ALLEGANY
REGULAR SESSION
APRIL 27, 2009
** APPROVED
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by John M.
Pastalenic, former United States Army Corporal.
INVOCATION: The
Invocation was given by Legislator Truax.
ROLL
CALL: 15 Present; 0 Absent.
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES:
The Board meeting minutes of April
13, 2009 were approved on a motion made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by
Legislator Kruger and carried.
PRIVILEGE OF
THE FLOOR:
Chairman Crandall presented a
certificate to John M. Pastalenic, former United States Army Corporal, in
grateful appreciation of his service to our country. Mr. Pastalenic’s military service dates were
from February 1943 to October 1945. His
training included paratroop training at
PROCLAMATION:
Chairman Crandall
proclaimed May 3-9, 2009 as Armed Forces Week in
PRIVILEGE OF
THE FLOOR (continued):
Chairman Crandall presented a
certificate to Deborah Aumick in recognition of her dedicated service to
Chairman Crandall granted privilege
of the floor to Crime Victims Coordinator Shannon Ozzella and Deborah Aumick
from Senator Catharine Young’s Office regarding Crime Victims’ Rights Awareness
Week, which is April 26 to May 2. This
year’s theme is “25 Years of Rebuilding Lives; Celebrating the Victims of Crime
Act” commemorating the enactment of this landmark legislation. During this special week, victim services
providers, justice professionals, and others seek to promote greater public
awareness of a serious problem that affects our nation and its people every
day. The District Attorney’s Office will
be holding their annual Crime Victims Awards and Recognition Ceremony this
Friday, May 1, at 4 p.m. in the County Legislative Chambers as a way of
thanking those who dedicate their lives to protect the rights of crime victims.
Deborah Aumick, who was present on
behalf of Senator Catharine Young, commented on the Senator’s strong track
record of legislation protecting the rights of crime victims. The most famous of the legislation she worked
on was “Penny’s Law,” which ensures that juvenile offenders who are tried as
adults also get sentenced as adults.
Senator Young is a strong proponent of protecting victims of domestic
violence, and she serves on several task force groups to protect the rights of,
and make sure there is justice for, crime victims. Senator Young is currently sponsoring
legislation that will provide protection to vulnerable witnesses who are
reluctant to testify about crimes committed against them. The Senator also recognizes that child
predators have become more bold in their exploitation of children, especially
as the popularity of the internet grows, and she has sponsored legislation calling
for greater penalties. Senator Young is
one of the strongest supporters of law enforcement and plans to be our partner
in
Representatives were
present from the following departments and agencies to answer questions
regarding their 2008 Annual Reports:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
COMMUNICATIONS, REPORTS, ETC.:
Copies of the following were placed on each Legislator’s desk:
1. May 2009 Legislative Board and
Committee meeting calendar. Changes
included: Committee of the Whole meetings
will be added after both of the Board meetings on May 11 and May 26.
2. Invitation
for the Allegany County Fair Appreciation Dinner to be held May 12, in the 4-H
Building at the Fairgrounds, at 6 p.m.
The
following communications were also acknowledged:
1. Town of
2. Town of
APPOINTMENT:
Chairman Crandall
appointed Sherry Grugel of
PROCLAMATION:
Chairman Crandall
proclaimed May 3-9, 2009 as County Government Week in
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolution Intro. No. 65-09 (Approval of Lease Agreement between the
Allegany County Industrial
RESOLUTION
NO. 68-09
APPROVAL OF LEASE AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE ALLEGANY COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND THE
FOR APPROXIMATELY 8,000 SQUARE
FEET OF SPACE IN
THE
Offered by:
Ways and Means Committee
RESOLVED:
1. That Lease Agreement between the
Allegany County Industrial
2. That the term of this Lease Agreement
will commence on the date construction of the property is completed and
issuance of a certificate of occupancy and run until May 31, 2014, with the
right of Tenant to renew upon the same terms for an additional period of five
years.
