Finance Committee

FINANCE Tuesday, May 19, 2026 – 6:55 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman McCall, Vice Chairman Crawford, Alderman Bennion, Alderman Keary, Alderman Forney, Alderman Robinson, and Alderman Anastasia. Others: Mayor Amy Sherburne; Allison Barnish, City Auditor; James Sprague, Director of Public Works, and Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman McCall called the meeting to order at 6:55 p.m. and asked that the record show that all committee members were present. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, May 5, 2026) A motion to approve the minutes of the May 5, 2026 committee meeting was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Robinson. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business a. Capital Project Updates Alderman McCall explained the Council does have their capital project books, and she remembers requesting an emailed monthly update so if there are questions the Council can ask ahead of time to streamline meetings. She explained if we could get into this process, it would be great. Director Sprague explained the splash park is currently in motion and will be coming to a close. He explained all of the concrete is poured and we are waiting for the last few parts from the vendor of the actual features. He explained as soon as these are received the vendor will come show us how to use the equipment, and then there will be a Department of Health inspection. He explained right now we are at the mercy of the vendor, waiting for the parts. Alderman McCall explained they had the opening for Marcus Park, so that project will be closing out. She asked about the elevator and Director Sprague explained it is complete. Alderman McCall explained we can circle around to close out that capital fund. Director Sprague explained he believes the final invoice was paid, but he will double check. Alderman Bennion asked if they have adjusted the lip on the door, and Director Sprague explained the maintenance crew did come back in and advised there is a break in period with the new pumps and fluid. He explained it seems to have gotten better as they said it would. Alderman McCall asked if there are updates for the EV charging stations. Director Sprague explained we just got communication back from the DEC and there are grant contracts in final review by their legal department. He explained we are waiting to find out when the grant documents will be finalized. Alderman Robinson asked if we will have the design phase completed by next month according to schedule, and Director Sprague explained we are behind because the DEC has been languishing in their review process. He explained we are probably four or five months out. He explained he would hope to have the contracts shortly, but he is not holding his breath with what we have experienced with them so far. b. Credit Card Processing Fees Mayor Sherburne explained we will be adding a purchase order module with Tyler Technologies, which is an important part of the bookkeeping process. She explained we were able to get pricing on credit card processing fees and how we will go about passing the fees along when people use credit cards, which municipalities are legally allowed to do. She explained the rate is 3.95%, which is the lowest we could get, and it will be reevaluated in a year. She explained any lower fees with other companies also involved difficulty with integration. She explained people will still be able to pay with eCheck, which has a fee of 1.95%. She explained people will still be able to come in to pay with check without a fee, or set up auto pay in the City offices to pay with check and not have to pay a fee. Alderman Bennion asked about setting up the auto pay and not having to pay a fee, and Mayor Sherburne explained if people are setting up with a checking account with the City we initiate the payments and do the manual work. She explained there are only fees to pay with a checking account online. She explained it will state online the fee that is being paid as well as what the total amount is. Alderman Robinson asked what the cost of the purchase order module is, and Mayor Sherburne explained she does not have the exact price on her but it is a yearly fee around $4,000. She explained it is very important to have this module to keep track of finances properly moving forward. Alderman McCall asked when we can follow up on this, and Mayor Sherburne explained we should have a good answer in three weeks as to when everything can be completed. Mr. Volz noted it could take two to three months to get the entire process done. Alderman McCall asked for a follow up at the first committee meeting after summer session ends. c. Transfer Funds – Dump Box Director Sprague explained the City Garage was able to find all of the money needed within the Central Garage budget, so there is no need for Council action to make this transfer. He noted he will get the order in for new box. 4. New Referrals for Consideration  a. PL #46-26: (Robinson) To authorize the transfer of $200,000 from Sewer Fund Balance to a newly created Reserve Fund for costs associated with Intermunicipal Agreement litigation. Alderman Robinson explained this is the result of conversations the Council previously had, and explained we want to ensure that we make these funds available for litigation of the Intermunicipal Agreements with the Town and Village of Allegany and St. Bonaventure University. He explained the Council and Mayor have discussed what the appropriate rate should be and when the City asked they pay the same as in-City rates, they declined and we are choosing to litigate for out of City rates now. Alderman McCall explained this is so City residents do not continue subsidizing out-of-City municipalities. Alderman Robinson explained this is needed and we need to get the funds set aside do we can get moving forward and do right for our constituents. A motion to approve PL #46-26 was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Bennion. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Referred to Regular Meeting for Resolution. b. Major Projects in City – Permits/Fees Alderman McCall explained this comes from last week’s conversation about Brownfields. She explained the Council felt that was a good start, but felt that something larger needed to be put in place. She explained while the Council voted that legislation down, they would like to look at an overall cost. She explained we would like to look at what constitutes a major City project and determine if a bond or escrow is needed in the case damage is done to the roadway, so the responsibility falls on the company doing the project, not the taxpayers. She explained the Council wants to see something larger encompassing all major projects. Alderman Robinson explained he feels we need to mimic what other municipalities do. Alderman Crawford explained he thinks we can look at what was originally proposed as a working document and see about making some changes and expanding the scope. He explained the thought that the only thing the City is involved in with these major projects is the damage caused to the roads but that does not take into account the amount of time the City puts in filing documents, updates, and reviewing every from. He explained he feels in this case that the Council is naïve to all of the intricacies of what the City does. He explained he thinks we need to be able to quantify the time it takes City personnel across the divisions on some of these major projects. He explained the Olean Center Mall, for example, will involve a lot with the redevelopment that he feels should not fall back on the taxpayer. Alderman Keary explained Steuben County has a road use agreement, and using something like this would not be looking at a person or organization causing problems, but rather the problem itself which is damaging roads. He explained he would be supportive of requiring bonding so we can recuperate our costs.  c. Subway Tree Removal Alderman McCall explained she would like to see what the City’s cost would be if the City was to pay for the entire cost to remove trees in the subway. She explained right now residents pay half the cost, and the subway is one of those things that property owners have to maintain but can’t do anything with. She explained she would like to see what the cost for tree removal would be on an annual basis. Alderman Bennion explained he thinks this is a part of a broader conversation about right-of-ways that he, Alderman Keary, and Director Sprague wil be having. Alderman Crawford explained he knows some people believe the City should pay 100% of the cost, and while that is fine and good, if we were to pay 100% of the cost it would be open season on removing subway trees and the cost would be astronomical. He explained he feels the 50/50 split is fair as the subway is for shared use between the property owner and the City. He explained it is very easy for the Council to say they want to pass legislation and provide more services, but more services also means more costs and higher tax rates. He explained at the same time, we keep voting down ways to increase revenue. He explained he would really caution as we move forward if we are going to consider something like this. He explained it is fine to consider, but it would probably cost $100,000 a year. He explained he fees this is a slippery slope and some property owners have no trees and will not get the associated benefit to this increased tax burden. Alderman Bennion explained we have talked about this several times and have talked about not putting more trees in the subway, but on South Union Street we put trees in the subway. He explained we can’t have it both ways. He explained the easement for the right-of- way is for public transportation and public utilities and not to plant trees in the subway. He explained a property owner cannot put a fixed, permanent object in the subway, but the City can plant a tree there that is very permanent. Alderman McCall explained Aldermen Bennion and Keary will meet with Director Sprague to discuss this issue. Alderman McCall requested discussions about funding a grant position and promotions and new positions within the City be placed on the next Finance agenda. 5. Committee Reports A motion to approve committee reports was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Bennion. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman McCall, seconded by Alderman Bennion. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:25 p.m.