BUDGET COMMITTEE
 Special Budget Review
 August 12, 2008 

** NOT APPROVED **

Committee Members Present

T. Hopkins, D. Fanton, W. Dibble, W. Hall, T. O’Grady, C. Crandall

 

Others Present

L. Ballengee, C. Braack, D. Button, R. Christman, D. Button, P. Cockle, J. Foels, P. Gallmann, G. Green, T. Hull, B. Kelley,  K. Kruger, J. Margeson, T. Miner, T. Parker, S. Presutti, B. Riehle, T. Ross, E. Ruckle, P. Schmelzer, D. Sirianni, S. Spillane, P. Starks, K. Toot

 

Clerk of the Board – 2009 Budget Review

            Increases in gas prices and the mileage reimbursement rate appear to account for the majority of the increases seen in the budgets that fall under the Clerk of the Board.  Legislator William Hall suggested setting the Legislators’ mileage reimbursement rate back to the previous rate.  It was noted that all County employees are reimbursed at the IRS standard mileage reimbursement rate which increased from 50.5 cents per mile to 58.5 cents per mile effective July 1, 2008.  After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Legislator Hall, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried to set the Legislators’ mileage reimbursement rate at an amount not to exceed 50.5 cents per mile effective immediately upon passage of the necessary resolution.   Refer to Ways & Means

 

            Committee members briefly discussed a few ideas the Transportation Task Force hopes to implement that may help save citizens money on their gas expenses.

 

District Attorney – 2009 Budget Review

            District Attorney Terrence Parker mentioned that there have been rumors that the salaries of judges in New York may increase, and the salary of the District Attorney is statutorily required to be equal to the County Court Judge so an additional appropriation for the District Attorney’s salary may be necessary in the future. 

 

            Mr. Parker indicated that based upon the increase in assigned counsel rates and the recent changes and increase to the Assistant Public Defender’s salary, he is requesting that the Chief Assistant District Attorney’s base salary be set at $45,500 (65 percent of the Assistant Public Defender Position), and the other Assistant District Attorneys’ salaries at $42,000 (60 percent of the Assistant Public Defender Position).  Mr. Parker believes the increases will bring them to a level where he can keep people and recruit others if someone leaves.  It was noted that there are four part-time Assistant District Attorneys, and the 5th and 6th Assistant District Attorney positions, which are grant funded, are combined with the existing ADA positions as a method to pass through additional duties and work without hiring an additional prosecutor.

 

            The District Attorney mentioned that Governor Paterson has announced substantial cuts since this budget was submitted, and we could be looking at revenue figures that will most likely be affected by the proposed cuts.  Committee membes discussed how the Welfare Fraud Program works, and Mr. Parker indicated that we have three investigators.  Legislator William Dibble suggested hiring some private investigators and paying them 10 percent of what they collect.  Legislator Timothy O’Grady questioned the huge increase in the telephone line (A1165.416) from $2,800 in 2008 to $6,500 in 2009.  Mr. Parker indicated that the increase is due to the new cell/smart phones.

 

County Attorney – 2009 Budget Review

            County Attorney Thomas Miner indicated that the biggest increase in his budget is for the  purchase of a multi-function document scanner.  Most legal offices are now exchanging information electronically over the computer rather than by fax, and they need to be able to scan documents to produce a file that can be transmitted via computer.  The County Attorney indicated that his revenues traditionally exceed the office’s expenses; however, some adjustments may need to be made to the projected revenues due to pressures on our Social Services Department to cut expenses. 

 

Human Resources – 2009 Budget Review

            Personnel Officer Ellen Ruckle indicated that her expenses are up considerably primarily due to costs associated with training for the new Human Resources Specialist.  Ms. Ruckle estimates that the training, food and lodging for the required three weeks of training will be approximately $2,800.  Ms. Ruckle noted that the mileage expense for the three weeks of training could be reduced significantly if a County car is used.

 

            Ms. Ruckle stated that our Employee Services expense can be reduced about 2.5 percent from the projected increase of 4.5 percent if we pay their fee in one lump sum.  Arbitration costs are always an unknown expense.  The cost of medical and physical agility exams for police officers and deputies has increased considerably over the last few years.  Committee members briefly discussed the $700 increase in A1430.429 for AFLAC Fees.  Legislator O’Grady asked if the County makes money on the fees from Civil Service exams, and Ms. Ruckle indicated that half of the fee goes to the state, and by the time you pay employees overtime to administer the tests, we do not really make any money on them.  Ms. Ruckle noted that we have received approximately $18,000 for Medicaid Part D reimbursements.

