City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, October 21, 2008 5:45 P.M. PRESENT: Scott Johnson, Mayor John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Ken Ivins, Commissioner of Finance Ron Kim, Commissioner of DPS Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW PRESENT: Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, Supervisor STAFF PRESENT: Michele Boxley, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Patrick Design, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Kate Jarosh, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Shauna Sutton, Deputy Mayor Joe Scala, City Attorney RECORDING OF PROCEEDING The proceedings of this meeting were taped for the benefit of the secretary. Because the minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings, the minutes are not a word-for-word transcript. PUBLIC HEARINGS SEQRA Indoor Recreation Facility Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the SEQRA indoor recreation facility at 5:50 p.m. Bill Mirabile of Vanderbilt Avenue stated their attorneys have offered their opinion on the EAF (environmental assessment form). The traffic study from Creighton Manning stated it is a supplement to the study done for the Weibel Avenue site. He can’t understand how a study can supplement another if the studies are on two different sites. They need quantitative study, not numbers taken out of an engineering manual. The study doesn’t establish baseline information, it doesn’t get into the fact there is parking on both sides of Vanderbilt Ave, there are no curbs on the west side of Vanderbilt Avenue, and therefore parking could potentially creep on to resident’s lawns. The study doesn’t consider they all have mailboxes. The US Postal Service has legal requirements for keeping distance from mailboxes so mail can be delivered. How are they going to get their mail if cars are parked in front of their mailboxes; how will garbage pick up occur when cars are parked in front of garbage pails. The study was not well thought out and did not cover anything substantive. It was inadequate. Ray Giguere of 84 Lincoln Avenue stated he asked a question at last week’s public hearing that he felt was not adequately answered. What work is the recreation department doing now that they will stop doing in order to be able to staff the new recreation facility? Per Linda Terricola, this will be addressed by scheduling. Also, this morning Governor Patterson stated on public radio there will be an $8-10 billion dollar shortfall in the NYS budget. It economically doesn’t make sense to do this project now. City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Rick Russo of Vanderbilt Avenue stated he admired the park across the street when they first bought the house in March. The park was used for picnicking, softball, and Spa Catholic football practices there. It seems the outdoor recreation will be lost with an indoor center being built there. It seems there is recreation already happening there and meeting the needs of the area. Mayor Johnson left this issue open and ended the public hearing at 6:00 p.m. 2009 Comprehensive Budget Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the 2009 comprehensive budget at 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Ivins stated he will not give the whole presentation again to provide the public the opportunity to speak. There will be another public hearing tomorrow evening where he will make a full presentation. Page 6 of the handout shows how the bonding over the past 5 years is affecting the bond. It shows how we pay interest, principal and interest, how it’s grown over the years and also projecting out to 2010 assuming we put the proposed capital budget in place. Another thing in the packet that is new is the number of employees for 2006, 2007, 2008, and proposed 2009. Positions were not actually cut in DPW, but by cutting labor lines, Commissioner Scirocco stated he would have to eliminate some positions to meet that labor line. The number appears to be around 17, but it is not reflected in the number put in there because they didn’t have that exact number. Also, there is a new slide on page 11. A proposed budget was put out to the Commissioners, they went back to Commissioner Ivins with items they agreed or disagreed with. There were a couple items left undecided, so he added those back in to see what the number is. The new slide reflects that number. John Krause of 227 Grand Avenue stated it has been and is a tough budget year. You need to think outside the box and use a new paradigm. Commissioner Franck does this often; he did it last year when he suggested a ¼% increase in sales tax as a possible way to fund the public safety building, this year he suggested putting the County’s payment toward the parking garage be put into a debt payment reserve. When Mr. Krause worked for the Treasury Department there were years they had problems passing a budget. A continuing resolution (CR) was issued which meant the next year they operated at the prior year’s level less 10% until they can resolve the budget. Furloughs were implemented to resolve the budget, which meant people don’t go to work and don’t get paid. It was better than having layoffs. There are 260 work days in a year; one furlough day equals .4%. This would show some savings to the budget proposed by Commissioner Ivins. It is possible the money saved could be used to restore some of the cuts made already. Maybe new positions could be added, such as in the building department is, you could use more code enforcers, and maybe a zoning code officer. Everyone has to share in the pain, if you want