of an account rather than simply pulling it out of a contingency account makes sense . It gives the staff a degree of flexibility . Supervisor Valentino - How can we make that show in the 1997 budget ? Mrs . Noteboom - The Board could do it during the budget process . The Board could also include in resolution the line items these amounts will be encumbered to , by instructing the Budget Officer to so . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 34 JULY 291 1996 Mr. Kanter - The County said once they get their numbers together, they would be sending the Town a letter specifying the exact local share . Councilwoman Harrison - Has the Town already put up their share of the water front planning ? Mr. Kanter - Yes . Supervisor Valentino - Would it show up in the budget as a line item ? Mrs. Noteboom - No. The Town would appropriate normally , but instead of using fund balance to fund that line item , we would encumber the funds . Mr . Kanter - The Conservation Board item line (407 ) has been budgeted for the same amount of $2,000 . 00 every year for expenses such as members share of office supplies and equipment . They usually send several people to the Annual Environmental Conservation Board Member Conference . The CIVITAS intern account is a transfer item . We keep it in the budget , so when we do have them we transfer out of the salary account into this account . The 404 and 49. 0 accounts are related to the Planning Department vehicle for maintenance and gasoline . Mrs. Noteboom - Both Mr . Frost and Mr. Kanter have budgeted $500 . 00 for gasoline , tune-ups , etc . , that number has not changed for a lot of years . Should these be budgeted for a little more if petroleum products are going to continue to climb ? Supervisor Valentino - How many vehicles does the Planning Department have ? Mr . Kanter - One . Supervisor Valentino - The Building and Zoning Department has two vehicles , and both budgeting the same amount? Mr. Noteboom - Every line item for the Highway Department is marked . For two years , the Department has kept track of their expenses . We write down everything that we spend , but it does not come up the same as what the Accounting Department has . The Parks ( B7140) line item last year, had money to develop a park, it was cut because the funds were not there to develop the park . In the Parks and Open Space Plan there is a number of parks that are slated to be developed . The money budgeted last year, $ 15 , 000 . 00 , was slated for ADA upgrades on the park sites . We are probably only going to spend half of it . As we looked more into the ADA, we were able to do things cheaper than we planned on . Councilwoman Harrison - Is the estimate of $ 55 , 595 . 00 for this year way over? Mr. Noteboom - Yes . I think the Town should set up a reserve account for the future . The Town could start developing walkways for the parks . If the Town does not start setting money aside , we will not TOWN BOARD MINUTES 35 JULY 239, 1996 able to afford it in the future . Councilwoman Harrison - Suppose the Town wants to set some funds aside every year towards bicycle and park purposes , how would the Town do that? Mrs. Noteboom - The Town would need to set up a Capital Reserve Fund where money is transferred into it. The Town has to set up a specific budget for using it . If the Board does not have the intention of spending the money in the year that the money is raised , then it could be put into a Capital Reserve Fund . Then the budget would be set up once the funds are actually used . Councilwoman Harrison - We would be need to set up a Capital Reserve account for Open Space? Mrs. Noteboom The reason the Capital Reserve Fund is tricky, especially out of the B fund , is that the funds need to be used specifically for what the Town Board intended . If five years from now , the Town Board decides that they do not want to build those parks , the money would have to be returned to the Part Town Fund . Councilwoman Harrison - That sounds good , and I think that should be setup so that future Town Boards would be required to fulfill that obligation . JKanter - Attorney Barney wanted to be able to track within the account where the money would M e from and be spent . Councilman Klein - But it has to go into a park fund? Councilwoman Harrison - right . I think that is great , if the Board looks at the amount of money we spend on roadways and highways compared to bicycle and pedestrian pathways . I do not believe the ISTEA Grant has been reauthorized , but clearly there would not be enough money in those kind of things to do all we want to do . I think the Town needs to start planning for those improvements over time . Supervisor. Valentino - The Town lost the grant for Eastern Heights . The Town ' s intent would be to move forward , but maybe not as quickly as if we had that money . The Town should try to put some money aside every year to work on park upgrades . Mr. Noteboom - I would recommend, rather than planning more than the Town could do , is hire outside to do it , or plan it as a large project we can handle with the rest of the highway work . Mr. Kanter - The Board may wish to consider if it is important to link the two completed parcels to the East Hill Recreation Way by completing the Maple Avenue link , that could be done for approximately t u' 000 . 