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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-18 Town Board Minutes OCTOBER 18, 2022 4:00 P.M. SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING BUDGET WORKSHOP The Special Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the Peter Alteri Jr. Municipal Garage, 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York with Supervisor Williams presiding. Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams Councilman, Jay E. Cobb Councilman, David J. Donlick Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido Councilman, Gregory K. Leach Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella Others present were: Town Financial Advisor, Richard Tupper; Financial Administrator, Megan Johnson; Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail Albro; Assistant to the Supervisor, Amanda Rainbow; Highway Sup’t. Larry Drach; Bill Carr, DCO and Jessica Mapley representing the Cortland Community SPCA. Others joining via Zoom video/telephone conference: News Reporter, Eddie Velasquez from the Cortland Voice. Supervisor Williams called the Special Meeting to order for the purpose of a Budget Workshop to discuss the 2023 Tentative Budget. He explained that the Town began the budget process in June 2022 and has put a lot of time and effort into the process. He asked the Town’s Financial Advisor, Richard Tupper, and Financial Administrator, Megan Johnson to provide an overview of the budget. Richard Tupper, Financial Advisor to the Town, explained that the budget process starts out with department heads providing a “wish list” to be reviewed by Supervisor Williams as the Budget Officer, and Megan Johnson, Financial Administrator. He noted the following with regard to the 2023 Tentative Budget: • B fund is $21,000 less than last year. • DB fund increased $276,000 from the 2022 budget. The Highway Department is the department that purchases the most supplies. The price of asphalt and stone has increased on all levels. • Trucks budgeted for: one new 10-wheel truck and two pickup trucks to replace a 2003 and 2004 truck that don’t have a lot of life left. The Highway Department has 5 plow routes with six relatively new plow trucks. • Total amount to be raised by taxes is up by $55,000. • The 2023 Tentative Budget is under the 2% tax cap. • A pay raise is included in the budget. • Health Insurance is up 9%, however the Town received “a break” as NYS Retirement costs came in lower than expected. The Town has $70,000 excess funds. Initially, Financial Administrator, Megan Johnson thought the Town would have to use retirement reserve money, which it does not. • In 2022 the tax rate for Cortlandville was $3.55. According to the 2023 Tentative Budget, the projected tax rate was $3.61 per thousand of assessed value, a $0.06 increase. In 2022, the tax rate for the villages within the Town was $2.58. According to the 2023 Tentative Budget, the projected tax rate for the villages would be $2.30 per thousand of assessed value, a $0.28 decrease. • Sales Tax: In the first three quarters of the year, the Town collected almost all of the sales tax revenue that was budgeted for in 2022 ($30,000 shy). Excess revenue will go into the B or DB funds. • Water & Sewer Department budgeted for a new pickup truck. • Money was put into the budget for a new entrance to Town Hall, including funds for a new employee and Sheriff to be on site 5 days per week. • The Town Park budget lines did not significantly increase. The Highway Superintendent has plans to pave the parking lots at Blodgett Mills Park and Testa Park. • Additional revenue was included in the budget for expected funds from the Town’s contract with PBR. • Highway Department revenue: CHIPS revenue increased $83,000 from the State which will help with paving costs. OCTOBER 18, 2022 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2 Mr. Tupper stated that overall, the 2023 Tentative Budget looked solid. He stated that they “could not find any real negatives” and that they went over the budget line by line asking themselves, “where did we make the mistake?” when the tentative budget was within the tax cap. Financial Administrator, Megan Johnson added that the department heads did a great job with their budgets, being cautious and not overspending, so the Town does not have to raise taxes. Mr. Tupper added that Town Assessor, David Briggs approached him and Supervisor Williams and commented on the excellent job that Mrs. Johnson was doing, explaining that she was able to calculate the proposed tax rates, which Assessor Briggs indicated was a very complicated calculation. Mr. Tupper and Supervisor Williams complimented Mrs. Johnson, with Supervisor Williams adding that as a Board, we are extremely fortunate with the employees we have. Mrs. Johnson commented that the budget process was smooth and stated, “we have a great team”. She mentioned that she was nervous when former Bookkeeper, Marcia Hicks retired after 30+ years of working on the budget. She thanked Mr. Tupper, Supervisor Williams, and the Supervisor’s Assistant, Amanda Rainbow for their help throughout the process. Supervisor Williams commented that this year, the Town has more revenue, which has been the pattern for the last 15-20 years. The growth and tax base in the Town adds enough to the tax base to bring money in. There wasn’t a lot of building going on in the Town, however, homes were refinanced, and corporations had activity, which all adds to the bottom line. Mr. Tupper stated that the Town is still in a growth mode. He mentioned the Town’s parks and specifically Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex (GLSC), which is already booked for the 2023 season. GLSC brings people in from out of the area to use the hotels and restaurants in the County. Supervisor Williams asked the Board if they had any questions or comments, to which