3. That the Chairman of this Board is
authorized to execute the Lease Agreement.
4. That
the Clerk of this Board is directed to send a certified copy of this resolution
to the Allegany County Industrial
Moved by: Mr. Pullen Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Reynolds 9
Ayes, 6 Noes, 0 Absent
Voting
No: Burdick, Kruger, McCormick, O’Grady,
Russo, Ungermann
(Memo: The lease agreement approved by Resolution
No. 68-09 includes lease payments of $8,500 per month for an annual total of
$102,000.)
Comments made regarding Resolution No. 68-09
included:
Legislator Kruger objected to voting on this
issue until all Legislators have the opportunity to hear what the Belmont
Betterment Association had to say about the possibilities in the former
Legislator Pullen commented that these options
were reviewed at length last summer, and for almost a year different groups
were given numerous occasions to do presentations. When the Belmont Betterment Association met
with the Court Facilities and County Space Needs Committee earlier this month,
they could not provide a firm proposal.
The committee considered what they had, and there are some things that
undoubtedly can be done there that would be well suited. They were not able to say what space we would
need. They could provide a square
footage cost, but the general price they gave didn’t include utilities, as the
IDA lease does, and it didn’t include renovation costs or the costs for common
areas. After adding them in, assuming
the space would be the same, the total would be very close to the IDA proposal,
or could easily exceed it when the space is actually laid out. That’s why the committee did not move forward. Mr. Pullen also pointed out that the use of
the gym and the proposed food dispensing facility are not included in the price
we were given. All other common areas or
services, if they happen, will be at an additional price. Parts of the school building are old, and
we’re not sure where our space would be located or what we would have. The asbestos inspection letter that Mr.
Kruger referred to also included a notation that additional testing would be
required, so we would have to wait to see what happens with that. At this time, the BBA has no other tenants committed
for the facility. The County has given
them more than enough time and opportunities, and we pursued every lead given
to us. Mr. Pullen stated that we have
had a thorough, diligent, and comprehensive investigation, and the IDA proposal
is the best option.
Legislator Ungermann referred to a previous
concern that the BBA school renovation would not include a sprinkler
system. He noted that the present
Legislator O’Grady supports moving the Office
for the Aging from its present location, but his concern is the cost associated
with this proposal at this time. In two
years, just between this agreement and the cost of the Courthouse project, we
could be looking at a four percent tax increase without even addressing the “cost
of living” increases in the budget. All
options should be exhausted before we move forward.
Legislator Fanton commented that he appreciated
Mr. Ungermann’s proposal, but the IDA proposal covers maintenance and utilities. If we build another building, we’re going to
be paying for the same services that would already be included in the IDA contract. There is an additional built-in cost for the
County owning another building. Mr.
Fanton supports the option on the table.
Legislator McCormick also believes the Office
for the Aging needs the upgrade and more room, but voiced concern about moving
an agency so vital to the County and its citizens to a site outside the village
that hosts it. Over the years, the County
has had a great working relationship with the
Legislator Russo agreed with Legislators Kruger
and Ungermann, and he noted that it’s hard to vote on this issue without all
the facts. Mr. Russo didn’t see the
Belmont Betterment Association’s presentation, but he did read the letter and
has seen the school and doesn’t believe there’s anything wrong there. Mr. Russo felt that the County could lease
space at that facility and have a nice situation for Office for the Aging. We need to take a hard look at this before rushing
into the IDA lease agreement.
Chairman Crandall commented that although he
appreciated the comments and concerns, this issue has gone through the process
and has been explored thoroughly.