00 to $ 30 , 000 . 00 . ncilwoman Harrison - Does that total include the staff time ? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 36 JULY 299 1996 Mr. Kanter - The total for design and project management is equivalent to Planning Staff time or hiring a consultant . Councilwoman Harrison - Is the highway staff time included in this ? Mr. Noteboom - The $ 84 , 200 . 00 would include the highway staff time . Councilwoman Harrison - This would be the total cost without the Attorney' s charge ? Councilwoman Russell - Mr . Noteboom stated that he would be spending half of the $50 , 000 . 00 this year . Can the money he does not spend this year be encumbered into this new fund? Councilwoman Harrison - Could that money pay for the Maple Avenue link? Mrs. Noteboom - If the Town Board is going to do these type of things , Capital Projects should be set up . Those amounts are over what the Comptroller would allow you to spend on one specific project without the bidding process . Maybe in December this Board could establish a Capital Projects or a Reserve Fund by transferring the money . The Town needs to make sure the fund balance reflects how much cash is left at the end of the year . The Comptroller wants you to encumber, but they also want you to be careful how much , so there is a true reflection of actual cash . Encumbering is not the physical cash showing on the accounts . It does not go to fund balances because it is like the money has already been spent . Mr. Kanter - I think setting up that kind of capital reserve is what the Town needs . Councilwoman Harrison - The Town should be doing two things in this area right now . One is getting a realistic sense of which one of these projects would be the top prioritor. I think the new bike way addresses the readiness issue . The Town might want to start because of the people who would be giving the right-of--ways . I would like to suggest that the Town set up and begin to put money aside for a fund that would be there when the Town wants it . The Town should be annually trying to budget for projects like this. In addition , the Town should be putting some money aside when a park purchase opportunity comes up . The Town may need to put aside rather large sum of money that should be put into the Capital Reserve account . Mrs. Noteboom - There is another tool the Town Board could use for budgeting purposes when there are projects like this . If the Town Board decided to do this next year , the Town could borrow and bond the $ 100 , 000 .00 . The Town would pay the principal the interest as the appropriation for the year , such as $25 , 000 . 00 or $ 30 , 000 . 00 , for five years . The Town could do the project right away . The benefit for that type of tool is that at the end of five years , the Town would not have to bond for other projects because the budget would already include $ 25 , 000 . 00 to $30 , 000 . 00 . The Town would have raised moneyvAhout raising taxes . There could be an extra $ 25 , 000 . 00 to $ 30 , 000 . 00 put into the Reserve fund , so within two or three years there would be a large amount saved . The Town could have their project now , using this year' s tax rate to fund future projects . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 37 JULY 29 , 1996 ervisor Valentino - This idea was one of former Town Supervisor Shirley Raffensperger' s . Her ory was that if the Town pays for everything with cash , the people now have paid the substantial amount for benefits that a lot of people in the future will have . She feels that bonding certain things and spreading it over a period of time is a fair way to portion the cost to all the people , present and future who are going to receive the benefit . Councilwoman Harrison - If the Town tried to do all of these projects they would have to hire outside help . Would this budget cover that? Mr . Noteboom - No . Councilwoman Harrison - It would cost more if the Town went outside . Supervisor Valentino - Then the Town would budget for the principal and interest payment . Councilwoman Harrison - Would it paid over five years or twenty years ? Mrs . Noteboom - The Town Board could pick whatever time period they want , but it is more cost effective to do it between five and eight years . uncilwoman Russell - Would that be subject to a referendum ? Noteboom - I think it would be subject to a permissive referendum , which means that it would be advertised and have a 30 day waiting period for people to petition for a referendum . Supervisor Valentino - To package certain things together for bonding would make a lot of sense for the Town . The interest rate would be lower, with Attorney and banking fees cheaper . Councilwoman Harrison - What do you think about the concept of the park upgrades? Supervisor Valentino m For the initial construction , I would not like to see the Town bond for general maintenance . I think these upgrades , if they are done over time , could probably be done without bonding depending on what the Board wants . If the Town set up a Capital Reserve fund by putting in $ 30 , 000 . 