HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Committee Minutes 2-08-2021
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BUDGET COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes - February 08, 2021
Committee present: Eric Levine - Chairman, Pamela Bleiwas
Committee excused: Pat Leary
Staff present: Donna Shaw, Judy Drake, Joe Slater, Bill Goodman, Dan Thaete, Paulette Rosa, Marty
Mosely
Others present: Rod Howe
Meeting was called to order by Chairman Levine at 12:01 p.m.
AGENDA ITEMS:
Discuss Village of Cayuga Heights concerns regarding taxes and DA Fund.
Linda Woodard, Mayor of Cayuga Heights addressed the Committee regarding the DA Fund and
Village residents sharing the cost of Town snow removal. She recognizes that the Town has the
legal right to establish a town-wide highway fund for snow removal costs. She feels that since the
Village has their own Highway Department and plows their own roads, Village residents should not
have to contribute to Town snow removal. She also explained that the Village of Cayuga Heights is
not surrounded by the Town, as most villages are, and only a few residents would need to use Town
roads to leave the Village. For these reasons, she takes exception to the DA Fund and a town-wide
property tax for snow removal. There was discussion about the history of the DA and DB highway
funds and a feeling among the Committee members that the Village residents, who are also Town
residents, should contribute to snow removal as allowed by Town Law.
Report on Sales Tax and Mortgage Tax Collections for the Year Ended December 31, 2020.
- Sales Tax Collections: Collections in 2020 totaled $3,280,847, which was.9% higher than the
$3,250,000 budgeted. This was also a decrease of $316,315 (or 8.8%) from the 2019 total
collections of $3,597,162. Sales tax revenues are distributed between the General Part-Town
Fund and Highway Part-Town Fund.
Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Sales Tax 3,067,336$ 3,003,943$ 3,184,969$ 3,388,799$ 3,597,162$ 3,280,847$
Mortgage Tax 415,760 286,227 279,791 299,934 400,947 297,101
Tax Collections
- Mortgage Tax - Mortgage taxes decreased $103,846 or 25.9%, from collections totaling
$400,947 in 2019 to $297,101 in 2020. Mortgage tax revenues are assigned to the General
Town-wide Fund.
Update/discussion on Investment of Town Funds.
We currently have $8,000,000 in Certificate of Deposits earning .71% at the Trust Company that will
mature in May. They have offered .18% for a new 12-month Certificate of Deposit. In January the
Town earned $2,316 in interest income in our Super Savings account with an average daily balance of
$17,041,819. This account has a variable interest rate and we are waiting for more information from
the Trust Company about proposed rates going forward. It is recognized that rates are not favorable
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right now and there was some discussion about surveying other local area banks regarding rates.
Review of Town’s Long-Term Debt and Initial Discussion on possible 2021 Bond Issue.
The attached report reviews the outstanding debt by fund on January 1, 2021. Total bonds
outstanding are $14,495,000 with $1,570,620 owed by the General Fund; $1,730,625 by Highway
Part-Town and $11,193,755 by Water Fund.
The 2013 bond issue has a first call date of August 1, 2021 which means we have the option to pay
off the issue (in whole or in part) or refinance. We will explore our options over the next couple of
months.
We are anticipating the approval of $1,800,000 in new long-term debt to finance 2021 Water
Improvement projects – Campbell-Hopkins Water System Improvement for $750,000 and King Road
East Water Main Extension for $1,050,000. Due to sufficient cash balances to initially fund the
projects, staff and the Committee agreed that we would likely wait until 2022 or 2023 to issue this
debt.
Initial discussion regarding development of a Fund Balance Policy.
There were two policies shared with the Committee as an example – City of Peekskill and City of
Saratoga Springs. Staff will be working on a draft policy to share with Committee soon.
Other Items.
- Moody’s Investors Service – Issuer Comment: We received Moody’s annual comment and
shared with the Committee. Notable credit factors (in the report) include a “very healthy
financial position, a negligible debt burden and a small pension liability”.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Next Meeting: Monday, March 8, 2021 at 12:00 pm, Town Hall - Aurora Room or Zoom
Amount
Outstanding
Public Improvement (Serial) Bonds - 2013 1,555,000 284,000 567,000 704,000
Public Improvement Refunding Bonds - 2014-A 380,000 - - 380,000
Public Improvement (Serial) Bonds - 2014-B 1,895,000 - 570,000 1,325,000
Public Improvement (Serial) Bonds - 2015 2,075,000 - 563,000 1,512,000
Public Improvement (Serial) Bonds - 2018 3,700,000 - - 3,700,000
Public Improvement (Serial) Bonds - 2020-A 3,340,000 1,260,370 - 2,079,630
Public Improvement Refunding Bonds - 2020-B 1,550,000 26,250 30,625 1,493,125
Total General Obligation Long-Term Debt 14,495,000$ 1,570,620$ 1,730,625$ 11,193,755$
WaterDescription of Debt Highway Part-
Town
General