 

Veterans’ Service Agency – 2009 Budget Review

            Veterans’ Service Agency Director H. Scott Spillane indicated that he tries to keep a bare bones budget; however, he did have to include $500 for training classes he must participate in every other year to maintain his accreditation.  Mr. Spillane indicated that they have seen an increase in veterans coming into the office, as many are returning from Iraq. 

 

            Legislator Karl Kruger stated that we passed a resolution requiring the Veterans’ Service Agency Director to ensure that the memorials are updated, and he wonders if there is money in the budget to get this done.  Legislator Dibble indicated that the individual posts usually pay to have the names placed on the memorial.  Legislator Timothy O’Grady suggested adding $1,000 to Mr. Spillane’s budget to make sure that funding is there to have the work done.  Mr. Spillane indicated that two names need to be added to the monument, and in the past the costs to place the names on the monument have been donated.  Mr. Kruger reiterated that if it is the County’s responsibility to maintain the monument, we ought to budget the funds to finance the cost.  County Administrator/Budget Officer John Margeson suggested that the cost to have names added to the memorial could come out of the Buildings and Grounds budget if necessary.

 

Historian/Tourism – 2009 Budget Review

            County Historian and Tourism Specialist Craig Braack indicated that the only thing different in his budget is an increase in mileage expense.  Mr. Braack explained how the  I LOVE NY Grant works, noting that it is a matching grant where one-half of an expense is financed by New York State, and the other half comes from the benefiting organization.  He has not heard anything about this particular program being cut yet.

 

Consumer Affairs – 2009 Budget Review

            Weights & Measures Director Gilbert Green indicated that the only thing different in his budget is an increase in his gasoline expense.  Mr. Green stated that he received his new van yesterday.  Mr. Green informed committee members that he is the President of the NYS Association of Weights and Measures Directors this year.

 

County Clerk – 2009 Budget Review

            County Clerk Robert Christman indicated that he will be eliminating a position in 2009 due to a retirement.  Mr. Christman indicated that he will be able to do this because he will be going with a new vendor which will provide a more automated system.  Mr. Christman briefly explained how the automated system will work. 

 

            Mr. Christman expressed concern regarding the Budget Officer’s recommendation that revenue account A02.1255.00 (County Clerk Fees) be increased up to $550,000.  Mr. Christman noted that his office has not seen a rate increase for recording fees since 1977.  A law was recently passed that counties can pass a local law to increase their recording fees.  Mr. Christman noted that such a proposal may face opposition since fees have gone up in other areas, but he believes an increase in fees may help him to achieve the Budget Officer’s recommended increase in revenue.  Many of the bigger counties have already passed a resolution to adopt a local law to increase the County Clerk’s fees.  Legislator William Dibble suggested that Mr. Christman take the matter to the Ways and Means Committee for consideration.

 

Real Property Tax Service Agency – 2009 Budget Review

            Real Property Tax Director Steven Presutti indicated that his budget is pretty straight forward, and he tried to keep things very similar to last year.  The previous water damage incident back in 2007 enabled him to obtain some new equipment that he would have otherwise had to budget for.  Mr. Presutti stated that the STAR reimbursement was down about 20 percent from what he budgeted, noting that he never knows what the state is going to give us.  It’s referred to as maintenance aid, and the counties receive a certain amount for assisting towns with the STAR Program, but this year everyone’s share was cut at the last minute.

 

County Treasurer – 2009 Budget Review

            County Treasurer Terri Ross noted that both her budget and the Health Department budget currently list the Accountant position that was transferred to her office, and the position should only be listed once.  Ms. Ross commented that we will want to make sure that things are booked so that the cost of the position is eligible for federal and state reimbursement.

 

            Committee members asked Ms. Ross about the Community College (A2495.421) account, noting that the Budget Officer recommended reducing Ms. Ross’ request of $840,000 by $40,000.  Ms. Ross indicated that we have spent about $400,000 so far in 2008, and she believes we will spend approximately $800,000 this year.  Legislator Timothy O’Grady stated that SUNY funding is slated to be cut so tuition fees will likely increase which may also increase attendance at community colleges.  Legislator William Hall supported Mr. O’Grady’s statement noting that as financial aid is cut, he believes there will be a 10 percent drop in four-year college freshman enrollment, and many of those students will now go to community colleges or two-year schools for financial reasons.  Chairman of the Budget Committee Theodore Hopkins suggested that Budget Officer Margeson might want to reconsider his cut, and Mr. Margeson indicated that he would make a note.