00 a year , some of it may be used this year or not . It would be budgeted on a regular basis. At the point where the Town decides they need to bond we would have already budgeted every year for that 530 , 000 . 00 . So the bond payment would not change the rate and the budget . Mr. Kanter - Last year's capital plan was not changed . It was simply an idea of a fund that the Board is talking about together for Park and Open Space Plan acquisition . Budget a set amount each year . Part of it could come from sales tax reserves after we get the new Town Hall next year . Part of it could je from fees and in-lieu-ofs once it is up and running . It is a decision that the Board needs to make art of budgeting amount that comes from the current property tax. It would be a way of combining rant sources for a set amount each year . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 38 JULY 297 1996 Supervisor Valentino - It would be a good to have a set amount . If the Board decides they need to bond for something that amount put aside would equal a bond payment . We could do that without it impacting on the tax . Mr. Kanter - It may take two or three years to do that , but then the Town would have it . Supervisor Valentino - The Town has always told people that we wanted to try and keep the tax rate reasonable , or hopefully , at or below the rate of inflation . The Town Board should talk about other cost impacts, such as Mr . Noteboom hiring two new additional laborers . Laborers do a lot of multiple things , including water and sewer chores . There has been personnel increases for staff to be able to do these extra things . Councilwoman Harrison - That is why I asked if these numbers include the staff time . Supervisor Valentino - Yes , and it includes the staff hours that are worked . Mr . Noteboom - The personnel line items have only increased two percent over last year' s total . Councilwoman Harrison - Has overtime gone down ? Mr . Noteboom - No , the cost per person has gone down , and we have eliminated some double budgeting between .water and sewer and the Highway Department . The Highway Department's overall budget has increased by 3 . 8 percent . There is one important thing that the Board should discuss , that is in the General Fund we budgeted $50 , 000 . 00 to start work on a highway facility for storing equipment . Some of the Board Members have seen the problems that the department has in storing equipment outside . Councilman Klein - Does the building belong under the equipment line ? Mr . Noteboom - It belongs under the General Fund account . Councilwoman Klein - Not under 210? Mr . Noteboom - Correct . Councilwoman Russell - Would it make sense to bond for that facility? Supervisor Valentino - This is something that has been put off. Councilman Klein - The Town had discussions about setting funds aside for equipment as well as for the " set aside account" . Mr . Noteboom - The Highway Department has a " set aside fund" , which is built upon every year . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 39 JULY 291 1996 Suncilman Klein - Is that in the General Fund or the Part Town Fund? Mr. Noteboom - It is in the Highway Fund . Councilwoman Harrison - What is the DB definition ? Mr. Noteboom - ( B ) Part Town , for the parks portion and DB is the Highway' s Part Town portion . Mrs. Noteboom - The type of codes such as A , B , C , or D are codes that the Comptroller uses for the names of those funds . DB is the account code for the highway . Councilman Klein - Is that Townwide or Part Town ? Mrs . Noteboom - Part Town . Councilman Klein - The highway garage itself is part of the Townwide . Why is that? Mrs . Noteboom - It is considered that the highway garage benefits every property owner within the township in one way or another . uncilman Klein - I was just questioning it because the building was put under 5132 . 210 uipment) . Mrs. Noteboom - That is an account code that was used by a previous employee . We will be changing that . Councilman Klein - The Public Works Committee has discussed that the highway department has a need for a salt storage facility . The Town garage is undersized for repair purposes and the building is rusting . Supervisor Valentino - I told Mr. Noteboom to put these sort of things in the budget . The Board might not be able to budget them for the full $ 50 , 000 . 00 , but at least we could get a line item to start recognizing the need . Councilman Klein - Maybe it makes sense to borrow $ 500 , 000 . 