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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-10 - TB Town of Ulysses Regular Town Board Meeting November 10, 2008 PRESENT : Supervisor Douglas Austic ; Council Rod Ferrentino, David Kerness, Elizabeth Thomas and Lucia Tyler; Town Clerk Marsha L . Georgia; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys . Others Present : Chris Austin, Dog Control Officer, Roxanne Marino, and Daniele Winterton, Ithaca Journal Reporter. Supervisor Austic called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 PM and led those assembled in the pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. APPROVAL OF MINUTES After some minor changes by Ms . Tyler, Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the minutes of the Regular Town Board meeting of October 14, 2008 , the Special Town Board minutes of June 26 , 2008 , October 1 , 2 , 15 , 20, and the 29t of 2008 . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Mr. Austic said that before the claims could be approved there had to be a budget modification. Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the following budget modifications : • Decrease Contingency A1990 .4 $2620. 09 • Increase Court CE A1110.4 1745 . 30 • Increase Records Mngt . A1460 . 4 874. 79 Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Ms . Tyler moved seconded by Mr. Kerness the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the previous examined vouchers #397 through 429 in the amount of $ 14, 887. 73 . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Regular Town Board Meeting 2 11 / 10/2008 Ms . Tyler aye Adopted REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Dog Control Officer Chris Austin reported that every thing is going very well ; all the tickets have been issued and he has answered all the complaints that have come before him. Mr. Austin said that he sees that the SPCA has billed the Town for 18 dogs which is a discrepancy to the actual dogs that he has turned over so he feels they are billing the Town for dogs that people are surrendering. Mr. Austin has reports as to the dogs he has taken to the SPCA and Mr. Austic will check into the billing. Mr. Austin said that lately he has taken the dogs to his facility so the owners can redeem the dogs easier. The reaction to this from the dog owners was excellent because they did not have to drive the distance to the SPCA to retrieve their pet. Mr. Austin ' s facilities have been inspected by Ag and Markets . Mr. Austic feels that he could handle the impoundment in the future for the five days . Mr. Austic feels that it will take awhile for the public to learn that he is the dog control officer in Ulysses . Also the Tompkins County agencies have to be educated to the fact. Mr. Austin said it would be helpful if when the SPCA is called that they just give the complainant his phone number instead of taking the message and they call him . The Town will do some more advertising of the fact that there is a new Dog Control Officer, and add his cell phone to the web page (his name and home phone are on the web page presently) . If at all possible have a separate listing in the phone book for Mr. Austin. A problem with Mr. Austin ' s communication system arises from his inability to receive cell phone calls when he is at home and no way to forward home calls to his cell phone leaving a hole in the method for Town residents to reach him. Mr. Austin is not clear who is the director of the SPCA and feels Abigail Smith is not the director. Ms . Tyler said that if Mr. Austin was to impound the dogs in his facility the Board should inspect such facility. The contract would have to be revised to include this . Mr. Austin has no contract with a veterinarian to care for injured dogs . He uses Vivian Sherman unofficially. Tompkins County Representative Jim Dennis — absent Trumansburg Fire Department — see report below. Planning Board Report — Mr. Kerness reported that the Planning Board plans to meet with Mr. Rachun and Mr . Coogan to discuss a Conservation Overlay on November 18th , 2008 . The discussion will revolve around what an overlay would mean and what some of the requirements would be for boundary conditions . They are just going to be trying to put some guidelines down so when the Planning Board reviews they would have some kind of process to access . Comprehensive Plan Committee Report — Ms . Thomas said that some of the committee people met with Ed Marx because he is working on the Rt . 96 Corridor Study and he had some concerns after reading the draft Ulysses Comprehensive Plan that the Rt. 96 Study did not include Krums Corners intersection as a node or a certain concentrated area of development and the Ulysses Comprehensive Plan does include that area. This is a big concern of Mr. Marx ' s and they are going to try and work this out. Ms . Thomas said that the Town Board can probably expect the CPC to come to the Board , at the December Regular Town Board meeting to declare themselves as lead agency. Recreation Partnership Representative — Ms . Marino stated that the Town should try to find a replacement as the representative to the Partnership because it is increasingly difficult for her to attend the meetings because they re at 4 : 15 on the last Tuesday of the month due to her work. If the Partnership is able to change their meeting time this could resolve itself She is willing to be the alternate . PUBLIC PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR t Regular Town Board Meeting 3 • 11 / 10/2008 Ms . Marino said she will repeat what she said at the public hearing and that is she is concerned about using a large amount of sales tax and fund balance because of the potential down turn of the economy that is being currently forecasted . Governor Patterson stated that he had reported recently that there would be a 25 % decrease in the State Budget and the Budget after that would be even worse . Also the unemployment is at an all time high. Ms . Marino suggested that the Board be more conservative with sales tax and fund balance so in the future years the residents are not hit with a large tax increase . Mr. Kerness said that he was talking with David Squires and at this time the Town of Ithaca has a 4 . 