the tax payers to share in the pain, then the employees should share in the pain. You need to take action on this budget. You’ve got to be creative. He also stated there should be an in-depth review and analysis of the staffing needs of this government. Susan Farnsworth of 105 East Avenue stated she is the coordinator of the Victorian Street Walk and is here on behalf of the DBA, specifically the Victorian Street Walk. She is asking for an affirmation from the City Council that they can count on them to maintain the important events in the community and our downtown’s health and prosperity. They understand these are hard economic times but discontinuing support of significant events which are proven revenue generators and are free to the public is not in the best interest of Saratoga Springs. This is not a fund raiser. The Victorian Street Walk brings in thousands of visitors that are eating, shopping and making memories for their families. You’ve always supported this and other events in the past and hope we can continue to count on you in the future. Lou Benton of 29 Thoroughbred Drive stated he appears as a private resident and former member of the City Council. He read the following message to the Council: Page 2 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 “The City Charter details the required content of the proposed comprehensive budget, including a budget message that explains the proposed budget both fiscally and programmatically. I found no budget message so I spent some time last weekend reviewing the proposed budget posed on the City website. Of course our City budget is not simply a spending plan tempered by the availability of revenue, perceived affordability and the legitimate need to limit increases in the property tax burden. It is a political document, and if you examine it closely enough it also tells much about our community values. I do not believe that this budget in its present form truly reflects our core values. The economy must serve the people, not the other way around. Work, including public service work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing dignified participation in the life of the community. Municipal employees, like private sector employees, contribute to the common good through the services they provide. Some of these services are not essential to the public safety or our ability to navigate city streets after a winter storm, but those who provide those other services are no less worthy and contribute to the life quality that sets this City apart. It was the community after all working through previous City Councils that established the several jobs the budget proposed to eliminate. Many of incumbents of those jobs that are targeted have served long and faithfully. I appointed on of the code enforcers that will lose his job January 1. For many, this loss will have a dramatic negative impact on their families the quality of their lives and their ability to access even basic health care. All honest work has dignity and little is more demeaning than the loss of the dignity that comes from losing your livelihood. And targeting combat veterans, I find objectionable, and this budget targets two of them. There is an ethical dimension to all this that a community of conscience cannot ignore. This City which has exhibited the highest property value increase of all 61 New York State cities outside New York City over the period of the last ten years; the highest rate of population increase between 1970 and 2000; and we have the lowest property tax of all the cities in the state of New York. So, I recommend and urge the following: o Quantify the actual net savings from the proposed job eliminations and how these specific job eliminations were determined o Determine if budgeted unemployment insurance is adequate o Direct a comprehensive potential positive budget impacts of 2009 retirements o Consider one time, date certain retirement incentives for all eligible non-essential employees. Also, I suggest specific operating and debt service savings of about $500,000. For the sake of brevity I have appended them. I’m sure there are others. However, I’d like to quickly review just two of them now; both pertain to the indoor recreation facility. Operation: the proposed recreation budget includes a total of $285,000 of new appropriation for operation of the proposed indoor recreation facility. This alone will result in a 1.8% tax increase. Included in the $285,000 is $165,000 for ‘miscellaneous equipment’. I assume that also includes furnishings. Finance must determine if the equipment qualifies as capital and if so fund it out of the $6.5 million already bonded. The facility’s size and scope have been reduced and that would seem to decrease costs. You should be able to squeeze $165,000 out of the $6.5 million. Total savings of $165,000. Capital: nearly 12% ($340,000) of next year’s total debt service budget will go to finance the debt on the indoor recreation facility. The Council may wish to consider to set aside from the Page 3 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 recreation trust fund to serve a portion of this debt service. Currently the only fund obligation is $40,000 annually to help serve the outstanding debt on the two indoor ice rinks. A minimum of $100,000 from the recreation trust fund balance could certainly be set aside next year to reduce the amount of property tax needed to serve the $340,000 in debt. I anticipated that at least another $180,000 will flow into the recreation trust fund between now and the end of 2009. As of May 31, the fund had an outstanding balance of $177,757. $180,000 in additional