00 and pay $ 10 , 000 . 00 a year in principal and interest . Supervisor Valentino - That is why the Town Board should figure out what the cost would be , what it is going to be if it is bonded for ten years , and then start putting that money away . unciMroman Harrison - I think that is a very smart strategy for something like this , to try and get a Wh estimate to bond it for a reasonable time , and then start putting aside annually what principal interest payments would be . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 40 JULY 2911996 Supervisor Valentino - By that time , the Town would be used to budgeting that amount of money . We could then see what kind of impact it is having on the people before the money is spent . Councilwoman Grigorov - Is Gadabout a not-for- profit organization ? Supervisor Valentino - The town donates to Gadabout . Mrs. Noteboom - There is a list of certain agencies that the County has made . If the Town contributes to those services , the County is willing to pay the Town a portion of the sales tax collected as reimbursement . The Town picks from a list of those agencies to contribute to . Councilwoman Grigorov - Attorney Barney said that the Town cannot give to a not-for-profit organization . Mrs. Noteboom - You are probably correct in that assumption , but these are organizations that provide services in someway to the Town . Supervisor Valentino - The Town gets the money back . Mr. Noteboom - The Board could read the Highway Department' s budget at their leisure , and if there is any questions feel free to ask. Supervisor Valentino - If each Board Member would look over the budget requests of each department at their leisure , and contact the Department Heads if there are any questions . Mr . Walker - I would like to hand out my budget with a few comments . The personnel services line item 1440. 100 includes the Town Engineer, the Assistant Engineer , the Assistant to the Engineer, and for the Administrative Secretary is $ 159 , 949 . 00 . It brings the total for 1440 line $208 , 199 . 00 . On Traffic safety , I would need to look into this account further. Street lighting , I need to get all the numbers , and I would suggest listing each lighting district separately . Supervisor Valentino - The Town does that already . Mrs . Noteboom - This is out of the general fund . These are Townwide lights at intersections . Mr. Walker - This does not include the lighting districts ? Mrs . Noteboom - Correct . Lighting Districts are their own specific fund . Mr. Walker - On the back page of the proposed budget all the other accounts are broken down . There is a request for another computer work station , another portable PC , and additional GIS software . Councilman Wolff - This is separate from the computer services ? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 41 JULY 29 , 1996 Walker - Correct, this is specifically for mapping water and sewer and other facilities . The Board y want to look at shifting some of these to the water and sewer funds . I have a request for a vehicle replacement ( Car 21 ) , which is $ 18 , 000 . 00 . The 400 Contractual expenses is for planning supplies , surveyor supplies , and an engineering copier . Some of these might fall under the shared services account. There are three vehicles for which there are maintenance and gasoline costs for $2 , 000 . 00 . Our gasoline cost is running less than that . For the 1440 line items , I have a total of $48 , 000 . 00 , most of that is in the equipment . Under the water and sewer fund , is one capital improvement , the King Road PRB improvement which relates to the Ithacare project and the Danby Road water supply situation . I have a large expensive vacuum cleaner that I am splitting between the water and sewer for $ 30 , 000 . 00 . This is a device for cleaning sewers . Councilwoman Harrison - This vacuum cleaner can be used for both water and sewer lines ? Mr. Walker - We do not clean the water lines . This helps to clean valve boxes . The City has a large vacuum truck that can clean clogs out of sanitary sewers , they can also clean catch basins . That is a $ 150 , 000 . 00 to $200 , 000 . 00 machine , is small enough to put on a trailer . Councilwoman Harrison - Is this something that would make sense to share among municipalities? Mr. Noteboom - We trade tools with the Town of Lansing and the Village of Cayuga Heights already . Vervisor Valentino - They would trade equipment in return for the equipment the Town uses ? Mr . Noteboom - Correct . Supervisor Valentino - Would this be in the same category? Mr . Walker - Yes . Councilwoman Harrison - On the last page there are two capital improvement items . The Board had talked last year about wanting to get a bigger picture of capital improvements over time so they could see how these fit into the greater scheme of things . Mr. Walker - In fact , the Town has been budgeting between $50 , 000 . 