Finance Committee

FINANCE Thursday, February 26, 2026 – 5:30 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Members: Chairman McCall, Vice Chairman Crawford (arrived late), Alderman Bennion, Alderman Keary, Alderman Forney (arrived late), Alderman Robinson, and Alderman Anastasia. Others: Mayor Amy Sherburne; Lens Martial, City Auditor; James Sprague, Director of Public Works; Jennifer Fairbanks-Black, Chief of Staff; Stephanie Olson, Principal Account Clerk, and Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman McCall called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. and asked that the record show that all committee members were present except Aldermen Forney and Crawford, who would be arriving late. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, February 17, 2026) A motion to approve the minutes of the February 17, 2026 meeting was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Robinson. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business None 4. New Referrals for Consideration a. PL #15-26: (Sherburne) Budget 2026 – 2027. Alderman McCall explained the Council will be meeting every Tuesday and Thursday until we get through this process, and advised the budget must be adopted by April 15th. She explained each department will present their budgets and the Council will have the opportunity to ask questions. She explained handouts were provided to the Council regarding AIM funding, and explained the City has traditionally gotten a little more than $2.23 million in AIM funding. She explained we are receiving an additional $780,000 in temporary aid, which is an unrestricted grant to every city, town, and village in New York State. She explained this began in 2024-2025 and was extended last year and this year, but there is no guarantee we will see the funding again next year. She explained this funding is not guaranteed. Alderman Bennion read: “An 18.6% property tax increase and an 11% increase in sewer rates is not the answer. I fully recognize that a new mayor taking office on January 1—less than 45 days ago—faces a significant challenge in delivering a proposed budget. Doing so while working within unfamiliar systems and addressing deficiencies identified in prior external audits only adds to that difficulty. That said, the magnitude of these proposed increases cannot be justified. Further complicating this year’s budget process was an audit conducted by the State Comptroller’s Office due to late and inaccurate financial reporting in recent years, as well as a decline in appropriate fund balance levels. Some members of the public have speculated about malfeasance or theft. At this time, audit findings do not support those claims. What they do support, however, is a pattern of overspending, lack of managerial oversight, and a willful failure to take corrective action. In addition to the Comptroller’s audit, we all recently sat through the presentation of findings from the independent auditor. That report was separate from the State Comptroller’s audit and, as you are aware, was delivered late. It could not be fully utilized in this year’s budget process—through no fault of the current mayor. The delay was attributed to the same ongoing issues of late and inaccurate reporting that triggered heightened scrutiny in the first place. In prior years, despite repeated audit findings identifying weaknesses in internal controls, the previous administration reduced the Auditor’s training budget while maintaining healthy training, travel, and even celebration line items within their own department. Yet when overspending occurred—such as an unreported cost adjustment for the purchase of five vehicles or the unapproved installation of lighting at a local park—funds were located within existing budget lines. We were often told those lines were as tight as possible, yet when necessary, the money was found. That history demonstrates that flexibility exists within the budget if we are willing to examine it thoroughly. We also experienced a spending freeze. Equipment replacements were deferred. Vacancies went unfilled. Motorized equipment purchases—which drive long-term maintenance costs—were limited. Overall spending was tightened significantly. And yet, the city did not crumble. Services continued. The job still got done. That period showed us that we can operate leaner and more efficiently when required. It forced us to distinguish between true needs and discretionary wants. Instead of imposing dramatic tax and rate increases, I would have preferred to see a modest increase—perhaps 4% to account for inflation—paired with a year focused on strengthening our financial position. That means driving new revenues, cutting unnecessary expenses, and maintaining disciplined spending controls wherever feasible. There are clear opportunities to increase revenue without placing additional burden on city residents. Ambulance services provided to outside municipalities should be governed by formal contracts that reflect the value of the service. We should not be providing coverage without compensation or reciprocal benefit. In addition, I believe we should explore creating an EMS-only division—whether under the auspices of the Fire Union or CSEA—that would allow us to provide interfacility transports and additional medical calls without affecting minimum manning levels of the