BUDGET COMMITTEE
Special Budget Review
August 19, 2009
** NOT APPROVED **
Committee Members Present
T. Hopkins, D. Fanton, W. Dibble, T.
O’Grady, C. Crandall (Absent: W. Hall))
L. Ballengee, R. Budinger, P.
Cockle, J. Garmong, M. Gasdik, R. Hartwick, C. Lorow, J. Margeson, S. Presutti, Y. Rechichi, B. Riehle, D.
Roeske, T. Ross, P. Schmelzer, W. Tompkins
Human Resources - 2010 Budget Review
Human
Resources Specialist H. Bobby Budinger presented budget requests for the Human
Resources Office (A1430). Mr. Budinger
stated that the Budget Officer concurred with everything requested, and their
.2 and .4 budget requests for 2010 are lower than 2009. A motion was made by Legislator Fanton,
seconded by Legislator Dibble and carried to accept the 2010 proposed budget
for the Human Resources Office as recommended by the Budget Officer.
Real Property Tax Service Agency – 2010 Budget Review
Real
Property Tax Service Agency Director Steven Presutti presented budget requests
for his office (A1355). Mr. Presutti
indicated that he had been slightly more conservative with the revenue budget
projections than the Budget Officer who increased those line items by
$2,000. Mr. Presutti stated that he is
trying to come up with some new revenue sources and hopes to be able to enhance
their web page with subscription options for realtors, lawyers, etc. that will
allow them to makes copies and print maps.
Mr. Presutti stated that he received correspondence from the NYS Office
of Real Property after submitting his budget that they are proposing a 25
percent increase in their fees. If this
proposal is approved, it would increase account A1355.430 by $6,700, and Mr.
Presutti may need to come back and request an adjustment to his budget. Mr. Presutti also commented that
Social Services Department – 2010 Budget Review
Social
Services Commissioner Patricia Schmelzer presented budget requests for the
Social Services Department (A6010, A6011, A6055, A6070, A6101, A6106, A6109,
A6119, A6129, A6140, A6141, A6142, and A6150).
The original 2010 budget requests for Social Services showed a 5.45
percent increase, and the Budget Officer made further cuts reducing the
increase to 3.6 percent. Mrs. Schmelzer noted that she was instructed
to budget for the Medicaid increase as if there was not stimulus money since it
will only provide relief for two years, and our increases will continue at the
fixed annual rate. County Treasurer
Terri Ross indicated that they would budget normal expenses and show the
stimulus money in the revenue section so that it will be evident what was
received as stimulus money. Legislator
Dwight Fanton asked if the stimulus money they will receive for Medicaid
expenses can be assigned for future use.
Ms. Ross stated that they are still debating what it can be used
for. Ms. Ross stated that when we get
closer to finalizing a budget, we will want to look at what we will be allowed
to use the stimulus money for and how it can be reserved if that’s what the Board
would like to do. Ms. Ross also noted
that we may not end up with extra money if the sales tax revenue or other
accounts come up short. Budget Committee
Chairman Theodore Hopkins asked Mrs. Schmelzer if she is seeing an increase in
workload. Mrs. Schmelzer replied that
some areas are going up and others have stayed about the same. They try to put resources in preventive
services to keep some areas at bay.
Legislator Fanton asked if the new changes in the Transit System would
result in savings for Social Services, and Commissioner Schmelzer indicated
that she believes it will. A motion was
made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried to accept
the 2010 proposed budget for the Social Services Department as recommended by
the Budget Officer.
Sheriff’s Office – 2010 Budget Review
Sheriff
William Tompkins and Sheriff’s Office Accountant Randy Hartwick presented
budget requests for the Sheriff’s Office (A3110, A3111, A3112, A3150, and A3152). Sheriff Tompkins expressed concern regarding
the cuts that were made to his vehicle requests, noting that he requested
$199,625, and the Budget Officer cut it back to $93,625. Chairman Crandall asked Mr. Margeson if we
are falling behind on our Vehicle Replacement Program, and Mr. Margeson
indicated that we are not falling way behind; we try to replace vehicles that
have an excess of 100,000 miles on them.
Sheriff Tompkins indicated that all of the vehicles listed will have
over 100,000 miles on them by the end of the year, and the one Jeep is also a
safety concern. If we wait until 2011,
the mileage will be extremely high.
Legislator Timothy O’Grady commented on the size of the Sheriff’s Office
fleet, noting that we’ve replaced the Trailblazer three times, and it’s never
come off the road. Legislator O’Grady
also spoke against financing vehicles.
