Finance Committee

FINANCE Thursday, March 12, 2026 – 5:30 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman McCall, Alderman Bennion, Alderman Keary, Alderman Forney, Alderman Robinson, and Alderman Anastasia. Others: Mayor Amy Sherburne; Jennifer Fairbanks- Black, Chief of Staff; Frank Caputo, City Clerk; Lens Martial, City Auditor; Keri Kerper, Community Development Program Coordinator; Gregg Piechota, City Assessor; 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 Alderman Crawford, who was absent. 2. Executive Session A motion to enter into executive session to discuss matters leading to the appointment of employment of a particular person was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Keary. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Executive session began at 5:30 p.m. A motion to adjourn from executive session was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Robinson. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Executive session adjourned at approximately 5:30 p.m. 3. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, March 10, 2026) 4. Unfinished Business a. PL #15-26: (Sherburne) Budget 2026 – 2027. Assessor Mr. Piechota explained the only increase in his budget is the 100 line, Personnel Service, which is contractual. Community Development Ms. Kerper explained under the Planning Board line, she has seven members with three current vacancies that need to be filled. She explained there is a slight increase to Travel and Training because these new members will need to have four hours of training in order to act on the Planning Board. She noted they first try to find free trainings online, but that does not always work with the schedules of the members. Ms. Kerper explained there is a contractual increase in her 100 line, and the Overtime line remained the same. She explained there is a larger increase in her 102 line as her assistant will be retiring, so the amount shown is her June and July salary plus the contractual amount allocated to her for payout of vacation. She explained Office Supplies and Materials has increased because it was cut so far last year. She explained she increased Professional Services from zero to $1,000 in case she needs help with some engineering or architectural work that could come up in a grant application. She noted this line used to be funded between $10,000 and $20,000, and most of the work she is now doing herself. She explained Recording Fees are for homeowners that will require satisfaction of mortgages from their time in the homeownership program. She explained under Programs, there will be an amount of 1% of the ESD grant for Marcus Park due in the next fiscal year in the amount of $7,527. She explained she had budgeted this in the current fiscal year but we are under construction and cannot close out the grant until the project is complete. She noted we also owe the ESD application fee and for public hearing expenses, and she budgeted $1,500 for that. She explained they also have budgeted the Adobe license fee of $288, the Zoom license fee of $400, and $300 for FedEx and notices regarding Fair Housing or any other programs. Ms. Kerper explained under Transportation, $30,000 is budgeted for the annual partner contribution to Allegany County for their sponsorship of the transit system. She explained she would like to ask, instead of budgeting this, to earmark bed tax funds for thi8s as it is an eligible item for economic development and tourism. She explained she would like to survey the OATS riders and calculate what percentage use the bus for employment. Alderman Robinson explained he is not opposed to his, but we should finish our discussion on the bed tax and utilizing the funding for different ideas we have discussed. Alderman Bennion explained this would still need to be shown as an expense in the budget. Mayor Sherburne explained it can be paid out of the special reserve and allocated from bed tax funds. Alderman McCall explained she does not want to nickel and dime that resource, but if this is the only amount coming out of that, it would be fine. She asked if we did away with the downtown route, and Ms. Kerper explained she did. Alderman McCall explained she would like to see what we can do to put that back in and Alderman Robinson explained that would be a contract negotiation. Ms. Kerper explained the ridership was not there for that portion of the route based on the numbers they had collected. She explained it did not make sense to continue that route. She explained those spot are also still serviced by the City loop. She explained she can pass this request along to Allegany County if the Council would like. Alderman McCall explained she wants to make sure we include the downtown district if we use this for marketing. Alderman Robinson explained we should wait and revisit this after the other end of North Union Street has redeveloped. Alderman McCall asked about the bed tax in the current budget and asked what we are going to do to make sure this doesn’t roll over for just anything. Alderman Bennion explained right now we need to map that back out as it is currently shown in revenues. He explained the 10% tax increase is a false number because the bed tax revenue needs to be pulled out of the budget. Alderman McCall explained from an accounting standpoint we need to make sure this happens, and we need to move the funds in the current budget before the end of the fiscal year. Mayor Sherburne explained she will get some clarity to make sure this is done correctly. Alderman McCall noted there is a piece on the Comptroller’s website about creating restricted versus non- restricted funds. City Clerk Mr. Caputo explained in the 100 line item, there is a slight savings because an employee is leaving and a new employee would be coming in at a step 1 instead of step 3. He noted we have called Civil Service for a list to make that replacement. Alderman McCall asked about other changes and Ms. Olson explained any changes regarding executive session have not been figured into these numbers and noted they will be updated after the meeting. Mr. Caputo explained he increased Office Supplies due to inflation and explained Printing remained the same for two Polk City Directories. He explained Fee for Services is for the copier and noted that machine supplies the Mayor, Auditor, and Clerk Offices and currently has almost half a million copies on it. He explained the increase is from the increased cost of the lease they have received. Mr. Caputo explained there were two issues with the Postage line