Fire Department. This would allow us to generate ambulance revenue from services we are currently unable to provide. In recent years, medical call volume has increased significantly, along with the demand for interfacility medical transports. Call data shows that demand is especially high during business hours, Monday through Friday, when the city experiences an influx of people for work and services. With recent developments affecting regional hospitals and the expansion of our own hospital, we can reasonably anticipate continued growth in medical service demand. More individuals coming into the city daily—or even relocating here for medical access—means greater need for EMS support. While many suggest that bringing back industry is the fastest solution to revenue challenges, the reality is far more complex. The costs associated with state mandates, payroll expenses, and broader economic pressures make that a long-term and uncertain strategy. We must focus on revenue streams that are achievable and sustainable. An EMS division, even if started on a small scale as a pilot program, would allow us to capture revenue currently left on the table while meeting a demonstrated need in our community. Similarly, sewer agreements with outside municipalities should be reevaluated. It is difficult to justify charging outside users only a fraction of what city residents pay—especially when certain commercial users receive even deeper discounts. These agreements should reflect the true cost and value of the service, structured as any responsible business would structure them, potentially at a premium. For too long, city residents have subsidized these services. This budget also proposes increases in personnel that I believe are unwarranted at this time. We have operated with vacancies before. Before expanding staffing levels, we must determine whether those positions are truly necessary. If certain roles are not essential, I would support eliminating or deferring them and reallocating those funds to strengthen staffing in the Engineering Department. Building engineering capacity could reduce long-term project costs and allow us to better administer programs like the sidewalk rebate initiative, which requires inspection and compliance certification. Additionally, publicly signaling a 3% increase within the 100 salary lines prior to contract negotiations provides a roadmap to the other side and encourages high-to-low bargaining. That approach does not strengthen the City’s negotiating position. Another structural issue remains: approximately 60% of the City’s real property value is owned by not-for-profit entities, leaving roughly 40% of property owners bearing the tax burden. Yet general fund services—roads, sidewalks, street lighting—are used by all property owners. A road maintenance or infrastructure fee structured by frontage, lot size, or square footage is one potential legal mechanism to distribute costs more equitably and lessen the burden on the taxable base. We were recently informed of a greater than $700,000 increase in AMES funding. I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that this funding should be used to balance the operating budget. At this time, we do not know whether this is a one-time occurrence or a standardized annual increase. Using potentially non-recurring revenue to offset recurring expenses would only delay necessary structural decisions and effectively kick the problem down the road—much like some of the infrastructure projects we have deferred over the years. A smarter and more responsible use of those funds would be to direct them toward infrastructure improvements, particularly residential road repairs where smaller projects are more affordable and impactful. Options such as tar-and-chip applications could provide a lower-cost repair solution on appropriate streets, especially those that are not major throughways where loose stone may present concerns. Investing these funds into roads and infrastructure addresses long-standing needs without creating future budget gaps. The real financial crisis in Olean is not within the city’s operational budget lines. It is within the household budgets of our residents—families struggling with rising utility bills, higher grocery costs, and increasing daily expenses. Local government is the level of government that most directly impacts a person’s day-to-day life, yet it is often overlooked in favor of higher offices. The decisions made at the local level determine whether residents can afford to remain in their homes. At this time, I am unwilling to support increases of this magnitude. However, I look forward to working collaboratively with the new mayor throughout the budgeting process to arrive at a final budget that respects differing perspectives while maintaining a disciplined financial focus on the taxpayers of Olean.” At this time, Alderman Forney entered the meeting. Alderman Anastasia explained there is $260,000 in the budget and if this is for temporary municipal aid, this is included in the $780,000 so we are only receiving an additional $520,000. He explained we should double check these numbers. He explained he doesn’t think the City is in a financial crisis and we have increased surpluses. He explained he is looking forward to going through the budget to see what is in here and hopes to get the tax increase down