there were none. Supervisor Williams apprised the Board that about two months ago, the SPCA made a presentation to him and others regarding their request for an increase in funding. He invited representatives from the SPCA to the workshop tonight to speak, which he stated is not typical for the Board’s workshop. Supervisor Williams asked the representatives from the SPCA to address the Board at this time. Jessica Mapley, the Shelter Manager for the Cortland Community SPCA, read the following letter from Emily Roberts, Executive Director: Dear Mr. Williams and the Cortlandville Town Board, The Cortland County SPCA has experienced a substantial increase in activity and we are asking the Town of Cortlandville to adjust our funding appropriately. • The average number of monthly complaints from Cortlandville/McGraw has doubled since 2019. o In 2019, we responded to an average of 11 complaints per month. August YTD 2022, we are responding to 33 complaints per month. o In 2019, we responded to 137 complaints total from Cotlandville/McGraw. August YTD we have already responded to 262 complaints. • Animal intake has risen significantly in the last several years. o In 2018, our shelter took in 429 animals. September YTD 2022 we have taken in 502. o We have broken monthly intake records for 8 of this year’s 9 months. • To match demand, we began hosting two spay/neuter clinics per month rather than just one beginning in April 2021. o In 2021, we spayed and neutered 238 public animals. o September YTD 2022, we have spayed and neutered 230 public animals. Our contract income has not seen a significant increase in a decade and the disparity of contract income that can cover personnel costs has been growing. To continue operating, we must compensate for this stagnation. If this trend were to continue, we would need to fundraise an additional $20,000 for every month of 2023 just to pay our employees. For perspective, $20,000 is approximately what we spend on veterinary care for the entire year. When initially presented with this issue, Cortlandville earmarked $20,000 through APRA Fund for the SPCA to get us through the end of this year. This is a critical step to rectifying this issue of the stagnating contract. However, our contract disparity is not an isolated cash flow problem and we will continue to see these issues in 2023 and beyond. McGraw’s dog control budget was $5,000 when we began serving them in 2008 and in 14 years has only just recently this past year increased by $250. The stipend that Cortlandville provides for spay/neuter services was $3,500 in 2008 and remains the same today. Meanwhile, within just the last 3 years, a cat neutered through our veterinary partners has more than doubled from $20 to costing us $50 today. OCTOBER 18, 2022 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3 In order to continue to serve our community and remain a no-kill shelter, we respectfully wish to request an increase in our annual contract. In conjunction with the impact of inflation and the state mandated minimum wage increases, we are asking for an increase in $73,566.25, bringing the annual contract income to $123,249.45. With the understanding that a lump sum of this magnitude may not be feasible, we are flexible on implementing a 3-year stepwise increase. This is the structure we have negotiated with Cortland County who have agreed to $20,000 per year increases and is currently the budgetary structure being voted on with the Town and Village of Marathon with $2,666 per year increases. If Cortlandville/McGraw were to implement a 3-year proposal, contract income would increase by approximately $24,333/year. We would like to thank the Town of Cortlandville and Village of McGraw for their time and consideration tonight and for the ongoing support of our organization and its mission. Sincerely, Emily Roberts Executive Director Supervisor Williams thanked Ms. Mapley and asked the Board for their comments. Mr. Tupper informed the Board that adding approximately $7,900 to the budget will cause the Town to go over the 2% tax cap. The Board could use additional unexpended fund balance to increase the budget line for the SPCA contract if they chose to do so. Supervisor Williams stated, “we looked at a lot of things” and “tried to be fairly conservative”. He mentioned that the Board recently awarded the SPCA $20,000 from the Town’s ARPA funds to be used towards veterinary services. Supervisor Williams asked if the Board wanted to look into the matter further. Councilman Guido asked whether the Board could designate more APRA funds in lieu of increasing the budget. The Board was amenable to offering more APRA funds in 2023 to help make up the difference in the amount of funds budgeted versus the amount requested from the SPCA. The Board discussed the revenue that the Town earns from dog licensing fees and redemptions, which does not cover the current contractual amount. Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella mentioned that the Town’s dog license fees have not increased in years, however the Town’s fees are one of the highest in the area. Further discussion occurred regarding potential options for increasing the SPCA’s contractual amount. Supervisor Williams thanked the representatives from the SPCA for coming to speak with the Board and stated that the Town appreciates all they do. He suggested that the Director of the SPCA reach out after January 1, 2023. Ms. Mapley thanked the Board for their time and consideration. No further comments or discussion was heard. Supervisor Williams adjourned the special meeting at 4:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella, RMC Town Clerk Town of Cortlandville *Note: The draft version of this meeting was submitted to the Town Board for their review on November 5, 2022. The final version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of November 9, 2022.