City Council

City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006 6:30 P.M. PRESENT : Valerie Keehn, Mayor Commissioner John Franck, Accounts Commissioner Ron Kim, DPS Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW SUPERVISORS: Cheryl Keyrouze, Absent Joanne Yepsen , Absent STAFF PRESENT : Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner Finance Michele Boxley, Deputy Commissioner Accounts Frank Dudla, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Eileen Finneran, Deputy Mayor Michael Englert, City Attorney Tony Izzo, Assistant City Attorney PUBLIC HEARINGS Capital Budget Amendment Commissioner Ron Kim said that this is a public hearing on a capital budget amendment to fund the repairs for the Lake Avenue Fire Station apron. The project was bid, however, came in higher than anticipated. An additional $35,000 is needed to cover this cost. Mayor Valerie Keehn opened the public hearing. There being no one wishing to speak, Mayor Valerie Keehn closed the public hearing. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Valerie Keehn called the meeting to order. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Valerie Keehn opened the public comment period. Rich Flaherty, 9 Saddlebrook Drive, said he supported the indoor recreation facility. It is difficult for parents and children to travel to the varying communities for games, often times arriving home late on school nights. The neighboring communities have much better facilities than the City. The indoor recreation facility could also be a revenue generator. The Weibel Avenue location was a good location. Children simply do not ride their bikes to games anymore. Weibel Avenue would also be a good location for fields with lights. The little league community is willing to assist the City in any way. Steve McAlpine, said he spent eight years driving his children from park to park for their games. He said that what is missing is the sense of community. A new indoor recreation facility could bring that sense of community to the children. He supported this facility and urged the Council to support it as well. There being no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Valerie Keehn closed the public comment period. BUDGET WORKSHOP Mayor Valerie Keehn said this is a workshop on the 2007 Comprehensive Budget. 1 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Commissioner Matthew McCabe said that the compilation of changes requests distributed this evening is what has been received in his office to date. He reminded everyone that at this point, they remain requested items. He then reviewed the requests as follows: Increase in Executive Assistant to the Mayor salary, funding for senior stenograph, increase in City Attorney salary, increase to books, funding for Human Resources repair and maintenance, funding for assistant building inspector, increase in hours for Community Development Coordinator, funding to convert part time employees in DPW to full time, funding for the east side facility contract service in DPS, funding for sick leave pay out in DPS, and general operating increases in the Accounts Dept. He said there have been no corresponding increases to revenues. If these requests were honored, the tax rate would rise to $5.14 which is an 8.8 percent increase. The preliminary budget is at 5.8 percent. His office will continue to review revenue lines. It is likely that the admissions tax revenue line will be decreased. The next workshops will be held on November 1 at 9:30 a.m. and November 8 at 5:00 p.m. Mayor Valerie Keehn said she had submitted requests for additional funding, however, that did not necessarily mean that her budget would end up with all of this funding. She had spoken to the Deputy Mayor earlier today on tightening their budget. At this time she was withdrawing the request for additional funding for books. She will discuss the building inspector position with staff as well. She did not want the budget to end with an 8.8 percent increase and she believed that there could be more tightening. This is not about what is best for each department, but rather what is best for the City. Mayor Valerie Keehn said there needs to be further discussion on filling the Administrator of Parks and Recreation position and how the Council should go about doing so. There are some clear objections by Council members and she needed to have some discussions with the past charter commission members on whether this position needs to be filled. In her department there are 11 mandated items in the charter that have not been completed because that position has not been filled. There also needs to be discussion on that salary for that position. Commissioner Ron Kim asked if Commissioner Matthew McCabe had any projections for the social security, health care and retirement expense lines. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said the social security numbers will go up based on the contract settlements. He estimated that health insurance will increase by 18 percent. Commissioner Ron Kim asked if the retirement payment went up as a result of the 384e. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said that retirement payment does not include the 384e. There will be some relief from the NYS retirement, however, due to the timing, the City won’t see that relief during 2007. Deputy Commissioner Lynn Bachner said that she hoped to have more firm numbers on the retirement by the end of the month. Commissioner Thomas McTygue suggested that there is a good chance that the sales tax revenue will remain high due to the price of gas, more businesses in the City, more hotels and expansion at the Racino. Commissioner John Franck asked if the sales tax revenue was decreased due to lower gas prices, was there a corresponding decrease in the gas lines in the budget. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said those numbers have not yet been adjusted. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that gas could go up again at any time. Commissioner John Franck said he was having a difficult time with the preliminary budget and now with these added requests it would be more difficult to support. He said the Executive Assistant to the Mayor just received an increase and the requested increases for the senior stenographer and the City Attorney did not seem justified. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that he offered to loan someone from his department to help out the building department and that offer was still on the table. Commissioner John Franck asked if there were discussions on increasing the salary or benefits for the Administrator of Parks and Recreation. Mayor Valerie Keehn said she was not looking to increase the salary of that position. She said that her comments were in connection on whether the position should be funded at all next year. She said she would like to have further discussions with former charter commission members on how will the City allow someone in that position to fulfill the mandates of the current charter. She said there needs to be much more discussion in regards to this position. Marilyn Rivers, Risk & Safety Management, said the repair and maintenance for the Human Resources Department was listed as a deficiency in the insurance audit. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said if there was any renovation in the building, it needed to be run through his department first. Commissioner Ron Kim said he had some space available in his department so he offered it to Human Resources. There will need to be some funding though to renovate the space. Mayor Valerie Keehn said Human Resources primarily spends 2 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 a good deal of time dealing with DPS and DPW matters. This matter will need to be addressed due to the insurance ramifications. Commissioner John Franck said the CPI recently came in at a little above 2 percent. He said the preliminary budget of 5.8 percent was nearly twice that amount and now with these additional requests, the budget was going in the wrong direction. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said there needs to be some discussion on the Congress Park bathrooms. Commissioner Matthew McCabe agreed saying that bathrooms should be constructed for less than $200,000. Commissioner Matthew McCabe then opened the meeting to comments from the audience. Phil Diamond said he was glad to see the process work for these budget workshops. He said there has been a lot of discussion on benefits, taxes and containing costs and it was a good process. The City does not need a new form of government to have a good budget process. John Kraus, 227 Grand Avenue, said the tax rate goal should be $4.50. He hoped the Council was listening. He then reviewed a financial model whereby assuming expenses increase at 10 percent per year, revenues increase at 4 percent, the assessment base increases by 4 percent, the tax rate in 2008 would be $5.70, then to $7.25, and $8.10. That number is nearly double the $4.20 of seven years ago. This cannot happen. The City needs to reduce expenditures to get to the $4.50 tax rate. There being no one else wishing to speak, Commissioner Matthew McCabe closed the public comment period on the 2007 Comprehensive Budget. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 2006 Senior Center CDBG Allocation (06-178) Brad Birge, Community Development, said that the Council had previously approved $95,000 in funding for the roof repair and generator at the Senior Center. The bids have come in higher than anticipated, therefore, they are requesting to increase the allocation to $168,678. These additional funds are available in the CDBG budget due to loans and grants being paid sooner than anticipated. He discussed this matter with the federal office in Buffalo and they have agreed that this is an appropriate expenditure. Therefore, Mayor Valerie Keehn moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to approve an increase in the CDBG 2006 funding to $168,678 for the senior center roof and generator. Ayes all . Next Council Meeting Mayor Valerie Keehn said she was going to suggest that the next Council meeting date be changed; however, it was just brought to her attention that there are already two public hearings scheduled for that original date, with ads already in the newspapers and property owners already notified. Therefore, the Council will meet on Tuesday, November 7. Easement with Adirondack Trust Company (06-179) Tony Izzo, Assistant City Attorney, said that he distributed a memo this afternoon on this matter. The Adirondack Trust Company is requesting an easement from the City for a gas line and the City is requesting an easement from Adirondack Trust Company for a water line, so this is a beneficial agreement for both parties. He did not have the map showing the exact location of these easements. Mayor Valerie Keehn moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign all necessary documents in connection with the easement agreement with the Adirondack Trust Company contingent upon the City Engineer reviewing the map noting the easement. Ayes all. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 3 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Senior Center Roof Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner John Franck moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to award the bid for the Senior Citizens roof to WB Roofing and Sheetmetal of Albany as the lowest qualified bidder meeting specifications in the amount of $122,250. This includes a $5,000 allowance for the roof deck replacement and $4,000 for a roof hatch and ladder system. It also includes the asbestos removal. This bid has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets Purchasing Guidelines. (Funding is within the Community Development Block Grant program) . Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 2006 Capital Budget Amendment for Lake Avenue Fire House Apron Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Mayor Valerie Keehn seconded to amend the 2006 capital budget in the amount of $35,000 to bring the total to $85,000 for the Lake Avenue Fire House apron repair work. Ayes all. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Lake Avenue Fire House Apron – Award of Bid Commissioner John Franck moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to add the Lake Avenue Fire House Apron award of bid to the agenda. Ayes all. Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Safety , Commissioner John Frank moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to award the bid for the Lake Avenue Fire Station apron to CFI Construction , Inc. (lowest bidder) for $77,400 including alternate #1 and $7600 for contingency. This bid has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets Purchasing Guidelines. Ayes all. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Bond Resolution 2006 Capital Budget Amendment (06-180) Commissioner Matthew McCabe moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adopt the resolution supplementing a bond resolution dated March 22, 2005, authorizing the issuance of additional serial bonds of the City of Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $35,000 pursuant to the local Finance Law to finance the reconstruction of the Lake Avenue Fire Station apron and delegating the power to issue bond anticipation notes in anticipation of the sale of such bonds to the Commissioner of Finance. Ayes all . DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to allow a DPW employee to draw one from the sick leave bank. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 2006 Capital Budget Amendment Previously discussed. PBA Contract (06-181) 4 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Commissioner Ron Kim said he was seeking approval for all three contracts this evening. Detailed material was distributed to Council members. The MOU executed by the Mayor and the bargaining unit was distributed to Council members. The contents of the contract are the same as discussed at previous Council meetings. These contracts are good for the City and the bargaining units. He highlighted some of the items as follows: employees hired between June 1, 2004 and December 31, 2006 will contribute 10 percent towards health insurance with a $750 cap. Those hired after January 1, 2007 will contribute 15 percent with a cap of $1,000. The payment of 10 and 15 percent towards health insurance will not cease after retirement and the unions have agreed. Employees will pay $10 per week towards health insurance after their 7th year of service which will cease at the time of retirement. There will be $100,000 savings in overtime. There will be a cost savings for the 10 hour shifts; however, there is a shift differential addition to the contract of $2,400 per year for the 6 officers. Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the PBA contract as presented. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that he had questions concerning the overtime. Deputy Commissioner Frank Dudla said that the administrative officers in the Police Department do not get overtime. Commissioner Matthew McCabe asked if the proposed savings in the overtime line of $100,000 was reflected in the 2007 preliminary budget. Deputy Commissioner Frank Dudla said it would be reflected upon approval of this contract. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said he appreciated all of the work done on these contracts, however, he would not support them. He said CSEA gave the City 20 percent with a $4,000 cap on health insurance in one unit and 20 percent with no cap in the other. Ayes: four, Nays: one (Commissioner Matthew McCabe). Motion carried . Police Lieutenants Contract (06-182) Commissioner Ron Kim said this contract was similar to the PBA contract except that overtime is not an issue with this contract. Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Police Lieutenants contract as presented . Ayes: four, Nays: one (Commissioner Matthew McCabe). Motion carried. Police Administrative Officers (06-183) Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Mayor Valerie Keehn seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Police Administrative Officers contract. Ayes: four, Nays: one (Commissioner Matthew McCabe). Motion carried. SUPERVISORS No one present. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Valerie Keehn opened the public comment period. There being no one wishing to speak, Mayor Valerie Keehn closed the public comment period. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Valerie Keehn moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Valerie Keehn adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. 5 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk 6 of 6