to about 4%. Mayor Sherburne explained she looks forward to working with the Council on this budget. She explained the Council will see numbers projected based on what they were, and based on other concerns we were not meeting. She explained she would not, as a taxpayer, want to see the City burdened with this tax levy. She explained she hopes the new software will be beneficial for the City and its residents, and hopes we will be able to streamline and come up with a solution that is a lower increase than what it is today. She explained we need to keep track of finances and hopefully we can improve and strengthen the confidence of taxpayers who look at the number as a true effect on their household. Department of Public Works Director Sprague explained the existing position in the Engineering Department is cross-funded between the general fund, water fund, and sewer fund, and explained there is one position added so we can get a design engineer or junior engineer to help in that department. Ms. Olson explained only a third of the salary for the two positions are on this line, and the remaining are in water and sewer. Alderman Anastasia asked what the salary is for the new engineer and Ms. Olson explained the salary starts at $53,783, but this does not include benefits. Alderman McCall explained fringe adds approximately another 55%, so around $27,000 on top of that. Alderman Bennion explained the number in the 100 line item on the board is different than the 100 line item in the printouts. He explained the board also shows a net loss of $60 despite adding a new position, and he questions how that works. Ms. Olson explained there may have been a few changes after the copy was sent, as with the new software, they had difficulty getting totals for employees to the department heads. She noted fringe benefits are included in the budget, but they are in a different line. Alderman Bennion asked how the cost goes down when you are adding an employee. Mayor Sherburne explained the payroll portion was the most difficult with this new program. Ms. Olson explained she believes the position was originally split 50% general fund and 25% each water and sewer funds and now it is being changed to 1/3 in each department. Mayor Sherburne explained the office has struggled with payroll, changing numbers and allocating funds correctly. She explained they have had this discussion several times and she thinks it will easier going through line by line. Alderman McCall explained the City is working to adjust the budget so positions that cross different departments are allocated as such. She explained if an engineer will be doing work for the water and sewer departments, then the position’s cost needs to be allocated appropriately. At this time, Alderman Crawford entered the meeting. Mr. Martial explained he believes payroll for engineering was not appropriated correctly last year, which is why there is a decrease from last year to this year. Ms. Olson added in the past, CSEA salaries had been budgeted at the full amount, not taking into account the step system where a percentage is taken off of the pay each year for the first five years until an employee reaches max salary. She explained the maximum pay for this position is $59,000, but it starts at $53,000. Director Sprague explained they did not change the amount in overtime. Ms. Olson explained the amount listed for other personal service is for out of title pay for the new engineer. Alderman McCall explained if a new position is being requested, the Council would like to see some rationale and what the cost benefit is to add the position. She explained this junior engineer position has come before the Council before and she would like to know why we need it as well as what the cost savings will be down the road. Director Sprague explained the rationale for the new position is that the Engineering Department historically had three employees, and now we are down to one. He explained the existing engineer was consumed managing and keeping on top of street resurfacing and the annual concrete contract during the entire construction season. He explained he worked a lot of overtime during that period. He explained other things went by the wayside such as the sidewalk rebate program and the Orleans Avenue sanitary sewer. He explained there is simply more work than one person can do based on the current expectations of the group. Alderman McCall asked if this position would save us construction inspection costs for projects, and Director Sprague explained with only two engineers in house they probably would not be able to handle the design work for larger projects. He explained there are a lot of smaller things they could do, though. Mayor Sherburne explained when discussing the sewer overflow issue with the DEC, discussions were had about an engineer who would be able to oversee the project. She explained we currently do not have that, and it is unrealistic to expect Director Sprague to do this on top of the other work he does. She explained we have been without this position for a while. Alderman Anastasia asked what a junior engineer would do in the winter months. Director Sprague explained right now the current engineer is working on the paving and resurfacing project for the next construction season, and the junior engineer would help with that. He explained