00 and $ 100 , 000 . 00 a year for capital improvements . Sometimes we spend it all , and sometimes we do not . We need to set up a reserve for that money . Supervisor Valentino - Some of it has been showing up as unappropriated , it needs to be sorted out . Councilwoman Harrison - It seems like there are two specific projects that are being proposed . Walker - The Northeast monitoring is something that the Town needs to do . We are doing one year a thorough sewer agreement with Cayuga Heights . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 42 JULY 29 , 1996 Councilwoman Harrison - That would be a firm $ 20 , 000 . 00 expenditure ? Mr . Walker - Yes . Councilwoman Harrison - How about the King Road ? Mr. Walker - The King Road is something that needs to be done for improved pressure in the Schickel Road area , and also to clean up some problem plumbing areas around Sam Peter' s on Danby Road . Some of the Town' s water mains go underneath the building . Councilwoman Harrison - What happened to developing a master list of things that need to be done related to water and sewer , weren 't we going to prioritize those ? Mr . Walker - I have a list , but it has not been updated . We have been waiting because of all of the other things that are going on right now . Supervisor Valentino - The staff could put together a list , but six months down the road it is going to change because of the joint water study being done with the City and Cornell University . If the Town gets an integrated system with them , there are certain capital improvements that we would want to do that would be very cost effective for the Town . If the Town does not have this type of agreement , then the Town has other kinds of things that have to be done because it would not be efficient . At that point , the Town could put together a capital improvement list that could be flexible because of the negotiations that are going on . A cooperative effort with Cornell University and the City would probably save a substantial amount of money for the Town . I would like to look at a sum of money , how much it would cost to bond , and the Town putting that aside every year . Councilwoman Harrison - The money is not reflected here yet ? Supervisor Valentino - No , it is not here yet . These are things that the Town could safely do that are not going to impact on changes that might take place if the Town has the coordinated efforts with Cornell and the City. Councilwoman Harrison - Does the Town need to be setting aside something in case the coordinated efforts move forward? Supervisor Valentino - Some of these things could be done through the appropriated fund balance . Then we would need to figure out the bigger picture to see what the Town could set aside each year with the anticipation of bonding . Councilwoman Harrison - The personnel serrices and fees charged , and the time that is spent on water work , is that paid by water revenues ? Mr . Walker - Two of the staff members are fully paid out of water and sewer . TOWN BOARD MINUTES 43 JULY 291 1996 ncilwoman Harrison - Do they only work on water and sewer? r . Walker - No , they also work for highway . Councilwoman Harrison - The time you spend on development review, for which the Town is trying to cover costs with fees , is not really getting reimbursed at this time ? Mr . Walker - Pretty much it is , because I am not spending a lot of time on development reviews . Councilwoman Harrison - You are saying that there is no revenue ? Mr. Walker - I have given time charges to the Planning Department , and the money was put into the Part Town Fund instead of the General Fund . Councilwoman Harrison - The total charges of $ 2 , 500 . 00 is realistic ? Mr. Walker - Yes. It depends on what happens . Something like Saddlewood Farms', I have put in 45 to 50 hours . On a small subdivision , the Planning Staff has been doing a good job on pulling everything together , so I can itemize the time I spent on it . Fncilwoman Harrison - What is other services for government? Noteboom - Services to other government is revenue received from other municipalities who do not have an engineer . If they need the Town Engineer we charge them for his services . Mr . Walker - Bolton Point is one entity , the Village of Cayuga Heights is another . Councilwoman Harrison - The actual in 1995 was $ 23 , 900 . 