income would bring the fund balance to over $350,000 by the end of next year before the ice rink set aside is netted out. We could take $100,000 out of that and ‘earmark’ it towards debt service. Savings $100,000. One of the arguments is the trust fund could be fickle in this economic climate because it is driven by residential construction activity. At current level we could probably have $100,000 extra, a $100,000 buffer. It is there; it is encumbered by law and can only be used for recreation. Those two modest steps would free up $265,000, which I would hope the Council would consider applying to the restoration of the jobs that have been proposed to be eliminated. Our sales tax revenue has increased 34% since we opted out of the County sales tax agreement. Few communities have been blessed with entirely new VLT revenues. If this community is forced to layoff 25 +/- people and all the human suffering that goes with that, clearly it seems to me there are other places in this budget we can cut first. It may be a little painful, but we still have in next year’s budget $12,000 for junkets, $12,000 for books, we have $100,000 for entirely new jobs, so why do we want to take away with one hand and give back with the other. I do appreciate your patience. Thank you very much.” Commissioner Ivins stated the budget message is in the Clerks Office and the library. It is to be on line and will make sure it is there. The most current version of the slide presentation was sent to the IT department and will be on the web for tomorrow night. A resident asked if this is the forum to ask questions on the budget. Commissioner Ivins explained the public hearing is designed for the public to make comment. He is not trying to interact with anyone at this point. He went on to explain that if the budget is not voted on or amended it will become law. In November, the Council has the opportunity to amend the budget and pass a final budget. They are looking for input from the public to make changes and amendments. Once amendments are made, there will be one more public hearing for the public to comment on the amendments made. John Krause asked if totals could be placed at the bottom. He is curious if we are running under the 2008 budget levels. Mark Lawton of 209 Nelson Avenue stated that in budget making and budget amendments you need to look at the charter when you deal with amendments to capital budgets. Look at section 314, it clearly points out you can’t have a capital item, capital program or capital project in an annual budget unless it is in a 6 year capital plan approved by the Council. There is a procedure for amending the 6 year capital plan in the charter. You can’t amend the budget without first amending the capital plan. If you are going to add programs, you have to publish the information that supports the requested action. He feels this is critically important. Commissioner Kim asked Mark Lawton if 4/5 vote is required when amending a capital budget. Mark Lawton advised the 4/5 vote is required when you want to amend a capital project in a 6 year capital program and a capital budget. This is in the Mayor’s section of the charter. He stated he foiled the City for specific information as he was not able to get explanation. He asked the Council to remember they have to make sure something is in the 6 year capital plan before amending the capital budget. Page 4 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Ivins reminded the public of the public hearings; October 22nd at 6:30 p.m. in the Music Hall and October 28th at 6”30 p.m. at the Canfield Casino. Commissioner Kim stated it is important for the public to understand what is happening with his department. They are the largest budget at $20 million dollars. Their increases have been steady and moderate, nothing out of the ordinary. There are places they are being cut that the more places they have to find the money, the less likely they are going to find it. They started out at $210,000 for gas and oil but they were cut to $130,000 that is $80,000 they have to find. Then they asked for $10,000 for fingerprinting when hiring people for the recreation department, the people that are going to take care of your kids. They have found people that shouldn’t be taking care of kids. They were cut to $5,000, in a $20 million budget it is assumed they should be able to find the money. They were cut $24,000 on EMS supplies. A clean up budget was established when they were dealing with the Rip Van Dam and hoped they wouldn’t have to spend. That budget was cut to $5,000; another $15,000 they have to find. Another big issue is stop signs and pavement markers; they requested $75,000 and were cut to $65,000. The total cut was $134,000 they have to find in their budget. That is going to be difficult. It will impact our services. At some point they are not going to be able to rearrange and move money around. Jim Ruhle is the best budget manager in City Hall and would put him up against anyone. Commissioner Ivins stated he is leaving the public hearing open at this time. Mayor Johnson left this issue open and ended the public hearing at 6:40 p.m. Street Acceptance – Tyler Drive Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the street acceptance of Tyler Drive at 6:40 p.m. Commissioner Scirocco advised this is for the street numbering and naming the street as a City street providing the developer has met all the requirements for the City. There is a letter of credit that will be released back to the developer. This is for snow plowing and maintenance of the street. No one spoke. Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing at 6:45 p.m. Capital Budget Amendment for Purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the capital budget amendment for the purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue at 6:45 p.m. Mayor Johnson stated this parcel of land is vacant and adjacent to the Southside recreation field. The budget amendment is to use funds out of the open space bond act. Mark Lawton of 209 Nelson Avenue stated he has a couple questions on this. He asked if they are amending the capital budget. Commissioner Ivins advised the money is being taken from the open space fund. Mark Lawton stated he is not concerned with how it is funded. If it is a capital budget item, it has to first appear in the 6 year capital plan. Right now they have a non-existing project. You are acting illegally. Mayor Johnson stated part of the difficulty of what Mr. Lawton is saying is there was no capital budget adopted last year to amend. There is no 6 year capital plan that came out of last year. Commissioner Kim stated they did adopt a 2008 budget which included the capital plan. They did not adopt it when it was put forward in 2007. Once you adopt the budget you adopt the capital plan. Page 5 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Mayor Johnson stated the capital budget is not the capital program. Mark Lawton advised they must go back to the last adopted capital plan if not adopted in 2007. If one was adopted in 2007, it carries over to 2008. Mayor Johnson stated he understands what Mr. Lawton is saying, but there is not vote happening on this tonight. Commissioner Kim advised they clearly passed the budget in 2007. His recollection is the capital plan put forward by Mayor Keehn failed when voted upon in 2007. However, Matt McCabe brought back a revised capital plan that was passed by a 3 – 2 vote. He remembers being in the Mayor’s office arguing about whether Matt McCabe had the authority to pass a 6 year plan. Commissioner Ivins reminded everyone what Mark Lawton is saying; you can’t do it with the passing of the budget because you have to have hearings and special notice in the papers that you are creating a 6 year plan. That is what Mr. Lawton is saying is in the charter. Ray Giguere of 84 Lincoln Avenue asked if a SEQRA study was done. Mayor Johnson advised the public hearing is not to answer questions. The process is ongoing. They are not voting on the funding of the purchase of the property tonight. Ray Giguere asked if an appraisal was done and if the public is getting a fair price for this property. Mayor Johnson left this issue open and ended the public hearing at 6:55 p.m. Zoning Map Amendment of West Avenue and Grand Avenue Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the zoning map amendment of West Avenue and Grand Avenue at 6:55 p.m. Commissioner Franck advised the purpose of this amendment is to amend the official zoning map of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York as defined in Section 240-2.1 of the City Code to show and reflect a change in the classification for the properties designated as Parcels 165.72-1-22, 165.72-1-23, 165.72-1- 24 and 165.72-1-25 on the Assessor’s Map of the Outside District of the City of Saratoga Springs from the current classification as Urban Residential-2 (UR-2), Transect Zone-4 (T-4), and Transect Zone-5 (T-5) to a classification of Transect Zone-5 (T-5). Tony Izzo stated there are parcels that have 3 different zones within them and now they want to make them one zone; T-5. One of the parcels is currently zoned T-5. The proposal is to take all the different classifications and rezone them all as T-5. Commissioner Franck also mentioned that the City’s planning board has reviewed the proposed change and by a unanimous vote issued an unfavorable advisory opinion. The County Planning Board also reviewed the proposed change as an advisory opinion only and found the change to be unfavorable. John Krause of 227 Grand Avenue asked what a zoning map amendment means. Does the property get a new zoning classification? He is interested in who initiated it? He said it seems like the rezoning request is for the benefit of the builder. He suggested a longer section of Grand Avenue from Elm Street to West Avenue be looked at. Currently that area is for single family dwellings and will now bump up next to a T-5; there is no transition of zoning in between. There are 49 parcels, on Grand Avenue from Elm Street to West Avenue, with structures; 22 of them or 45% of the structures are not single family homes. They are multiple family homes, commercial offices, medical offices, etc. He feels if rezoning, it should be done on a broader scope and not for an individual person. Page 6 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Franck advised the Planning Board did reject the proposal of everything going to T-5 but gave alternative suggestions. Mayor Johnson asked if a separate application is required to the Council to consider that rezoning rather than what was applied for. Commissioner Franck suggested keeping the public hearing open while they get clarification from the planning board. Colleen Braim of 24 Rose Court stated she has a petition from her neighbors opposing the zoning amendment. She is outraged by what she is seeing occur on the West Avenue corridor, particularly on Grand Avenue, West Avenue, and Washington Street. Upon receipt of the legal notification of this coming before Council, she walked to her neighbors on St. Raymond Court. There is a sharp decline into a ‘pit’, with a dumpster, a parking lot, a 3 story building that looks out to a 3 story building across the street. This is not acceptable. She