ALLEGANY
REGULAR SESSION
JULY 12, 2010
CALL
TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of
Legislators was called to order at 2:07 p.m. by Chairman Curtis W. Crandall.
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by former
United States Navy Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Richard M. Petri.
INVOCATION: The
Invocation was given by Legislator David Pullen.
ROLL
CALL: 11 Present; 4 Absent (Legislators Benson,
Hopkins, McGraw, and Russo).
PRIVILEGE OF
THE FLOOR:
Chairman Crandall presented a certificate
to Richard M. Petri, former United States Navy Electrician’s Mate 2nd
Class, in grateful appreciation of his service to our Country. Mr. Petri’s service dates were from November
1942 to December 1945, and his final discharge from Naval Reserves was as Chief
Electrician’s Mate Power Sea Bees in 1959.
Following Basic Training at Sampson Naval Training Station,
Chairman
Crandall granted privilege of the floor to Sheriff William R. Tompkins for an
update on the Telestaff Program, which is a web-based personnel management
system purchased by the Sheriff’s Office a little over a year ago. The Sheriff was told by the vendor that it
would take five to six months to get the program on-line, but due to various
issues, it took an extra nine to ten months.
The system is finally up and running.
Prior to Telestaff, personnel time management was handled by union
personnel, because having management do it would have required hiring more
people and wouldn’t have been cost-effective.
After looking at the records and overtime expenditures, it was evident
they were having some significant issues with time management, and this led to
the purchase of Telestaff. When asked
what he thought the program would save, Sheriff Tompkins said he suspected the program
would pay for itself within one to three years in quantifiable ways.
Sheriff
Tompkins distributed a handout showing overtime hours by pay period, the
difference in overtime hours between 2009 and 2010, and associated savings. There have been five pay periods of
experience since Telestaff went on-line with pay period 10, and significant
savings have already been realized, well above what was seen for the first nine
pay periods. Total reduction in overtime
hours for pay periods 10 through 14 is 2,853.25 hours, which is very
significant in dollars. We also expect
to see more hours going to part-time than did before Telestaff. Net overtime savings for pay periods 10
through 14, discounting factors unrelated to Telestaff, such as the reduced
hours of federal transports for the time period and the difference in part-time
hours and not being able to assign an average full-time rate for that, amounted
to about $55,000. There is a real
significant change in overtime hours. The
purchase price for Telestaff was $35,000, and there were costs associated with
getting it up and running, but if the trend in overtime savings is even close
to accurate, savings over a year’s time would be about $250,000. Sheriff Tompkins couldn’t explain why there
was such a big difference in hours by using an automated system, but that
automated system incorporates all of the rules of the contract into a software
package and applies them to assignment of overtime. There are no people involved, so it’s
completely objective.
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES:
The Board meeting minutes of June
28, 2010, were approved on a motion made by Legislator Curran, seconded by
Legislator Healy and carried.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
COMMUNICATIONS, REPORTS, ETC.:
The
following communications were also acknowledged:
1. Correspondence from Assemblymen Daniel
Burling and Joseph Giglio acknowledging receipt and support of Allegany
County’s Resolution regarding Outdoor Wood Boilers.
2. Invitation to participate in the
Friendship Freedom Fair Celebration on July 31.
Line-up for the parade begins at 10:30 a.m. off
3. Correspondence from the Arkport Legion
Post 1248 thanking the Board for its donation in memory of former Legislator
Keith Palmiter.
4. Invitation from the Andover Wetlands
Restoration Project Coordinator to attend the annual kids’ fishing contest on
July 24.
5. Correspondence from
6. Southern Tier West Regional Planning
and
7. Correspondence from the Allegany County
Association for the Blind with copies of their 2010 budget, mission, and an
overview of the agency.
8. Notice that the July 22, 2010, Fire
Advisory Board meeting has been cancelled.
The next meeting will be held September 23 at 8 p.m.
APPOINTMENTS:
The
Clerk of the Board announced that Chairman Crandall has appointed Scott Torrey,
Executive Director of the Soil and Water Conservation District Board, to fill
the remainder of Gretchen Gary’s one-year term as a member of the COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GROUP,
effective immediately, to serve at his pleasure.