RESOLUTION
NO. 69-09
APPROVAL OF A STATE
LEGISLATIVE BILL WHICH
AUTHORIZES
ONE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT OF
SALES AND COMPENSATING USE TAXES
UNTIL NOVEMBER 30, 2011;
DECLARING EXISTENCE OF NECESSITY AND REQUESTING PASSAGE OF BILL BY STATE
LEGISLATURE
Offered by: Ways and Means Committee
Pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law
§ 40
WHEREAS, the only two substantial tax revenues available to
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS, by Chapter 121 of the 2007 Laws of the State of New York,
the County of Allegany was authorized to impose an additional one and one-half
percent sales tax for the period December 1, 2007 to November 30, 2009, and
WHEREAS, by Resolution No. 170-07, such additional sales tax was imposed for such
period, and
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS, in the current economic condition of Allegany County any
substantial increase in real estate taxes would put in financial jeopardy the
County's large percentage of senior citizens with fixed incomes who would have
no choice but to pay such taxes out of such fixed incomes, now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED:
1. That the Allegany County Board of
Legislators approves of a State legislative bill bearing Senate No. S.3813 and
Assembly No. A.7462, entitled
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to
extending the expiration of the provisions authorizing the County of Allegany
to impose an additional one and one-half percent sales and compensating use
taxes
2. That such Board does declare that a
necessity exists for the passage of such bill and requests its passage by the
State Legislature.
3. That the Clerk of this Board is
authorized and directed to submit to the Senate and Assembly the foregoing
request in such form and manner that conforms to rules promulgated by
concurrent resolution of the Senate and Assembly pursuant to Article 3-A of the
Legislative Law.
Moved by: Mr. Reynolds Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Fanton 10
Ayes, 5 Noes, 0 Absent
Voting
No: Kruger, McCormick, Russo, Truax,
Ungermann
(Memo:
Resolution No. 69-09 is the second step in the Home Rule Legislation
process which requires the County to pass a resolution approving and requesting
passage of the Senate and Assembly bills drafted in response to our Resolution
No. 46-09 approved on March 9. Based on
sales tax revenue of $18,240,275 for 2008, the additional one and one-half
percent sales tax resulted in $6,080,092 revenue.)
Comments made regarding Resolution No. 69-09
included:
Legislator Kruger noted that he has not
supported the additional sales tax because he is trying to support businesses
in the County, and they should be put in a competitive environment with the surrounding
counties.
Legislator Ungermann illustrated the scenario
of his own business collecting sales tax.
Until
Legislator Pullen pointed out that in prior
years when this sales tax issue has come up, the press has reported it as an
increase. Although it is an increase
over the basic structure of sales tax for a county, it is not an increase over
what we have today. This process is
necessary simply to maintain the sales tax rate at the current level because
the state requires us to renew it periodically.
Mr. Pullen stated that he looks forward to the day when we can lower it
to get back to that competitive level, but given the mandates and the other
issues we’ve had to deal with, and continue to deal with, he does not see an
alternative. If we were to reduce this
from the one and one-half percent to the one percent level, it would cost us $2
million in revenues annually. That
equates to an eight to ten percent increase in property tax to make up the
difference, and that’s too high as well.
We have to make a hard choice.
Legislator O’Grady commented that if there was
a list of programs to cut attached to this resolution, he would vote against
it. There’s not, and he sees no choice
right now but to support it. If we were
to see some economic development in Wellsville or the Crossroads area or
somewhere else in the County, he would choose to suspend the additional
one-half percent at that time.
Legislator Russo voiced his non-support and
stated that we need to seriously look at cutting, modifying, or eliminating
non-mandated expenses. All we do is
throw money at the problems and hope they’ll go away. He understands what will happen if this
doesn’t go through, but he felt we should get serious about decreasing the size
of government and eliminating some of the expenses of the County for the
already over-burdened taxpayers.
Legislator Truax commented that he has voted
against the additional one-half percent sales tax every time it has come
up. The year it was instituted, it was
supposed to get us through that one year, but it still hasn’t gone away. It’s time to eliminate it and make us
competitive again.
Legislator McCormick stated that the County
needs to be at a competitive level with the surrounding counties right
now. We can’t wait three or four years
or until something gets built. The
competition is on right now, and we’re losing at that game. If we eliminate the one-half percent, it
would help our retail sector, the salesman, the truck driver, and the consumer. It’s a win-win situation. Mr. McCormick urged taking that step today.