00 . Mr. Walker - I need to track down what those charges were for . That is an interesting point , the Town owns Bolton Point so why are we paying ourselves ? . Mrs . Noteboom - There are four other entities in Balton Point . Councilman Klein - In the 2189 account , if the engineer is charging the Planning Department for their time , Mr . Walker mentioned that the money was going to the Part Town Fund ( B) ? Mr . Walker - This year' s financial report shows no revenue paid into the Engineering fees account . Mrs . Noteboom - That is correct , it should be broken down into the General Fund . tgncilwoman Grigorov - Is the Town Board going to see any more financial reports for the 1991 et ? TOWN BOARD MINUTES 44 JULY 29 , 1996 Superrisor Valentino - I guess the Board is starting to realize the problems that the Town is having in the Accounting Department . I think what upsets the Department Heads is that it is hard to sort out all the problems . I suggest that we make 1997 the transition year and budget everything as close and as best as we can . Hopefully , when the Town receives the new accounting package we can make it through the transitional year , then by 1998 when the Town Board sits down to do the parks budget project there would be a nice clear slate to start from . It does not pay to look back to anything historically , because the budget transfers and numbers do not help us . Councilman Klein - The miscellaneous accounts need to be split up and the Department Heads should keep track of expenses as closely as possible . Supervisor Valentino - I would like to thank the Department Heads for their tremendous work on the budget . Councilwoman Harrison - At the next regular meeting would the Board continue these discussions ? Mrs . Noteboom - I suggest another special budget meeting in August , because the Budget Officer needs to file the Tentative Budget with the Town Clerk by September 20 , 1996 . The County has started charging the Town for printing the tax bills the last two years , it costs eight cents for each . There is a possibility that because of the new format to make room for the Solid Waste Fee being put on the tax bills , the bills will now cost 25 cents each to be printed . The County hopes to absorb the cost this year only, the difference between the eight cents and 25 cents , but if the Committee reviewing it says no , they will be charging the Town 25 cents each . There are 5 , 000 bills , and I have noted that in the budget . Councilman Wolff - Why is there an increase for this process ? Mrs. Noteboom - Because the County is saying that the format of the tax bills had to be changed to accommodate the Solid Waste fee being added to the bill . The charge for the fee cannot be placed in the top section of the bill the way the school and other taxes are , it must be put in the middle of the bill . Councilwoman Russell - Why would that raise the price? Mrs . Noteboom - The County is having someone design the new bill , and there will be a charge in how it is printed . The Board was in agreement to hold another special meeting to consider the budget on Wednesday August 14 , 1996 @ 5 : 00 p . m . AGENDA ITEM NO . 7 " ADJOURNMENT . As there was no further business to come before the Town Board a motion was made by TOWN BOARD MINUTES 45 JULY 29 , 1996 Councilwoman Harrison , seconded by Councilman Klein to adjourn . Carried unanimously . Supervisor Valentino adjourned the meeting at 9 : 56 p . m . Respectfully submitted , Joan Lent Noteboom Town Clerk/ Director of Administrative Services " Next Regular- Meeting - August 12 , 1996 @ 5 : 30 p . m . ' Special Meeting - August 14 , 1996 @ 5 : 00 p . m . " " " Minutes Transcribed by Deborah A . Kelley OF 1 ?',y `9 TOWN OF ITHACA Q' ^� 126 EAST SENECA STREET, ITHACA , N . Y . 14850 TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273- 1704 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING July 29 , 1996 5 : 30 p. m . AGENDA 1 . Call to Order. 2 . Pledge of Allegiance . 3 . Consider Quarterly Financial Report . 4 , Consider possible acquisition of Inlet Valley parcels from Tompkins County. 5 , 1997 BUDGET WORK SESSION . 6 . Consider ADJOURNMENT. Additional Agenda Items : 1 . Consider voluntary contribution to City of Ithaca Business Improvement District , �1y OF I r _ TOWN OF ITHACA 21 04� 126 EAST SENECA STREET , ITHACA , N . Y . 14850 � Y TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273- 1704 Town Board Meeting 7/29/96 Additional Agenda Item No . 1 Voluntary Contribution to City of Ithaca Business Improvement District (BID) Resolution No . 132 WHEREAS , the Town of Ithaca' s Comprehensive Plan designates the City of Ithaca' s downtown as the commercial core of the area , and WHEREAS , the economic health of downtown is important to all parts of the county, and WHEREAS , a concentration of development helps maintain open space for agriculture , recreation , and rural residence outside the city, and WHEREAS , the proposed Business Improvement District ( BID) will work to increase the economic strength of the central downtown area , and WHEREAS , the success of the BID will depend on adequate funding , now therefore be it RESOLVED , that the Town of Ithaca Town Board hereby agrees to make a voluntary in lieu of BID assessment payment in 1997 based on the assessed value of property in the BID area owned by the Town of Ithaca of $ 1 . 50 per $ 1 , 000 . 