this involves assessing the conditions of streets. He explained there is more for engineering to do than just during the construction season. He explained we will be initiating a graphical information system (GIS) which is a requirement under the DEC Order on Consent. He explained having an asset management system is a milestone that has not kicked in yet, but both are significant computer databases that require maintenance and you have to have a person who is the designated “gatekeeper” to the data. He explained making sure this is up to date and fully functional is a large job. Alderman Robinson explained he understands why we have so much overtime when we have one person instead of three, but he feels potentially adding another body to the department would allow the overtime budget to decrease. He explained in the prior year we spent under $5,000 so he feels this number can be cut in half. He explained he believes the Mayor is looking to go line-by-line and make adjustments as we go, and when we run into issues where we have to have some discussion or consideration we can come back to them. He explained with this particular position he feels we have kicked it down the road for so long that we need to get another body for that department, adjust overtime accordingly, and then in another year consider if a third body is needed. Alderman Bennion asked if this is a new position. Mr. Martial explained the position was removed from the budget last year. Alderman Robinson explained he questions if it was funded and just vacant due the numbers we are seeing. Alderman McCall explained she believes that as well. She noted that when there are changes made from one budget version to the next, they should be highlighted so the Council can see these changes. Director Sprague explained Miscellaneous Contracted Services increased and this line is used if we need surveying services. He explained we recently discussed getting rid of City-owned vacant lots, and explained there might be some contracted services costs there. He explained we will also have some geotechnical engineering services and explained we would hire a testing firm to take core samples of street s to take a look at the layers to determine if there is a subbase issue. He explained Dues and Subscriptions increased because one thing he wants to emphasize is getting our staff out there among their professional peers active in some professional associations, and there are always nominal fees for that. Alderman McCall asked if $1,000 in Travel and Training will be adequate with a new position, as we have expended $1,400 so far this year. Director Sprague explained he feels at this point it will be, as there is a lot of training available online now. He explained until we have someone here and we can make an assessment of their skill set and knowledge base, we won’t know. He explained regardless, he does not expect a large amount of training being needed within the engineering ranks. Alderman McCall explained with the idea of adjusting as we go, the only adjustment being requested in this budget is the decrease in overtime. Director Sprague explained Public Works Administration consists of himself and Ms. LaRue in the 100, 101 and 102 lines. He explained there are no new employees in this department. He explained the rest of the lines are standard office-equipment type line items. He explained there was some work done between the 220 and 250 line items, and line 220 will be removed leaving one line for maintenance of office equipment such as the printers, copier, and bill folder. Alderman McCall asked what the difference is between repairs to equipment and office equipment repairs, and Director Sprague explained they are probably the same and could probably be combined. Alderman McCall asked about changes in the 100 line item and Ms. Olson explained the only changes are contractual increases. She explained Ms. LaRue receives a 75 cents per hour raise per the CSEA contract and Director Sprague’s contract contains a $5,000 raise for the year. Alderman Anastasia asked about the $3,000 requested for Travel and Training as only $48 has been spent so far this year. Director Sprague explained by the end of March, $2,000 will have been spent. Ms. Olson explained the 100 line item under Buildings incudes union staff, and explained it doesn’t look like the part-time cleaner was included in this line in the past so her salary was added in there as well. She explained the increase is contractual, as well as adding $4,000 for a part- time cleaner that was not in there previously. Director Sprague explained the Telephone line has an increase as we are changing carriers and are still having billing issues and physical issues for the telephone lines for the fire alarm systems. He explained work is being done on these, and this is his understanding of why charges are going up. He explained Light and Power and Fuel for Heating also increased due to market conditions. Alderman McCall asked if Light and Power includes credits from BQ Energy. Mayor Sherburne explained the BQ credits were included in the budget under revenues, and explained she believes $407,000 was placed in the revenue line. Alderman McCall explained we all know rates are going up and we will have to be mindful as we go through the Light and Power lines in the budget. She asked if the Council could