Legislator Reynolds noted that he’s considered
the competition issue, but in reality, until we increase the infrastructure and
build up some economic potential in the County, we aren’t going to draw those
consumers back to the County by cutting that one-half percent sales tax. We have Hornell on one side and
Legislator Fanton questioned County
Administrator John Margeson on the increase in sales tax revenue over the past
few years. Mr. Margeson reported that it
was a ten percent increase last year and two to three percent in previous years. Mr. Fanton also responded to the comment that
we haven’t cut costs. We have already
cut some programs that saved the County a lot of money. We cut the nursing program and privatized it,
saving about $500,000, and there were other areas of savings. Mr. Fanton doesn’t like the additional sales
tax either, but is going to support it.
The bottom line is that it will put the burden on the property tax
payers if the additional one-half percent sales tax is eliminated, because
you’re not going to cut $2 million out of the budget in just a year or two.
Legislator Truax commented that it’s not just
a matter of running over to Walmart in Hornell; it’s taxes on gasoline, the electric
bill, the phone bill, and the gas bill you’re paying every day. You’re already paying whether you shop there
or here. It’s not just traveling out of
the County. It’s hitting everybody every
day.
RESOLUTION INTRO. NO. 76-09 (RESOLUTION DIRECTING THAT
ALL REVENUE RECEIVED FOR HOUSING NON-LOCAL INMATES BE PAID INTO THE PUBLIC
SAFETY AND TRAINING FACILITY DEBT RESERVE FUND) WAS REFERRED TO THE BUDGET
COMMITTEE following a
motion made by Legislator Hopkins, who also noted that the Budget Committee has been looking at this issue since last
December, but the County is still at a point where less money has been taken in
than what’s been spent so far for debt service.
The motion was seconded by
Legislator Fanton and carried on a roll call vote of 10 Ayes, 5 Noes, 0 Absent
(opposed: Kruger, McCormick, Russo,
Truax, Ungermann).
RESOLUTION
NO. 70-09
APPOINTMENT OF JOHN CORNEBY TO
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Offered by:
Ways and Means Committee
Pursuant to Title 1 of Article 18-A and
Section 906-a of the General Municipal Law
WHEREAS, a vacancy exists on the Industrial
RESOLVED:
1. That John Corneby of
2. That the Clerk of this Board is
directed to send a certified copy of this resolution to the Secretary of State
for filing pursuant to Section 856(2) of the General Municipal Law.
Moved by: Mr. Reynolds Adopted: Voice Vote
Seconded by: Mr. Fanton
Comments made regarding Resolution No. 70-09
included:
Legislator McCormick questioned if Legislator
Hopkins, who is a member of the IDA Board, should abstain from voting.
Legislator
Legislator Reynolds commended the hard work
and accomplishments of the IDA, given their history and the small amount of
funds they were left with from the previous situation. Also of note was that the IDA did not
approach the County about the Office for the Aging situation, we approached
them. The IDA does work hard, and there
is a lot to be done.
Industrial
RESOLUTION
NO. 71-09
Offered by: Ways and Means Committee
WHEREAS, the Town of Wellsville, 156 North Main Street, Room 11,
Wellsville, New York 14895 has agreed to Term of Sale and offered the sum of
$1.00 plus current year’s tax for a deed of the County's interest in premises
formerly assessed on the tax rolls to Henry P. Bauer and described as follows:
ALL
THAT LOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND situate in Town of Wellsville, County of Allegany and State of New York,
described as follows, viz: W. Hanover
Street; .11 acre; Tax Map No. 239.13-1-74, and
WHEREAS, the Ways and Means Committee believes that the Term of Sale and the
above sum offered is fair and reasonable and the best that can be obtained
under the circumstances and that the said sale will be advantageous to the
County, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. That such agreed to Term of Sale and
monetary offer is accepted and the Chairman of this Board is authorized and
directed to execute on behalf of the County of Allegany and to cause to deliver
to such purchaser a quit claim deed of the County's interest in such premises,
and to attach to such deed the official seal; all upon satisfaction of the Term
of Sale and full payment to the County Treasurer of the monetary offer.