Legislator
O’Grady mentioned the telephone revenue from inmate calls and asked if that
revenue should be coming into the General Fund.
Legislator O’Grady asked what money comes in from the telephone, where
it goes, and how it is spent? Sheriff
Tompkins stated that they’ve experienced a substantial increase, and the money
is used primarily for training and equipment.
The Sheriff stated that he will make sure that the
A
portion of the A3110 accounts were not reviewed by the Budget Officer and will
be redistributed after the Budget Officer has had an opportunity to make
recommendations.
Committee
members discussed the new Telestaff software and associated maintenance
costs. Sheriff Tompkins and Mr. Hartwick
believe that the Telestaff Program will save time and money, and it should
decrease overall overtime costs. Sheriff
Tompkins indicated that they currently have an employee spend an entire shift
every day calling people in for overtime.
This will free that person to be productive on the shift.
A
motion was made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried
to accept the 2010 proposed budgets for the Sheriff’s Office as recommended by
the Budget Officer with the exception of A3110 which the Budget Officer will
supply at a later time.
Public Works Department – 2010 Budget Review
Public
Works Superintendent David Roeske and Public Works Fiscal Officer Yvonne
Rechichi presented budget requests for the Public Works Department (A1490,
A1620, A3152, A8160, County Road Fund, and Road Machinery Fund). Mr. Roeske stated that he has discussed his
concerns with Budget Officer John Margeson, and Mr. Margeson indicated that he
would be willing to revisit some of the areas once he knows what the bottom
line is. Mr. Roeske’s areas of highest
concern included the following:
A8160.204
Solid Waste – Equipment cut by $111,900
D3310.465
County Road Fund – Striping cut by $50,000
D5142.408
Snow Removal – General Supplies cut by $100,000
DM5130.204
Road Machinery Fund – Equipment cut by $250,000
Committee
members discussed the cuts to equipment and Mr. Margeson indicated he would
take another look and suggested that we may want to use a 3-year lease purchase
for some of the equipment that has a higher life expectancy. County Treasurer Terri Ross stated that she
does not agree with lease purchases when we have the money. Mr. Roeske stated that we are looking at
these types of expenditures for equipment for the next several years. Legislator O’Grady talked about a 5-year plan
and asked Mr. Roeske to give Mr. Margeson a list of equipment with expected
replacement dates. Ms. Rechichi
commented that they previously did a 5-year plan, and they are already behind
due to past budget cuts. Budget
Committee Chairman Theodore Hopkins stated that if we are going to spend
$500,000 in equipment every year, we should build that cost right into the
budget. If we are not getting much
interest on our money right now, it might make more sense to pay for our
purchases up front. A motion was made
by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried to accept the
2010 proposed budget for the Public Works Department as recommended by the Budget
Officer.
Office for the Aging – 2010 Budget Review
Madeleine
Gasdik, Deputy Director for Office for the Aging, presented budget requests for
the Office for the Aging (A6772, A6773, A6774, A6775, A6776, A6777, A6778,
A6779, A6780, A6781, A6782, A6783, A6784, A6785, A6786, A6787). Ms. Gasdik indicated that their biggest
change is in equipment which was down $6,900 from last year because they had to
purchase some food warmers. They have
tried to cut a lot of expenses, and their overall budget is up just 2.42
percent from last year. Legislator
Dwight Fanton asked if the budget reflects the proposed move to the Crossroads
site, and Ms. Gasdik stated that they budgeted $5,300 for electrical expenses
at Crossroads, and they also plan to pay for phone and computer costs. In addition Ms. Gasdik believes that someone
may donate some money to help purchase additional furniture that will be
needed. Legislator Fanton stated that he
was under the impression that the
Health Department – 2010 Budget Review
Public
Health Director Lori Ballengee and Health Department Accountant Pamela Cockle
presented budget requests for the Health Department (A1185, A2960, A4010,
A4035, A4037, A4043, A4046, A4047, A4050, A4051, A4052, A4053, A4054, A4056,
A4060, A4070, A4071, A4072, A4189, and A4190).
The following summary was presented:
%
DOH Supported
Tax
$ Necessary by Tax Levy
FY 2007 Using Actual Expenditures as of
FY 2008 Using Actual Expenditures as of
FY 2009 Using 2009 Adopted Budget $1,726,280 37.13%
FY 2010 Using Budget Officer Recommendation
$1,439,543 30.32%
Same Information without Special
Education Costs:
%
DOH Supported
Tax
$ Necessary by Tax Levy
FY 2007 Using Actual Expenditures as of
FY 2008 Using Actual Expenditures as of
FY 2009 Using 2009 Adopted Budget $
475,283 17.66%
FY 2010 Using Budget Officer Recommendation
$ 568,143 20.53%
Mrs.