receive a spreadsheet with the Light and Power costs across all budgets so they have an idea of what actual costs are for all of those, and then they can look at these as how they relate to credits. Mr. Martial explained he has a spreadsheet he will forward to the Council tomorrow. Alderman Robinson explained based on prior year use and year-to-date use, he feels we are allocating more than we need to for Fuel for heating. He explained he thinks $25,000 is a more realistic number than $42,000, and Mayor Sherburne explained she would like to see this number at $32,000. Alderman McCall asked if a 120% increase is necessary in Light and Power, and Mayor Sherburne explained the BQ Energy credits are not going as far as they used to. Director Sprague explained he has increased Building Repairs substantially, and explained $500 will not buy a single part to fix the HVAC system. He explained there is unfortunately really no way to project what is going to break to accurately budget this line item. He explained other places he has worked, he has budgeted based on the average amount used during the past five years. Alderman McCall explained the Council has long asked that things like this be built into the budget rather than be surprised by them later on. Director Sprague explained in Central Garage, there is an additional position in this budget. Mayor Sherburne explained in talking with the Garage Supervisor, she found during the last budget freezes someone left and the funding for this vacancy was taken out of the last budget. She explained there is a lot of overtime in this department and they have expressed needing another employee. She suggested rather than a master mechanic putting in an entry-level position. She explained she specifically has one day to discuss fleet during the budget discussions, and explained there is a lot that the garage does besides just fix vehicles. She explained they are stretched thin there. Director Sprague agreed they are stretched thin and explained the supervisor requested an increase in overtime in the budget. He explained the supervisor also requested getting back to the staffing amount before the position was unfunded, which is the historic staffing amount for that group. He explained this budget adds back in the fourth position and does not increase overtime. Alderman Anastasia asked what the cost of the position is, and Ms. Olson explained the cost is $48,485 for the base salary. Alderman Bennion explained on the paper that breaks down payroll, it shows this position split 50% general fund, 25% water and 25% sewer. Ms. Olson explained that line is not distributed correctly and that can be adjusted. Alderman Bennion explained this will bring the general fund cost down about $8,000. Mayor Sherburne explained they did not want to make this adjustment until we were in this meeting so the Council would not be seeing two different numbers for one line item. Alderman McCall asked if the budget would be updated and sent to the Council, and Mayor Sherburne explained it will be. Alderman McCall requested all changes from the original document be highlighted so the Council will see what changes were made when they go through the budget. Director Sprague explained line 250 says Office System Repairs, but it is for tools. He explained there were some automatically filled in titles for lines that we need to work out. He explained Gas and Oil was previously in this department for everyone, but the goal was to distribute it evenly through each budget center where it is being used. He explained they left $1,000 in this line because there is one truck in this department. He explained $174,000 has been removed and can be seen in other budgets. He explained they have records from the pumps as to what vehicle was used for how much, so we have distribution for actuals this year. Mr. Martial explained right now the entire amount is in the streets department for $180,000 and the total increase is $5,000. Alderman McCall explained this needs to be broken out and allocated correctly. Director Sprague explained it will be broken down for police, fires, streets, and parks. Mr. Martial asked if we should do that or have a central line in one location, and Mayor Sherburne explained she feels it should be separated out in each department. Director Sprague explained there is an increase in Tires and Batteries to reflect what we are seeing in the marketplace. Alderman Crawford asked if the same logic could be used to Tires and Batteries that is used for fuel and oil, to distribute the cost across the funds. Director Sprague explained we could, and explained he is working with the software that will make it easier in the budget next year to make those distributions easier. Alderman Crawford explained the most important thing is to ensure a proper split across the three funds rather than in individual departments based on the number of vehicles in each fund. Ms. Dutton advised the water and sewer costs are already captured in their own budgets, but it is not listed under Tires. Alderman McCall explained we will need to follow up on that. Director Sprague explained he bumped up building repairs for the City Garage. Alderman McCall explained we need to make the garage safer for staff and vehicles, especially as we will not be able to do a new garage any time soon. Director Sprague explained