00 assessed value , on the condition that the BID be approved and accepted by January 1997 , and the voluntary payment is found not to violate the New York State Constitution . MOVED : Councilwoman Harrison SECONDED : Councilman Wolff Supervisor Valentino , aye ; Councilwoman Grigorov , aye ; Councilman Klein , aye ; Councilwoman Harrison , aye ; Councilwoman Russell , aye ; Councilman Wolff, aye . Carried unanimously. DATED: July 29, 1996 A." Joan Lent Noteboom , Town Clerk OF I r TOWN OF ITHACA �,� 2i o4� 126 EAST SENECA STREET , ITHACA , N . Y . 14850 � Y TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273- 1704 Town Board Meeting 7/29/96 Agenda Item No . 4 Acquisition Inlet Valley Parcels From Tompkins County Resolution No , 133 BE IT RESOLVED , the Town Supervisor, with the assistance of the Town Planner and the Attorney for the Town is hereby authorized and directed to negotiate an agreement for the acquisition of lands located in Inlet Valley from Tompkins County at a price not to exceed $ 12 , 500 . 00 . MOVED : Councilwoman Harrison SECONDED : Councilwoman Russell Supervisor Valentino , aye ; Councilwoman Grigorov , aye ; Councilman Klein , aye ; Councilwoman Harrison , aye ; Councilwoman Russell , aye ; Councilman Wolff , aye . Carried unanimously. DATED : July 29 , 1996 Joan Lent Noteboom , Town Clerk �zy OF IT� _ TOWN OF ITHACA i,4& 21 EAST SENECA STREET , ITHACA , N . Y . 14850 TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273-1704 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING July 29 , 1996 5 : 30 p. m . AGENDA 1 . Call to Order . 2 . Pledge of Allegiance . 3 . Consider Quarterly Financial Report , 4 . Consider possible acquisition of Inlet Valley parcels from Tompkins County, 50 1997 BUDGET WORK SESSION . 6 . Consider ADJOURNMENT. Additional Agenda Items : 1 . Consider voluntary contribution to City of Ithaca Business Improvement District. OF 1P TOWN OF ITHACA 21 EAST SENECA STREET , ITHACA , N . Y . 14850 � Y TOWN CLERK 273-1721 HIGHWAY 273-1656 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 273-1747 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 273-1783 FAX (607) 273- 1704 TOWN OF ITHACA AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING AND PUBLICATION I , Joan Lent Noteboom , being duly sworn , say that I am the Town Clerk of the Town of Ithaca , Tompkins County, New York ; that the following notice has been duly posted on the sign board of the Town Clerk of the Town of Ithaca and the notice has been duly published in the local newspaper, ( Ithaca Journal ) : Public Hearing Notice : Amendment to the Traffic Ordinance to prohibit parking on portions of Crest Lane . Location of Sign Board Used For Posting : Town Clerk's Office 126 East Seneca Street Ithaca , NY 14850 Date of Posting : July 22 , 1996 Date of Publication : July 24, 1996 ga2:2UIA r; Town Clerk, Town of Ithaca STATE OF NEW YORK ) COUNTY OF TOMPKINS ) SS : TOWN OF ITHACA ) Sworn to and subscribed before me this ` day of k/. 1 g�J (�l r( AA N ar Public PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE TOWN OF ITHACA PLEASE TAKE NOTICE , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will hold a public hearing at the regular meeting of the Town Board on August 12 , 1996 , at 6 : 30 p . m . , at the Town Hall , 126 East Seneca Street , Ithaca , New York in order that they may consider an amendment to the Traffic Ordinance to prohibit parking on portions of Crest Lane . PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE , all citizens at the aforementioned time and place shall be afforded the opportunity to voice their approval or opposition of the said local law , and . PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE , individuals with visual impairments , hearing impairments or other special needs , will be provided with assistance as necessary, upon request . Persons desiring assistance must make a request not less than 48 hours prior to the time of the public hearing . Joan Lent Noteboom Town Clerk July 22 , 1996 T,heYlthaca Journal; PUBLISH : Wednesday, July 241996 j ' d 7 ''n f ��ti 1 G " L}7ljQ i �,trr ttiY 1 .4ff, UBI:IC HEARING , TOWNaOF,ITHACA , � P.LEASE 'TAKENOTICE�thot'- r�- .F c . sty .:tea u 'ofelthaca w�l �ltold ?aep bhnof=less hani 48: hou sepnor heari_n rat th reg lar ^mee) to thettlme of theypubhc;taear f a gy . 3 In ' k 'i sY3 �s� Y` r?7:ktaY «t i':;'� , ing of the •Town B`oard�,an� A9 � ,, , L August rl2;�`1496 kpt 6 30, € 5 off am entTown G rk past" Seneca StreeH Ithaca, \ ° }'1u1y 22, 1996r E ju 24, 1996;mss 13 , NewWYork�in ,order�;thatcthey.. ..,.. T.mayy consfderLan„omendment 4jo, the eTrppg8c1 4ordinnonce,;to, of 060? ner a orj rt on{) t PLEASE;:*sTAKE;3f,URTHMjNQQ„ DICE,,,aIlQ,! clI 6n's'A—the; aforementioned l'tf mei, and . kplace„ ahall rbeT`pfforded ,the� , opporfuniy"�to,yoice;•theli4api '.jproval,,or,xopposifionNof he said local$law,y6nd .01 i: PLEASE rTAKEjfQRTHER NQ> �;TICE„ Indivlduals�%�w,lth �visu6l ,' impalrmenfs;�hearirig �Impalr� menu orothep sp'oclpin�eei!'si1 will;;be1°provided wwlth+assn 'ta nce"a s'snecess'dry��uppon4r`o- ( •quest*,:iP,ersoris1tleslrfngaee