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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-08-RTB Town of Ulysses Regular Town Board Meeting February 8 , 2011 * *Audio available at www.ulysses.nv.us Present : Supervisor Roxanne Marino ; Councilpersons David Kerness, Kevin Romer, Lucia i Tyler and Elizabeth Thomas ; Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde ; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys . Others Present : Anne Furman, Jane Penrose, Anne Schneiderman, Dr. Maureen Carter, E. R. Hoebeke, David Fontanella, Betsy Hardin, Eric Banford, John Wertis, Anne Koreman, Sandra Steingragher, Steve Penningroth, Ian Connerty, Marty Petrovic, Jonathan Cook, Tree Cook, K. Ludulg, Mary Off, Jim Dennis, Cathy Bair, Don Ellis, Peter Fry, Robert Thomas, Don Smith, John Coggin, Rene Carver, Tom Slater, Tim Reynolds, Jan Corrells, John Gurcitz, Michelle Bamberger, Patty Stoiko,William George, Chip Martin, Ken Zeserson, Chair — Planning Board, Robert Oswald, David Slottje, Helen Slottje, Michael Dineen, Anthony Okama, Supervisor Marino called the meeting to order at 7 : 00 p .m . BUDGET MODIFICATIONS Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the following YE 2010 Budget Modification : A Fund 1111 . 1 Justice PS increase $ . 02 1460 . 4 Records Management increase $ 1 , 314 . 34 1920 . 4 Municipal Dues increase $ 250 . 00 9060 . 8 Medical Ins . increase $ 5 , 112 . 95 7550 .4 Celebrations increase $ 1 , 167 . 67 1220 .4 Supervisor CE decrease $ 4,284 . 77 1450 .4 Elections CE decrease $ 2 ,392 . 54 1110.4 Justices CE decrease $ 1 , 167 . 67 B Fund 9060 . 8 Medical Ins . increase $ 1 ,372 . 92 8010 . 1 Zoning CE increase $ 236 . 61 8011 . 1 Deputy Zoning PS decrease $ 1 ,619 . 53 DA Fund 9060 . 8 Medical Ins . increase $ 1 , 162 . 81 5142 .4 Snow Removal decrease $ 1 , 162 . 81 DB Fund 9060 . 8 Medical Ins increase $ 4,020 . 15 Revenue DB 599 decrease $ 4,020 . 15 Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye Regular Town Boiard Meeting 2 February 8 , 2011 Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the 2010 vouchers in the amount of $4,700 and voucher # ' s 16 through 71 in the amount of $ 38 ,052 . 50 (2011 ) . Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve minutes for the Organizational Meeting 1 /7/2011 , Regular TB Meeting 1 / 11 /2011 , Special TB Meeting ! 2/25 /2011 , and the Public Hearing 2/25/2011 as edited and corrected. Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye, abstained for 1 / 11 /2011 Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County Board Representative Jim Dennis had not arrived. TrumansburgIFire & EMS Department — No one in attendance . Village of Tru 'mansburg — Mayor Petrovic reported that the first budget workshop is February 9th TOWN REPORTS Planning Board Chairman Ken Zeserson reported that the application for the re-zoning on Route 96 has been withdrawn. The next meeting of the Planning Board is scheduled for February 16th . Mr. Zeserson said that he understands there is a letter of interest received for the vacant seat on the Planning Board. Supervisor Marino said that the Board received a letter of interest for the Planning Board and the person has been interviewed by members of the Town Board. Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the appointment of Sarah Adams to the Ulysses Planning Board . Regular Town Board Meeting 3 February 8 , 2011 Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Highway Superintendent James Meeker had not arrived. Town Clerk Marsha Georgia reported that the total fees collected for the month of January were $ 1 ,279 . 50 and $ 1 , 180 . 5 was turned over to the Supervisor. Ms. Georgia also reported that she had paid the Supervisor $ 1 ,097 , 819 . 40 for the total amount to be raised by taxes and she will turn over the 1st installment payments to the County along with a payment of $2 , 515 ,000 . 00 for part of the 2011 total warrant. Ms . Georgia said that the new system for the dog control was moving along smoothly. Ms . Marino announced a meeting of the TC Animal Control on February 18tH Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun absent. Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde said that the latest draft of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan has been presented to the Town Board. The committee completed their tasks on February 3rd . Ms. Poelvoorde would like approval from the Town Board to send it on to Tompkins County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board for their review and approval. Ms . Marino moved seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses submits the February 3 , 2011 draft "Ulysses Ag and Farmlands Protection Plan" to the Tompkins County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board for their review and comments . Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Town Board and Committees Reports Ms. Thomas reported : • Met with Trumansburg School officials reviewing the programs of Youth Development for kids at risk and other programs • Preparing to attend a Trumansburg Board of Education meeting to discuss using parking areas on school grounds for a fundraiser for Youth programs during Grassroots • Beautification Grant applications are available • Reviewed topics from the TGCOG • Distributed an overview of Bradford County Trip Presentation Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board Mr. Zeserson, Chairman of the Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board said that the Gas Drilling Advisory Board was created a year ago with a very broad mandate to perform public education about horizontal gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation and also to advise the Town Board on matters pertaining to gas drilling. In August the Advisory Board decided to go throughout the Town with a petition to try to find out what the residents think about the issue . With the help of the Concerned Citizens of Ulysses Regular Town Board Meeting 4 February 8 , 2011 and Back to