there is a small increase to repairs to auto equipment. Alderman McCall asked about splitting this cost between the departments and Director Sprague explained he can work on that. Director Sprague explained there are three employees in the Electrical Department, and there are no new hires. Ms. Olson explained there is one proposed summer help part-time position, and the total cost added is $8,900. Director Sprague explained they did increase Supplies and Materials by 20% to reflect pricing that we are seeing in the marketplace. He explained there is an increase in Uniforms and Protective Clothing as there is some specialized equipment for arc flash protection that they need to keep up to date on. He explained he increased Travel and Training by $2,000 as two staff members in this group are in their second year and they are still being trained, and there is some fairly formalized training for them to do. Alderman Bennion asked if any of Mr. Kahm’s salary is attributed to the water and sewer funds, and Ms. Olson explained it is. Alderman McCall asked if there are a lot of expenses in Supplies and Materials at the end of the year, and Director Sprague explained ti depends on what they get to between now and June 1st. He explained this would be a good line item to look at using the five year average for when budgeting. Alderman Anastasia asked if there is normally part-time help during the summer for this department. Director Sprague explained there was not last year, but historically there has been. Alderman McCall asked what the part-time help would be doing, and Director Sprague explained the electricians will be working on field lighting at Forness and there is a lot of heavy lifting that they could use help with. He explained it is also a great way to introduce someone to the electrical trade and working for a public entity. Mayor Sherburne asked if we anticipate any more electrical work in the parks, and Director Sprague explained there is a fairly large amount of electrical work at Marcus that we will be participating in. He explained field lighting needs to be done at Forness, and lighting improvements at North Union Street. Mayor Sherburne asked how long the position is for, and Director Sprague explained it is budgeted for 12-14 weeks but we usually can’t keep the employee for 12 weeks because they go back to college. Ms. Olson explained the position is budgeted for 560 hours, $16 an hour, and will be split 1/3 in each fund. Ms. Olson explained in the Streets Personal Service line item, we have one full time position included as a new hire. Mayor Sherburne explained the thought was to have a new hire here that we would cross-train on Parks with the hope of cutting down overtime. She explained it needs to be discussed further, but we do want to extend the workweek so we can have the new hire be a permanent weekend position with another rotating person from the crew. She explained the flexible schedule would allow us to offer more services every day of the week, and there is more value in that, especially with equipment. She explained this would also have someone on the schedule for events to man the parks on weekends, and if we have another harsh winter it would be good to have a devoted weekend employee to plow and spread salt. She explained the idea is to cross-train someone between Parks and Streets to decrease overtime. Alderman McCall explained the Council had discussed this for another department, having someone hired specifically for the weekend to decrease overtime. Mayor Sherburne explained we can also have staff working earlier and later during the week, as snow doesn’t stop falling at 3:00 p.m. on a Friday. Alderman McCall explained the Council wanted the bathrooms open during the summer months and it was a long-term fight about who would close them. She explained if someone was working evenings and weekends, it would be great. Alderman Bennion asked if the contract says anything about hours, and Director Sprague explained he doesn’t believe the contract says anything about them. Alderman Bennion asked why we can’t just flex scheduling for the current employees. Director Sprague advised this budget includes four part-time summer employees, and Mayor Sherburne asked if we think the part-time might not be necessary if we add a full-time position. Mr. Volz asked about a reduction in the 100 line over the past two years, and Ms. Taylor noted summer help was not included in the budget last year. Alderman Crawford explained he would be more in favor of hiring summer help than adding a position. Mayor Sherburne explained she doesn’t know if we would want to move the people around that we have now, and Ms. Taylor advised it can be done, and noted there was recently scheduling changing done in the Sewer Department. Mayor Sherburne explained there might be people who want to work a four day weekend for flexibility in life. Alderman Anastasia explained that is up to management, not the Council, and Alderman McCall explained she agrees but if we can flex schedules that will save the City money. She explained when we look at new hires we need to look at more flexible schedules from the beginning. Alderman Robinson explained he is in favor of flexible schedules, but he is also in favor of summer help when there is an uptick. Mayor Sherburne asked if the Council would like the added Streets