 

Information Technology – 2009 Budget Review

            Information Technology Director Deborah Button indicated that her budget is about the same as last year with the exception of her request to add a new position of Webmaster Trainee.  Ms. Button indicated that she could possibly cut the position to part-time, but she definitely needs someone to help with this.  Committee members discussed whether an employee or contract person might be best, noting that there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Legislator William Dibble questioned the large increase in the education account (A1680.421), and Ms. Button indicated that the Network Administrator needs to be trained on certain devices that we have purchased.

 

            Ms. Button indicated that the major change to the telephone budget is for a necessary software upgrade to the telephone system which will cost approximately $59,000.  Ms. Button noted that she may try to implement half of the upgrade this year to save money in 2009.

 

Probation Department – 2009 Budget Review

            Probation Director David Sirianni indicated that a few of the appropriation accounts such as mileage and telephone are up a little; however, his revenues are also up slightly.  Mr. Sirianni stated that the additional six percent budget cuts proposed by the Governor could have a substantial effect on his budget.  Committee members briefly discussed the home monitoring program and the expenses and revenues associated with that program. 

 

            Committee members talked about the requirement to provide the same services with less aid.  Legislator Dibble suggested contacting our representatives regarding the need to cut programs, not just funding.

 

Office for the Aging – 2009 Budget Review

            Office for the Aging Director Kimberley Toot distributed copies of a spreadsheet summarizing the expenses and budget requests associated with their 17 grants.  Mrs. Toot noted that there are about 7,000 seniors over the age of 60 living in Allegany County.  Mrs. Toot indicated that they are looking at a 22 percent increase in the cost of their Home Care Programs, a 20 cent per meal increase in the cost of their meals, as well as increases in mileage reimbursement and gasoline expenses.  Their personnel costs have only increased 1.98 percent since last year, but health insurance costs have gone up considerably, although some of that will be reimbursed with federal and state grants.  Mrs. Toot stated that her total 2009 budget calls for a $59,000 increase (14%) in County funding; however, that figure does not include any additional state cuts that may be made in the future.  Mrs. Toot indicated that she would like to know right away if the state plans to cut any of her funding, as you do not want to provide and pay for services and then find out after the fact that you will not be receiving reimbursement. 

 

            Legislator Hopkins stated that no rent costs are reflected in this budget.  Mr. Margeson indicated that the Office for the Aging could possibly be relocated as early as April or May of 2009, and we may have to address taking rent costs out of the Contingency (A1990.4) account. 

 

            Mrs. Toot informed committee members that her department has been doing various things in hopes of cutting costs and operating more efficiently.  They have talked about possibly delivering frozen meals to people that live on the edge of the County limits so that meals will not have to be delivered as often in hopes of saving gas.  They are also looking at how collections are collected, and she will report back to the committee on this.

 

Proposed State Budget Cuts

            Committee members discussed Governor Paterson’s proposed budget cuts of $250 million (six percent) to local governments.  It was noted that they are not just cutting aid to counties, they are cutting the reimbursements for programs that county governments are required, by state statute, to deliver.  Chairman Crandall talked about having a contingency plan in place in case the cuts are made.  Mr. Crandall stated that we want to be able to say what we are going to do and what we will have to cut if the state moves forward with the proposed cuts.  Legislator Dibble mentioned sending a letter to Albany, and Legislator Hopkins talked about making a referral to the Ways and Means Committee since the Budget Committee does not have the authority to sponsor a resolution.  Legislator O’Grady questioned what the County is prepared to do, noting that we will be required to cut non-mandated programs. 

 

            Committee members also discussed the need to have a better handle on the costs in Social Services.  Legislator O’Grady commented that there is a lot going on in Steuben County with welfare fraud, but there doesn’t seem to be much going on here.  What is the reason for this?  Perhaps we need to hire an outside investigator, or perhaps our results simply are not publicized as much, and if that’s the case, we need to be better about getting the message out.  Committee members talked about the fact that departments will be required to submit an organizational chart with their annual reports now.  County Treasurer Ross noted that some departments are not filling out the .1 budget sheets correctly so they are not as useful as they could be as far as who is currently on staff and what is being requested for 2009.  Committee members indicated that they also need to look at Mr. Margeson’s color-coded chart showing mandated and non-mandated programs.

 

Health Department – 2009 Budget Review

            Public Health Director Lori Ballengee explained a salary change she would like to make to the newly requested position of Director of Preventive Services.  Mrs. Ballengee stated that she has talked with representatives at Wilcare, and they hope to make the sale of the home health agencies final in October.  Legislator Fanton asked how much we will be saving in home health care once the sale goes through. 