7 % unrestricted fund balance and the Town of Ulysses has a 31 % . Mr. Kerness does not feel that is being under conservative ; that is extremely conservative . Mr. Kerness said that in respect to the revenue side the Town could be potentially understating their revenue by $ 100, 000 so he does not feel that the Town ' s budget today is not conservative by any measure that we normally use . TOWN REPORTS Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported the following : • Mowed back ditches for sight distance & brush removal • Paved invert at Church Road for channeling water into catch basin • Working on changing oil & filters on equipment for winter • Salt boxes installed • Loader back from 5 - Star Equipment where the head gasket, injectors and injection pump repaired • 198 Mack has to have a new front spring installed at Beam Mack before it will pass inspection Mr. Meeker said that he talked with Fingerlakes Construction about the plans for the building and they tell him they should been done very shortly. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun - absent Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that a total of $ 3 , 101 was collected for the month of October and $ 836 . 68 was turned over to the Supervisor along with her monthly report. Also one plumbing permit was issued and $2 , 072 . 22 was collected for conservation licenses . Ms . Georgia also reported on the Winter Festival that is taking place on December 5th & 6th . She invited the Town Board to help with the serving of the free hot dogs that the Town is providing Saturday night at the Fairgrounds before the fireworks . Board Members and Committees Ms . Thomas reported that the Trumansburg Village is reconvening members of their Comprehensive Plan Committee to look at the potential uses of their new annexed property, so for right now they will keeping a moratorium on that land. The sidewalk brick placement has been completed by volunteers and they are very hopeful that the street lights will be lit for the Winter Festival . Response rate by volunteers for EMS ambulance calls have improved dramatically. Supervisor Austic previously distributed the monthly financial statement to the Board . No one had any questions OLD BUSINESS 2009 Budget Mr. Ferrentino wanted to make comments or ask questions about a couple of line items in the budget. First the $ 5000 allocated for Stream Research he is against this and feels that it is a waste of tax payer' s money the way it is laid out right now and other agencies are doing testing. Regular Town Board Meeting 4 11 / 10/2008 Mr. Austic also said he was against :this also, Ms . Thomas said this money is ear marked to look into stream management and not set aside at this time for any particular contract. Mr. Ferrentino said another concern is the money being put into the budget of $ 11 ,000 for a Village building when the Village has not even bought the building nor has any plans for any work . Ms . Thomas said that a community center would be used by all not just Village residents and if that comes about in 2009 the Town would have money to contribute to it. Mr. Austic said he believes the money should not be put in the budget until there is a concrete plan. Mr. Ferrentino agreed. Mr. Ferrentino is not in support of setting aside money to work on the action items for the Comprehensive Plan. Both Mr. Austic and Mr. Ferrentino expressed their disapproval of doing another audit so soon. Mr. Austic still would rather see an increase in the bookkeeper pay and not the Supervisor' s pay. Mr. Kerness said he sees the Supervisor as taking on more responsibility and manage people who answer to the Supervisor. Ms . Thomas commented on the Budget Presentation for 2009 and the changes that need to be made . • Mr. Austic said that she can provide him with the changes and he can make them or she can. The board discussed who is supervising employees at the Town Hall . Mr. Kerness feels the employees at the Town Hall need supervision but Mr. Austic pointed out that the only person he should supervise is Dick Coogan and Alex Rachun. Department heads are responsible for their own departments but Department heads are not always present . Mr. Kerness is concerned people don ' t know who they report to. Ms . Thomas has hand written changes to the 2009 budget explanation but since all electronic copies of the narrative in Word that can be edited were lost. Ms . Georgia will try to recreate it in Word so Ms . Thomas can make edits . Since Ms . Thomas ' s changes are extensive, the budget will be passed temporarily without the narrative and readdress this issue at the next meeting. Hearing all the concerns Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses adopt the 2009 preliminary budget. Mr. Austic abstained - Mr. Ferrentino nay Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Ms . Thomas introduced the following resolution, moved by Ms . Thomas, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following : Regular Town Board Meeting 5 11 / 10/2008 Resolution Regarding Bookkeeping Accountability Whereas : Ulysses Town Board members are elected to be responsible for fiscal oversight for the citizens they represent; and Whereas : in order to perform these duties, each Board member of the Town of Ulysses must be supplied with accurate and complete budgetary information; Be it therefore resolved that for the upcoming 2010 budget which the Town Board will consider in the fall of 2009 , the bookkeeper provide EACH Town Board members with the following : • Budget justifications IN PRINT from each department explaining their requested expenditures in Contractual Expense (CE) and Equipment (EQ) lines . • The total amount of sales tax received throughout 2009 . • A tentative budget with accurate and DATED Year-to-Date figures using the sums from either the end of August or September. • A written estimate of any large appropriations or revenues expected for the remainder of the year e . g. a large outstanding bill for asphalt when the roadwork is projected to fall within the fiscal year. • A written prediction of the estimated year-end fund balances for the present fiscal year with equations written out and acronyms defined . Multiple terms should not be used to describe for the same budget item . • Each Town Board member will be provided with a hard copy of all year-end reports that are submitted to the State of New York Comptrollers . If this document exceeds 50 pages, then a single copy will be printed for Board members to share . • Continue to provide Town Board members and the public with a budget narrative describing that summarizes the main changes in spending within the 2010 budget. In November 2008 , this document was titled 2009 Budget Presentation. • In the 2009 fiscal year, the bookkeeper will breakdown the CE lines into subcategories such as utilities , office supplies, technical support, fuel , etc . in order to better understand spending patterns . • Budget amounts used during the budget season to calculate the upcoming year' s budget will use the same figures as were voted on when the budget was adopted (e . g. the 2009 "budget as modified" column will be the same as the adopted 2009 budget) except where modified . The bookkeeper will keep a written list tracking and explaining budget modifications made during the fiscal year. Added at the 11 / 10/08 meeting by Dave Kerness : • A summary of all reserve accounts . • A summary of all unrestricted accounts . Mr. Austic abstained Mr. Ferrentino abstained Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys reported about the email effective date in the memorandum that went out on the "Ethics Policy" and that effective date can not be made retroactive. The concern is the notice issue. Ms . Geldenhuys said she thinks it best that who ever got it in writing just to clarify that the information date is the day that they received it. Ms . Geldenhuys said that the other matter is a "FOIL" request that she worked on with Mr. Austic and Ms . Georgia and asked if they had any questions . Ms . Geldenhuys Regular Town Board Meeting 6 11 / 10/2008 explained that the FOIL request was from CSEA requesting detailed information on all employees . Her response was you give a list of employee ' s names, titles, office addresses, and salaries, but not private information. Trumansburg Fire Department Jason Fulton, Chief arrived after the Village Board meeting and reported that the firehouse is getting a much needed furnace and the roadside signs (property address signs) have been complete except for Rt. 89 . Mr. Fulton said that the Village just gave the okay to buy a new fire truck that will be ordered at the end of this year and will arrive by next fall . The price for this is $474,000 and the money is in the reserve account. Mr. Fulton said there were 59 calls, 42 EMS calls, 17 fire calls out of that total the Town of Ulysses had 14 EMS calls and 11 fire calls . Mr. Ferrentino said that Ms . Thomas had reported earlier in the meeting that EMS volunteer responses are better. Mr. Fulton said that is correct the evening coverage is much better. Mr. Fulton said that at the Village meeting the billing came up again for EMS service. It is kind of on the back burner but it is when it is going to happen because of all the new mandates that are coming out that have to be obeyed and the cost for everything is going up . Other Business Ms . Thomas asked Mr. Meeker about the sign Ms . Maguire had requested on Frontenac Road . Mr. Meeker reported that had been taken care of Mr. Meeker said that a petition will be coming to the Board from residents on South Street and Penn . Ave. about a reduction in the speed limit extending the Village speed limit. On Penn. Ave the Town would have to install the signs and maintain them . The process is the petition goes to the Town Highway Department, the Town Board, and Tompkins County and if everyone approves it then goes to the State and the State would make their determination as to if it warrants posting the reduced speed. Ms . Thomas said that she thought last July, Scott Doyle was going to come to a Board meeting to talk about Development Rights . Mr. Austic said that it was scheduled several times but was cancelled for one reason or another but he can see if that could be set up again . Hearing no further business Mr. Ferrentino moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness to adjourn the meeting. Unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 9 : 30 PM . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mlg