Maintainer II position removed and the four summer help left in, and the Council agreed with these changes. Alderman McCall explained it is important that we have a formal schedule of things for the part-time help to do so they aren’t just sitting around. She explained we need to train them to be civil employees and give them good work experience. Mayor Sherburne explained with the decreased overtime, she feels it has been a big issue especially with all of the weekends that we have needed snow removal. She explained we have seen a huge increase in overtime. Alderman Keary explained it looks like we are reaching the budgeted amount, and Ms. Olson explained overtime is over budget as of the last payroll. Alderman Bennion asked if coming in at 5:00 a.m. is overtime and Director Sprague explained it is. Alderman Bennion suggested flexing schedules to 5:00 a.m. in the winter in order to reduce overtime. Alderman McCall explained a lot of companies flex schedules to meet their needs and we need to do what we can to meet our needs. Mayor Sherburne asked if the overtime line should be increased, and Director Sprague explained if we are removing the additional full-time position, he would like overtime increased. Alderman Bennion asked how many summer help total are in the budget, and Ms. Olson explained there are four in Parks, four in Streets, and one in Electric. Director Sprague explained Supplies and Materials is for street maintenance asphalt, stone, storm drainage and associated materials. He explained this line was increased, reflecting costs that we are currently seeing, particularly in asphalt. He explained Gas and Oil will be redistributed, and he reduced Uniforms and Protective Clothing based on use. He explained Chemicals and Lab Supplies is one of the labels in the system he can't change, and it is actually for street signs. Mr. Martial explained he merged two line items into one for traffic signals. Alderman Bennion asked what dropped under traffic signals, and Director Sprague explained we wanted $20,000 in the line item and accidentally put in an extra zero so it was changed from $200,000 to $20,000. Mr. Volz explained we had to make changes to InCode to make line items match up with everything, and we are putting things over to OpenGov software which can take some time, He explained we are trying to figure this out on the reporting end. Alderman McCall explained in Maintenance of Streets the Council would like to back out a position, leave the summer help and increased overtime, redistribute gas and oil costs, and make changes to the account name and number for street signs. Director Sprague explained the big change in the Tree Program is he included $25,000 to start purchasing new trees. He explained this has not been in effect in recent years to replace trees that have been removed in subways. He explained this is a start although it will not make a huge dent around the City. He explained we need to be replacing those trees, and this will give us some funding to replace some. Alderman Bennion explained trees in the subway are an entirely different discussion, and Alderman McCall explained we need to have this discussion before we give anyone a tree they need to pay to take down. She asked if the Personal Service is for a forester or for allocation of the staff for that position, and Mayor Sherburne explained it could be a populated number that we need to take out. Alderman Crawford asked if the City is supposed to have a forester, and Ms. Taylor explained the funding was taken out of the budget and we are no longer Tree City USA, one of the reasons being because we no longer have a forester. Alderman McCall asked what the intent of this was and explained we have talked about looking at Alfred or other different places such as Pfeiffer Nature Center to be able to share services. Alderman Crawford explained he believes we have even discussed training someone to have someone in the Parks Department that can do this position. Mr. Martial explained Emergency Cleanup was reduced and we can increase this amount by moving the funds from Personal Service. Ms. Olson explained she did not receive anything requesting funding in that line item. Alderman Crawford explained he is alright making this change. Alderman McCall explained down the road we need to have a plan and look to do something with a forester. Alderman Crawford explained Ms. Kerper previously got the City a grant for a database of City trees, and explained the idea was to have the forester maintain that database. He explained he does not know how is maintaining that today. Alderman McCall explained she feels we need to have some clarity as to what our intent with trees is. She explained she would like to strike out the $15,000 for now, but keep the $25,000 because we have not put in trees in a long time, and residents have come to her about this. She explained we have trees in the parks that will be coming down that could be replaced as well. Alderman Robinson explained he does not like the idea that an inventory was done and now he is hearing it is not being attended to. He explained he thinks we need to dedicate someone to get that updated before we get so far down the road, the list is worthless. Director Sprague explained he increased Capital Outlay in Bridges by $10,000. He explained we have several bridges that don’t