Ballengee stated that their numbers keep going down so the Health Department
Budget is decreasing, and they anticipate ending 2009 similar to 2008. Mrs. Ballengee indicated that they are
working hard to continue to trim their budget, and they are constantly looking
at what they spend and why it is being spent.
Mrs. Ballengee provided a brief update on the imminent threat of swine
flu. A motion was made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Fanton and
carried to accept the 2010 proposed budget for the Health Department as
recommended by the Budget Officer.
Mental Health – 2010 Budget Review
Budget
Officer John Margeson indicated that no increases in local funding were
requested for the Mental Health accounts.
Employment & Training – 2010 Budget Review
Employment
and Training Director Jerry Garmong presented budget requests for the CD1
Fund. Mr. Garmong stated that he made
very few changes in the .2 and .4 line items.
They lost a few funding sources; however, a portion of ARRA funding will
make up for that loss. Mr. Garmong
talked about the Trade Adjustment Act (CD1 6414) which assists those that lose
their jobs due to foreign competition.
Mr. Garmong indicated that there is a tremendous amount of work involved
in these cases, and the state really needs to help fund it. Mr. Garmong indicated that they use the
$67,500 from County funding as a last resort, and they do not spend that money
unless it’s absolutely needed. They do
not know what the new formula for funding after July 2010 will be; however,
they have no reason to believe it will be less.
Our unemployment rate in
Board of Elections – 2010 Budget Review
Deputy
Elections Commissioner Catherine Lorow presented budget requests for the Board
of Elections (A1450). Mrs. Lorow
indicated that there were not a lot of changes.
The Board of Elections did receive approximately $113,250 in grant money
this year, and a portion of that money has been used. They hope to be able to purchase some better
voting booths, and they would also like to purchase a trailer which would
eliminate some rental costs. The
technicians and inspectors will now be County employees. Mrs. Lorow stated that there will be storage
problems for the new machines. Mrs.
Lorow indicated that they are participating in a pilot program for the state,
and the new machines will be used at Angelica and Amity for the primary on
September 15. Next year no lever
machines can be used. Ms. Lorow noted
that the ballots will cost about 57 cents each, and at this point the towns are
not being charged for this expense. Some
counties charge back all expenses. A
motion was made by Legislator Fanton, seconded by Legislator Dibble and carried
to accept the 2010 proposed budget for the Board of Elections as recommended by
the Budget Officer.
Beach and Pool – 2010 Budget Review
Mr.
Margeson presented budget requests for the Beach and Pool accounts (A7180). Mr. Margeson stated that he requested an
additional $125 to cover increases in insurance and telephone expenses. The County will receive state aid for
approximately $19,000 or 50 percent of the costs associated with operating the
Contingency – 2010 Budget Review
Mr.
Margeson presented budget requests for the Contingency account
(A1990.429). Mr. Margeson stated that in
2009 the Contingency account was budgeted at $710,000, and for 2010 he lowered
that request to $500,000, noting that it is really up to the Budget Committee
how they would like to fund that account.
Legislator Dwight Fanton expressed concern about not wanting to be faced
with not having enough money. Chairman
Risk Retention Health – 2010 Budget Review
Mr.
Margeson presented budget requests for the Risk Retention Health Fund (CSH1710). Mr. Margeson stated that he requested a
$140,000 increase in the Risk Retention Health Fund for 2010 which would bring
the Fund from $5.8 million to $5.94 million.
Mr. Margeson also increased the revenue associated with this Fund from
$178,000 to $645,000. It was noted that
the 2009 budget did not reflect revenue contributions from employees or
retirees. Legislator O’Grady suggested
the County might want to increase the insurance buy-out amount as an incentive
to encourage employees who might have other options to take the buy-out. A motion was made by Legislator Fanton,
seconded by Legislator O’Grady and carried to accept the 2010 proposed budget
for the Risk Retention Fund as recommended by the Budget Officer.
Annual Retirement Bill
County
Treasurer Terri Ross stated that she paid the retirement bill in advance last
year to take advantage of discounts, and if the County wants to do that in the
future, we will need to budget accordingly.
We are currently paying approximately 8 percent of our payroll into the
pension fund, and that rate is expected to increase to 11 percent for the 2011
payment that we would make at the end of next year and higher yet in 2012.
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