Moved by: Mr. Reynolds Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. O’Grady 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
RESOLUTION
NO. 72-09
ACCEPTING AND APPROPRIATING
FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING
TO OFFICE FOR THE AGING
ACCOUNTS
Offered by:
Human Services and Ways and Means Committees
RESOLVED:
1. That
the sum of $16,391 of federal and state funding to Office for the Aging Appropriation
and Revenue Accounts is accepted.
2. That the accepted sum of $16,391 is
appropriated as follows: $1,261 to
Account No. A6775.4, $5,130 to Account No. A6782.4, $10,000 to Account No.
A6787.4, with a sum of $1,261 credited to Revenue Account No. A10.3772.04,
$5,130 to Revenue Account No. A11.4772.06, and $10,000 to Revenue Account No.
A10.3772.6787.
Moved by: Mr. Truax Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Kruger 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
(Memo:
The accounts referred to in Resolution No. 72-09 are the State LTCOP,
HIICAP, and NY Connects accounts, and the funding is an increase in existing
grant programs.)
Resolution Intro. No.
80-09 (Transfer of Funds from Contingent Account to Public Works Road Machinery
Equipment Account) was amended on a motion made by Legislator Reynolds,
seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried, by correcting the amount of the
transfer from $29,972.09 to $26,973.
RESOLUTION
NO. 73-09
TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM
CONTINGENT ACCOUNT TO
Offered by:
Public Works and Ways and Means Committees
RESOLVED:
1. That the sum of $26,973 is transferred
from Account No. A1990.4 (Contingent) to Account No. DM5130.204 (Road Machinery
- Equipment), to pay for additional repair costs on the reconditioning of the
Bridge Maintenance Unit.
Moved by: Mr. Fanton Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Hall 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
(Memo: Regarding Resolution No. 73-09, the amount originally
budgeted for the referenced repair was $200,000, but the total bill came to
$226,972.09. The larger amount was the
result of additional repairs that were found to be necessary after the unit was
dismantled.)
RESOLUTION
NO. 74-09
APPROVING AGREEMENT WITH THE
ALLEGANY COUNTY COUNCIL ON
ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE; APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS AND RATIFYING SHERIFF’S
SIGNATURE
Offered by:
Human Services and Ways and Means Committees
RESOLVED:
1. That agreement between the
2. That the sum of $10,000 is appropriated
as follows: $9,126 to Account No.
A3150.103 (Jail – Personnel Services), $874 to Account No. A3110.422 (Sheriff –
Gas & Oil), with a like sum credited to Revenue Account No. A02.1510.02
(Sheriff’s Fees – ACASA).
3. That the signature by the Sheriff is
ratified by this Board.
Moved by: Mr. Truax Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Dibble 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
(Memo: The contract referenced in Resolution No.
74-09 requires a total of 300 hours of patrols in return for a fee of $10,000
for the period of 12/08 through 05/09, resulting in an hourly rate of $33.33. The standard billing rate for a Deputy
Sheriff to the STOP DWI Program is $30.42 per hour. Based on 300 hours, this results in a
personnel cost of approximately $9,126, allowing the other $874 to be
appropriated for gas expenses.)
RESOLUTION
NO. 75-09
APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH THE
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS
PROVIDING FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF
EXPENSES INCURRED BY DIRECTOR OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN PETROLEUM PRODUCT
QUALITY PROGRAM; APPROPRIATION OF INCREASE IN FUNDING
Offered by:
Public Safety and Ways and Means Committees
RESOLVED:
1. That an Agreement between the County of
Allegany and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets providing
for reimbursement of certain expenses incurred by the Allegany County Director
of Weights and Measures in administering the New York State Petroleum Product
Quality Program for period beginning April 1, 2009 and ending March 31, 2014,
is approved.