require a lot of maintenance from us, but occasionally they do require something. He explained we need to maintain a small budget in case we need to respond to something on one of those. Director Sprague explained there are no changes in Snow Removal. He explained Supplies is for road salt, and Mayor Sherburne explained we are already over budget for that for the year. Director Sprague explained $17,500 under Repair and Replacement of Accessories might buy one plow. Alderman McCall explained we need some type of new salt structure, and Mayor Sherburne explained we have been trying very hard to find a grant and a place for this to work. She explained she thinks we have a really good idea, and she is determined to figure this out. Alderman Crawford explained with salt being over budget, one thing that was brought up is the budget not being adjusted for the future when it goes over budget. He asked if we are starting a practice where are increasing budgeted line items so we don’t overspend them in the future. Mayor Sherburne explained she discussed this with Mr. Bearfield, who expressed if we come in over budget as we just did, there is funding in the signs budget that can be transferred so we will initiate that transfer. Alderman Crawford asked if this can be done without Council action, and Ms. Taylor explained she will look into this with the City Attorney and Comptroller’s Office. Alderman Robinson explained he feels we should increase this number in case of worst case scenario so we don’t go over, as then if we spend less we are fine but if we spend more we are covered. Director Sprague explained we are trying to squeak by for the rest of the year with the salt we have left but we might need to purchase a little more before the end of the season. Alderman McCall explained the line is currently at $125,000 and Director Sprague explained we are transferring $15,000 for additional salt. Alderman McCall asked if we should increase this amount to $140,000 and Mayor Sherburne suggested $135,000 as this was a bad winter. Mayor Sherburne explained Street Lighting changed because the BQ Energy credits were removed and put into a revenue line. Mr. Martial explained that is something we need to look at differently. Alderman McCall asked if it would make sense to have BQ Energy credits for specific departments. Mayor Sherburne explained Mr. Martial can call it Light and Power for expenses and BQ Energy for revenue. She explained we will work on the Light and Power costs, and make sure the line items are cleaned up and properly allocated. Mayor Sherburne explained for the airport, we are working on revenue and we usually have $95,000 from the County for operational expenses. She explained that is processed and we are trying to track down what we have provided the County for that. She explained there will be a revenue line in the budget to reflect that $95,000. Alderman Bennion explained the City was originally given $80,000, and then was given an additional $15,000 when the PILOT program expired to help cover taxes. Mr. Keary asked if this is separate from rental fees and fuel income. And Mayor Sherburne explained that it is. Alderman McCall explained she feels the airport should be net zero for costs for us for the most part, and Alderman Robinson explained he does not think the airport has ever operated at net zero. Mayor Sherburne explained we do make money off of fuel sales, and Alderman Keary explained he does not see this in revenues. Mr. Martial explained it is included in line 1770 with rental fees. Ms. Olson explained Personal Service for $132,600 is for 6 part-time positions, 7,800 hours, with one vacant position. She explained last year those six employees only worked 3,649 hours between them for a total of $62,018. She explained it looks like we are anticipating more hours, and Alderman McCall asked why this has jumped up two thirds. Mr. Martial explained he does not think this number is correct. He explained he called the airport today and he will be getting on the phone tomorrow to see what the reason is for this. He explained a 74% increase in salary is not right. Ms. Olson explained these numbers came from Ms. LaRue, and Alderman McCall asked that Mr. Martial and Director Sprague look into this. She explained there is no accountability for why the hours increased so much. Alderman Robinson explained he does not think City of Olean residents should be subsidizing an airport for a small group of individuals in the county. He explained he believes the County should take this over and the City should no longer maintain the airport. Mayor Sherburne explained there are issues at the airport, and Director Sprague explained the main hangar has issues and the doors are difficult to get open during the winter. Alderman Robinson explained the fix should be paid for by the people who use the hangar. Mayor Sherburne explained we will have a meeting about the airport to discuss these things. She explained it is worth more of a conversation. She explained she is looking into the possibility of timbering at the airport. Alderman Bennion asked if fuel can be tracked separately from fees under revenue and Mr. Martial explained he would make that change. 5. Committee Reports None 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Anastasia. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:45 p.m.