Democracy groups, they went out and got over one thousand signatures . The petition was presented to the Town Board along with a resolution for their review . Mr. Zeserson introduced Robert Oswald of the Concerned Citizens of Ulysses who gave a presentation on the petition effort and demographics of the residents petitioned. This presentation is available of the Town ' s web site at www. ulysses . ny . us . David Slotjje, attorney, working with• the group read a statement. (Can be heard in it ' s entirety on the Town' s web site .) The public was allowed, after the presentation, to make comments and they can be heard on the audio version of this meeting on the Ulysses web page (address above) . REPORTS Tompkins County Representative Jim Dennis reported that the County had a meeting with Senator Tom O ' Mara to discuss the Governor' s budget and the impact of the Governor' s proposal to cap property tax at 2% . If the County has to cap at a 2% increase, that would mean a $2 . 3 million deficit before going into 2012 . Mandate relief has to come with a cap program. There is no complete picture yet of what the effect will be . Schools will be hard hit. Mr. Dennis thanked Highway Superintendent Meeker for the great work his department is doing with the keeping the roads plowed. Highway Superintendent Jams Meeker reported the activities of the Highway Department for the month. Activities included mostly salting and plowing since the 1St of the year. They' ve had only three days off. They are also doing the necessary equipment maintenance. Board Members Ms. Tyler reported that at the first meeting of the Health Consortium this year they spent the time discussing issues brought forward by the various participants and requested feedback. She requested that all', employees in the Town that are having problems with the new program to contact her with the issues . Mr. Romer is still working on the RFP proposal for ambulance service and will submit an updated draft to the Attorney. Mr. Romer said he has received several calls about pursing the RFP because residents do feel like the cost may be getting out of hand. Supervisor Marino reviewed the following: • The request for re-zoning being withdrawn • New voice mail system for the phones being installed on February 9th • The 2010 operating statement being finalized and the AUD being started — a copy of the final 20110 operating statement will be provided to the Board • Last year the Board voted to participate in looking into cell tower legislation and the first meeting with the attorney and the group is February 14tH • There is lithe six Town energy effort and asked if any Board member would like to participate • A meeting with the TCCOGs road committee on Thursday at loam put on by Cornell Law • There were 11 RFPs received for the Road Law and they need to be reviewed by the committee OLD BUSINESS Ag & Farmland Protection Plan — next steps The Board received the Draft Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plan and they need to schedule some meetings to review . The Board discussed scheduling a 3rd working meeting of the month. It was determined that the 3rd meeting will be the 3rd Wednesday starting on March 16th from 9 : 00 a.m . to 11 : 00 a.m. Scheduling & IAgenda items for February Working Meeting Regular Town Board Meeting 5 February 8 , 2011 The full Board will not be able to attend the second meeting scheduled for February 22 . The Board rescheduled the meeting for March 1St from 2 : 00 p .m . to 4 : 00 p .m. Sale of Property (update) Mr. Kerness reported on what he had found out about the value of the two Town ' s vacant properties. He has spoken with several realtors . The Board unanimously decided to let Mr. Kerness follow through with this and use a realtor. NEW BUSINESS Resolution to Clarify Voucher Procedure Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following resolution : Whereas on January 7 , 2011 , the Town Board approved the attached procedure (Resolution 2 of 2011 ) for review and audit of the monthly claims before presentation for Board approval at the regular monthly meeting, to begin in February 2011 , and Whereas the above procedure needs small modifications for clarity, BE IT RESOLVED that step # 1 be modified to add the following : "The Clerk will attach a printed coversheet to each claim, with spaces delineated for the account number to be charged, all of the required initials, and additional detail as may be necessary (see #2 , #4) . " BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that step #9 of the procedure be modified to add the following : "Files by vendor will be created and maintained by the Clerk' s office . " Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Resolution on Property Tax Cap (TCCOG) Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : Urging New York State to Significantly Cut the Unfunded Mandates that Cause Local Property Tax Increases Before Imposing a Property Tax Cap WHEREAS , New York property taxes are nearly eighty percent (80%) above the national average, and WHEREAS , New York municipal leaders have long recognized the need for lower property taxes and have been strong advocates in support of lowering the local property tax burden for decades, and WHEREAS , Governor Cuomo and many State Legislators support a cap on local property tax levies of two percent (2%) or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, but the current property tax cap proposals do not reduce or eliminate current State mandates on local governments or prevent new mandates which often result in increased expenses to local governments, and WHEREAS , the State government is imposing the property tax cap, however the State government runs primarily on income tax collections, not property tax , and an income tax cap is not being proposed . It is local governments that rely in large part on property tax , Regular Town Board Meeting 6 February 8 , 2011 yet the ultimate mandate of a property tax cap is being proposed at the state level where their budget will