 

            Committee members expressed concern about the figures on the spreadsheets, noting that they anticipated seeing large savings between the 2008 and 2009 budget figures due to the sale of the Certified Home Health Agency and Long Term Program, and it appears it is going to cost even more to run the Health Department.  Legislator Hopkins pointed out that if the revenues are going down more than the expenses, you are not really any further ahead.  Ms. Ross noted that the fringe benefits are not included in the budget figures, and some of the revenues also offset other things.  Ms. Ross also stated that the figures used to determine potential savings from eliminating the CHHA and Long Term Program were based on cost reports rather than budget figures.  The cost reports calculate a lot of things not seen in the budget like space usage, utilities, and costs associated with services from other departments.  Some of these costs like utilities remain fairly constant regardless of how many programs they are charged back to.  Committee members agreed that they want to know what the bottom line is and what they will be able to work with.  The Accountant Pamela Cockle indicated that she could reconfigure some of the 2009 figures to reflect the changes that will be made when the CHAA and Long Term Program are sold and have it to legislators for their meeting tomorrow.

 

            Mrs. Ballengee indicated that she has not heard anything regarding the federal and state fines that the Health Department will be required to pay; however, she believes it will be less than $10,000 for the state.  The fine figures were supposed to be available within six to nine months, and it has been about eight months.

 

            Mrs. Ballangee noted that the number of people using the family planning services has increased dramatically, and they plan to expand that program. 

 

Development Office – 2009 Budget Review

            Development Director John Foels indicated that they requested the position of Resource Assistant in the budget again this year; however, they are not sure where they are going to go with this.  The lease arrangement between the IDA and the County is reflected in the budget with account A6430.414 set at $57,996.  The $20,000 contract with ACCORD for the Empire Zone is still in the budget, and there have been conversations about the possibility of increasing that appropriation due to reductions in New York State funding.  The Empire Zone will need some type of additional funding before the end of the year, but Mr. Foels does not have a recommendation about increasing the figure at this point. 

 

            Mr. Foels indicated that they have shifted the funds previously budgeted in account A8020.1 (Planning – Personnel) for a Planner to the .4 contractual portion of the budget, and Mr. Foels believes that many of their planning needs can be fulfilled through a contractual arrangement.  Mr. Foels briefly talked about our relationship with Alfred University and some of the work they have done for the County, noting that they have been a tremendous resource to the County.  Legislator Dibble talked about getting grant money for projects, noting that the Planner position could have taken care of some of this.  Mr. Foels stated that the planning function is very important, but it’s also very expensive when you have to staff it, and he believes a contractual arrangement provides a good alternative.  Mr.  Foels indicated that as revenues increase for the County, perhaps monies can be earmarked to expand our planning functions as well as grant writing.

 

Emergency Services – 2009 Budget Review

            Office of Emergency Services Director John Tucker stated that the largest increase in his budget can be seen under account A3640.414 which represents the rental of space at the Crossroads Center for EMS training.  Mr. Tucker indicated that we used to find funding through member item grants, but we cannot guarantee that we will find funding for rent.  NYS Health reimbursement for EMT training can be used for rent, but then those funds are not available for other expenses. 

 

            Mr. Tucker indicates that he anticipates that the revenue of federal aid for 50 percent of administrative expenses, which has been capped around $14,000 to $15,000, might be increased to $20,000, but he didn’t feel comfortable increasing that budget amount until he knows something for sure.  Mr. Tucker noted that the $63,000 in Homeland Security funding currently in his budget for the 2007 to 2010 period will need to be reappopriated to the 2009 budget, and that money has been earmarked for communication enhancements.

 

 Fire Service – 2009 Budget Review

            Fire Coordinator Paul Gallmann stated that the 911 Communications Coordinator Russ Hall is required to work a lot of overtime; however, most of the expense evens out because Mr. Hall is able to do a lot of things that we previously had to hire Saia to do.  Mr. Gallmann suggested that the Board may want to consider making Mr. Hull a non-unit salary position so that he could also overlap 911 shifts.  Mr. Gallmann also briefly talked about the possibility of restructuring 911 under its own department, stating that it could cut down on the confusion about who people report to.

 

Public Defender – 2009 Budget Review

            Public Defender Barbara Kelley indicated that she was able to reduce her budget from 2008 since they were able to eliminate $10,500 in secretarial services when the Assistant Public Defender positions were combined.

 

            A motion was made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Hall and carried to accept the budgets as presented with recommended changes by the Budget Officer.

 

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the committee, a motion was made by Legislator O’Grady, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried to adjourn the meeting.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Brenda Rigby Riehle, Clerk of the Board

Allegany County Board of Legislators