RESOLUTIONS:
RESOLUTION
NO. 142-10
SUPPORTING THE
CREATION OF
ENHANCED SALES TAX
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM
FOR IMPROVED LOCAL
GOVERNMENT FISCAL MANAGEMENT
Offered by: Ways and Means Committee
WHEREAS, for the past five quarters,
sales tax collections in New York State have declined from prior year
collections, and
WHEREAS, the local share of sales and
use tax is a major revenue source for all 57 counties, and is the principle
alternative to the real property tax for the counties to provide state mandated
services at the local level, and
WHEREAS, the state share of sales and
use tax is also a major revenue for it, and a principle alternative to the
personal income tax, and
WHEREAS, accurate forecasting and full
collection of this tax is critical to the fiscal integrity of all levels of
government, and
WHEREAS, because the total sales tax is
collected by the State Department of Taxation and Finance and then the local
share is distributed to counties, local officials are dependent on the State
Tax Department for information on collections, audit recoveries, and vendor
information. For a variety of reasons,
this information is often difficult to obtain and interpret, and
WHEREAS, the creation of a revenue
resource center whose function could provide:
a. a
forecast model for all 57 counties outside the City of
b. technical
assistance in integrating forecast information into county budgets, monitoring
collection data, and implementing planning and management tools that enhance county
fiscal management;
c. a
secure internet site and use it to receive and distribute data from T&F and
OSC;
d. interpretive
tools that will assist county staff in making the best use of the information;
e. research,
devise, and conduct a series of joint county/T&F compliance activities;
f. an
Advisory Board comprised of county officials and a representative of both the
Commissioner of the State Department of Taxation and Finance (T&F) and the
State Comptroller (OSC);
g. an
annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on state/local tax policy,
administration and compliance; and
WHEREAS, additional benefits of this
new transparent and modern system of sales tax analysis and collection could
also provide benefits to the state such as:
a. a
knowledgeable single point of contact between county and Tax Department
officials;
b. the
forecast would be available to state policymakers to further inform their own
revenue forecast;
c. a
platform for state/county collaborative efforts on sales tax compliance and
policy development;
d. potential
to be expanded to other joint revenue sources and/or joint program areas where the
routine and facilitated exchange of data would be mutually beneficial; and
e. creating
the foundation for a national model, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. That
the Allegany County Board of Legislators hereby urges the Governor and State
Department of Taxation and Finance to establish a Joint Revenue Resource Center
that will provide a platform for enhanced revenue forecasts, especially of the
sales tax, and serve as a forum for state and local fiscal managers to work
together to improve the management and effectiveness of the revenue systems we
share.
2. That the Clerk of this Board is
directed to forthwith mail a certified copy of this resolution to Governor
David A. Paterson, Senator Catharine M. Young, Assemblymen Daniel J. Burling
and Joseph M. Giglio, NYSAC, InterCounty of Western New York, and all others
deemed necessary and proper.
Moved by: Mr. Fanton Adopted: Roll Call
Seconded by: Mr. Healy 11
Ayes, 0 Noes, 4 Absent
RESOLUTION
NO. 143-10
DESIGNATING THE
WELLSVILLE DAILY REPORTER AS SOLE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR THE PERIOD AUGUST 8,
2010, TO AUGUST 13, 2010
Offered by:
Ways and Means Committee
WHEREAS, the Clerk of this Board was informed that the Cuba Patriot & Free
Press, one of the official newspapers, will not be publishing during the period
of August 8, 2010, to August
13, 2010, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 1 of Resolution No. 250-09, the newspaper The Wellsville Daily Reporter
is designated as the sole official newspaper to publish local laws, notices and
other matters required by law to be published during the period of August 8,
2010, to August 13, 2010.
Moved by: Mr. Fanton Adopted: Voice Vote
Seconded by: Mr. Pullen
RESOLUTION INTRO. NO. 148-10 (APPROVAL
OF AGREEMENT WITH ACCORD FOR GRANT WRITING SERVICES) was TABLED following a
motion made by Legislator Sinclair, seconded by Legislator Curran and carried. Legislator Sinclair noted that although the
resolution had been further developed to describe the issue, there was still
some concern about the specifics of the arrangement.
AUDITS:
A motion was made by
Legislator O’Grady, seconded by Legislator Fanton and carried, that the audits
be acted upon collectively and by totals.
A motion was made by
Legislator O’Grady, seconded by Legislator Pullen and adopted on a roll call
vote of 11 Ayes, 0 Noes, 4 Absent, that the audit of claims, totaling $3,062,100.80,
including prepaid expenses, be approved for payment as recommended by the
County Administrator. (
COMMENTS:
The following announcements
were made:
·
Personnel
Committee meeting (executive session) following the Board meeting.
·
Tour of
the Court Facilities Project after the Personnel meeting.
·
Senior Picnic,
July 29 at the
·
Reminder
of the Legislators’ Clambake, July 30.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m. on a motion made by Legislator Fanton,
seconded by Legislator Ungermann and carried.