feel little impact from the cap , and WHEREAS , a simple property tax cap will leave in place the inequities of New York ' s system, which relies on the regressive property tax to pay for public schools, health care for the poor, and other safety net programs rather than fund these program through income taxes, and WHEREAS , arbitrarily capping property taxes would cripple local governments within a few short years, because all non-mandated spending such as for recreation, youth development, programs for the aging, libraries, etc would slowly be eliminated to meet the cap, and WHEREAS , little action has been taken by New York State to decrease or control the costs of unfunded State mandates, which have been driving up local property tax levels for decades, and WHEREAS , capping property taxes without mandate relief will affect county and school budgets more significantly than town or village budgets but county programs and school districts service local municipalities and those services are likely to be seriously eroded without mandate relief, and WHEREAS , counties have no choice over how to spend most of their locally raised revenues, as mandates from Albany and state-determined pension costs make up as much as ninety percent (90%) of a typical county budget, and WHEREAS , in addition to State Mandated pensions the major cost drivers of local property taxes are other unfunded and underfunded state mandates, such as Medicaid, early intervention services, pre-school special education, public assistance, child welfare, youth detention, probation, and indigent defense, along with numerous other programs, such as storm water regulations and code enforcement, and WHEREAS , these mandated costs grow well in excess of the rate of inflation nearly every year, including for example : • County payments by all local governments to the New York State Retirement System are expected to rise forty percent (40%) in 2011 and by a similar amount in 2012 , and have grown by over one-thousand percent ( 1 ,000%) since the year 2000 , due to generous benefit expansions determined and mandated by the State Legislature and Governor. • Since 2005 , the local share of Medicaid costs has increased at least three percent (3 %) each year and sometimes by double-digit annual increases in the years prior to 2005 . • The State continued to shift its costs to counties in the 2009-2010 and 2010- 2011 State budgets by more than $400 million in human service delivery alone, and WHEREAS , school districts are facing cuts in state foundation aid as well as a cap in the amount of local revenue that can be raised to fill the gaps created by those cuts . As proposed the tax cap will destroy the ability of many districts to meet the needs of children; and WHEREAS , school district budgets are passed by public referendum of those who reside within it boundaries, a powerful tool for local citizens that would be greatly diminished by an artificial cap imposed by another government body, and WHEREAS , the cap will leave in place the inequities among school districts because it does nothing to level the playing field between wealthy and poorer districts, and because the wealthier districts will be more likely to override the cap . The property tax cap , especially coupled with state aid cuts, will disproportionately hurt lower-income New Yorkers, and widen the gap between rich and poor in New York State, and Regular Town Board Meeting 7 February 8 , 2011 WHEREAS , simply capping property taxes does nothing to reduce the costs of these and many other State services that local municipalities must pay for and implement at the local level ; in fact a property tax cap preserves the unjust system of taxation, where local taxes pay for state programs, and WHEREAS , the Governor' s property tax cap proposal allows local boards to override the cap with a two-thirds majority vote, thereby not only shifting costs to local governments, but also unfairly shifting blame to local leaders for tax increases that are actually caused by the State, now therefore be it RESOLVED , That the Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG), which includes all municipalities in Tompkins County, urges New York State to take fiscal responsibility for services over which it has decision-making authority, rather than require local governments to pay for its decisions ; this will in turn reduce the property tax burden and not preserve the status quo , RESOLVED, that the Town of Ulysses is opposed to the property tax cap without mandate relief, RESOLVED, further, that the Town of Ulysses stands with the Tompkins County Council of Governments to urge the Governor and State Legislature not to impose a local property tax cap unless and until it is coupled with significant cuts in local costs for State mandated programs that cause local property tax increases, or development of aid formulas and Home Rule Legislation authority to ease the burdens borne by local governments RESOLVED, further, that copies of this resolution be sent to Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, State Senate Leader Dean Skelos, Senate Minority Leader John Sampson, State Senators Thomas O ' Mara, James Seward, Michael Nozzolio , and Jeffrey Klein, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, the New York Association of Counties, the New York State Association of Towns, and the New York State Conference of Mayors . Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Executive Session Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses go into Executive Session to discuss matters related to the appointment, promotion, demotion, discipline, or removal of particular personnel . Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted The Board adjoined to executive session at 10 : 15 pm The Board re-convened and Ms . Tyler moved, seconded by Mr. Romer to adjourn the meeting. Unanimously approved and meeting adjourned at 10 : 45pm . Regular Town Board Meeting 8 February 8 , 2011 Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG: mlg