this year. He explained the first was the remailing of the tax bils, and the second was an unforeseen increase in postage rates last July. He explained we are going to be over budget on that line for these two reasons. Alderman Robinson asked if we are expecting issues with the tax bills again and Mr. Caputo explained we are not, but we do want to make sure we budget enough if there is another unanticipated increase is postage. He explained Vital Records is currently staffed with one employee part-time for 25 hours a weeks. He explained there is an increase in Personnel Service for a 75 cent an hour increase. He explained this employee is not in the union, but we generally keep pace with the union increases for this position. He explained Office Supplies were increased because the cost of envelopes has increased by quite a bit. Mr. Caputo explained On Street Parking was taken out, and now only the Off Street Parking budget remains. He explained there used to be two gentlemen who would collect quarters from meters 2 hours a week in the On Street budget, but we took that out. He explained if we are not going to do anything with QR Code parking as was previously discussed, we should consider putting funding back in for those positions. Alderman McCall asked if that falls under the person writing tickets, and Mr. Caputo explained he is parking enforcement. Alderman McCall explained she would recommend collapsing that with the parking enforcement officer, as that would make the most sense. Mayor Sherburne explained we need to do something about the 15 minute meters at the back of the building because they look very bad. She proposed removing these meters and just keeping an eye on the area. She explained she also watched people try to navigate when there were snow banks at the meters, and she does not think it is worth it to have them there. Alderman McCall explained she will leave that to the Mayor to figure out and suggested getting rid of the meters and putting in a fifteen minute sign. Mr. Caputo explained IT Personnel are split 50% general fund and 25% each water and sewer funds. Mr. Volz explained the increase in Personnel Service is contractual. He explained there was a spending freeze last year which is why there were not actuals on Overtime or Computer Equipment for the last quarter. He explained the Maintenance Contracts went up $33,113 for software maintenance increases as well as $30,000 a year for the new OpenGov budgeting software. He explained for Programming Fees, we have discussed many times setting funds aside each year for larger projects. He explained he figured the four items that we will need to consider and split the cost up to $9,400 each in general fund, water fund, and sewer fund. He noted during capital project discussions they will bring up updated Microsoft Office, which has a cost around $85,000. Alderman McCall explained she wants to ensure the funds being set aside each year are carried over into a reserve. Mr. Volz explained he hopes the total $28,000 is put into the capital project each year so we have the funds when we need to upgrade one of the four heaviest hitters. Alderman McCall explained that is the goal through all departments so we don’t get high one- time costs. Mr. Volz explained he dropped Travel and Training as they are able to use AI for a lot of things. Mayor Ms. Fairbanks-Black explained Personnel Service went up based on contract allowances. She explained in prior years funding for comp time was never added in, so Other Personnel Service was added for this amount. She explained $3,000 was taken from Celebrations in December 2025 leaving $5,000, and they have conservatively budgeted $6,500. Alderman Bennion asked why the money was taken out, and Ms. Fairbanks-Black explained her understanding is it was given to the stadium for costs for flowers. Mr. Martial explained the stadium did not have a line in there, and they purchased something they did not have money for so the previous mayor moved this money to pay for that. Alderman McCall asked if these details could be emailed to the Council and Mayor Sherburne explained they can be. Mayor Sherburne explained she feels it would be a valid point to look at allocating the positions in her office between the three funds. Alderman McCall explained the Council has said before those positions need to be allocated between the three funds, and Alderman Robinson agreed. Attorney Ms. Fairbanks-Black explained the Personnel Service line pays for the City Attorney and half of Ms. Taylor, and explained a line was added for comp pay for Ms. Taylor. She explained Books and Manuals was dropped to $3,500 based on costs, and noted Mr. Morgan might change the program we use for legal research if he feels it is necessary. She explained Recording Fees was also decreased. Mayor Sherburne asked the Council if they would like to split the Attorney’s salary split as well, and Alderman McCall explained she feels we need to revisit this. Alderman Bennion asked if we received an answer to the Council’s question about fund transfers. Ms. Taylor explained Attorney Morgan had emailed the Council, and the Comptroller’s Office agreed with Mr. Morgan’s interpretation. Alderman Robinson explained the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office should have been emailed to the Council, and Alderman Bennion explained this will be a future discussion after the budget. Ms. Fairbanks-Black explained everything has remained the same for the Civilian Review Board budget. Alderman Bennion asked if there have been any expenses this past year and Ms. Fairbanks-Black explained there have not been. Alderman McCall asked if this funding is in place in case they need to seek legal advice, and Alderman Bennion explained this is correct. Alderman McCall explained she would like to see the vacancy on the board filled and Mayor Sherburne explained she will make sure we get that taken care of. Legislature Ms. Taylor explained changes in the 100 line are contractual. She explained the Overtime line is for half of her comp time as well as for IT comp time when they are filming and broadcasting meetings. Alderman Robinson explained in this budget the comp time is the 101 line, but in others it is the 102 line. Ms. Olson explained she will need to look into the coding for that, and noted 102 is typically for out of title pay and shift differential. 5. New Referrals for Consideration None 6. Committee Reports None 7. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Forney. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:35 p.m.