2. That the annual increase of funding in
the amount of $1,050 is appropriated to Account No. A6610.422 (Consumer Affairs
– Gasoline) with a like sum credited to Revenue Account No. A10.3989.01 (State
Aid – Weights & Measures – Testing).
3. That the Chairman of this Board is
authorized to execute such Agreement and all necessary required forms or
vouchers to secure reimbursement.
Moved by: Mr. Dibble Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Fanton 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
(Memo: The contract approved in Resolution No. 75-09
includes a total annual reimbursement amount of $5,040, which represents an
increase of $1,050 annually over the last contract. The total reimbursement for the five-year
period is $25,200.)
RESOLUTION
NO. 76-09
APPROVING AGREEMENT WITH ECC
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;
TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM
CONTINGENT ACCOUNT
Offered by:
Ways and Means Committee
RESOLVED:
1. That agreement between the
2. That the sum of $17,500 is transferred
from Account No. A1990.4 (Contingent) to Account No. A1011.409 (
3. That the Chairman of this Board is
authorized to execute such Agreement.
Moved by: Mr. Reynolds Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Hall 15
Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent
Comments made regarding Resolution No. 76-09
included:
Legislator Hall explained that we talk a lot
about infrastructure, and the obvious things we often hear about are bridges,
sewer, and water, but our companies in this County can’t compete unless we have
communications. This contract will
provide us with the first step in developing access to fiber, which our
companies need, and we need, if we’re going to have people come in to the County,
so they can maintain the kind of communications that other places have in the
urban areas. There are billions of
dollars right now in the federal government to give us access to development of
this type of infrastructure. Mr. Hall
urged support of the resolution so we can move forward.
Legislator Pullen wanted to make clear that
the proposal for what we need to build the fiber backbone to provide high-speed
internet access and other telecommunications access requires two separate phases. This resolution will fund the first phase
only, and his opinion is that this is the only support that should come from
the County. We must move forward with
this to become competitive for stimulus and grant funding. There has been an application submitted to Empire
State
AUDITS:
A motion was made by
Legislator Truax, seconded by Legislator Dibble and carried, that the audits be
acted upon collectively and by totals.
A motion was made by
Legislator Truax, seconded by Legislator Kruger and adopted on a roll call vote
of 15 Ayes, 0 Noes, 0 Absent, that the audit of claims, totaling $1,439,903.46 including
prepaid expenses, be approved for payment as recommended by the County
Administrator. (
COMMENTS:
Legislator Russo
requested clarification on Legislator Hopkins’ comment regarding Resolution
Intro. No. 76-09 on the Public Safety and Training Facility Debt Reserve Fund,
which was referred to the Budget Committee.
Mr. Hopkins responded that a report in January showed that we’ve taken
in about $400,000, and debt service right now is about $1.5 million. We started paying for the cost of debt
service about a year before we started taking additional prisoners in. Also, we have costs associated with the jail that
we wouldn’t have otherwise due to the increased number of prisoners, i.e. labor
costs. The question is whether we use
net revenue or gross revenue when we start looking at that figure, but we
haven’t even gotten to the point yet where we’ve taken in enough revenue to
cover the current costs of the debt service.
Legislator Kruger commented that money the jail brings in should go into
an account to pay for the jail, and the operating costs shouldn’t be part of
that mix. The debt created by the building
should be paid for by the building. Mr.
Fanton agreed, but noted we haven’t done that yet because there is still over $500,000
of local tax money that we are “owed” by that fund. When that’s done, the Budget Committee will
look at a proposal to deal with the reserve fund, but it may not be this year
or even next year.
Legislator McCormick
made reference to correspondence received from two towns regarding dedicated
money for bridge maintenance, and noted that Wellsville is also concerned about
it. A dedicated fund should be looked
into.
Wallace Higgins, from
the Allegany Senior Foundation, expressed appreciation for the approval of the
lease agreement for Office for the Aging facilities at the
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 3:23 p.m. on a motion made by Legislator
Truax, seconded by Legislator Reynolds and carried.