and her neighbors don’t deserve to have a parking lot in their backyard. There is no buffer, no security, no mature trees, only 6 arborvitaes and the dumpster is position other than where it was suppose to be. I did an $80,000 addition to my home because she loves Saratoga, she has her business here. Her understanding has been that her side of West Avenue has been the buffer zone. If we take a look at West Avenue now, we have a new YMCA which is nestled in the trees and is very beautiful. We have lawyers, doctors and physical therapy places that have done a great job with taking what were residences and turning them into professional buildings in a tasteful, good way which did not change the character of the neighborhood. Come up to the corner of Grand Avenue and West Avenue where they have huge buildings. She stated she if baffled about how the Kamen building was built. People don’t have time to sit in the planning meetings until midnight. The developers don’t always do what they promise they are going to do. The landscaping issue is still going on and other things are going to be done. Why should the residents have to look at parking lots? This is a wake up call. We can make a difference and do something. She realizes there is development on West Avenue because that is where the land is. She and her neighbors had to go to battle with Grand Union over their lights, they had to battle with the tire store who couldn’t wait to build their building on swamp land, and the car wash has even more noise in the neighborhood. Why can’t there be a plan so it is a win/win situation for the developer and the residents. They are not anti- development. What about the residents and the quality of life? There has never been a binding agreement so what they say is what they do are two different things. They want intelligent development, they want buffers, they want mature trees, etc. They want input of what happens in their neighborhood. Why can’t development in this corridor be commercially viable, residentially friendly, grow the City’s tax base and still have an aesthetically pleasing design. She thanked the Council for their time and consideration. Commissioner Kim advised if there is belief there is a code violation; please contact the code enforcement department. They can deal with those problems without waiting. Commissioner Franck advised there are about 5 or 6 zoning map amendments requests per year. This is not an unusual request to change the zoning of property. Mayor Johnson left this issue open and ended the public hearing at 7:20 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Johnson said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes each according to the rules approved in February of 2004 by the City Council. Mayor Johnson opened the public comment period at 7:20 p.m. Page 7 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 No one spoke. Mayor Johnson closed the public comment period at 7:21 p.m. Presentations Police Overtime Commissioner Kim advised they felt it was important for the public to understand the overtime in their department. He stated quite frankly it is high. Over the last 10 years the force has remained constant. At the same time the case load has increase dramatically. Too look at a more objective standard, look at what the Sheriff’s office has done or the District Attorney’s (DA) office has done. They service the City through overtime. This is a City that deals with 100s of 1000 of people that come into the City and Caroline Street. Budgeted numbers don’t tell the real story. The true analysis of overtime is the actual hours spent. Under union contracts, the senior person has the right to take all the overtime. This is an objective analysis of time, not money. Chief Moore provided some history of the police department. He stated the police department was formed in the 1870s. From then on, it has been a combination of full-time and temporary officers. The size of the force tripled in the summers. In 1991 the practice of temporary officers was discontinued due to liability to the City with untrained officers being on the street. The staff level in 1990 was 60 full time officers; present day staffing of police officers is 71. The increase in staffing numbers since 1990 has been due to traffic safety unit creation, DARE, school resource officer, community policing initiatives, investigators, etc. The department size is based upon the workload and community needs during the winter, spring and fall seasons. They are not adequately staffed in the summer and can only get through the summer through overtime. There will always be overtime in the police department. Training, special events, prisoner transports, court appearances, serious investigations, arrests, critical incidents all result in unavoidable police overtime. A 10 year chart shows officer by officer analysis. In 1999 they had 67 officers and in 2008 they have 71 officers; an increase of 4 officers. There has only been a 6% growth in 10 years. They have traditionally understaffed the police department. There has only been 3 years, starting in 2004, where they have been fully staffed. Even though they have been fully staffed, the total number of officers were not working due to injuries, or some other type of non contractual leave that kept them from the job. With contractual leave time and training vacancies, the common formula used by law enforcement agencies across the state is it takes 5 officers on the payroll to put 1 officer on the street around the clock, officers and investigators. This does not include the upper rank of supervisors with administrative duties. A chart which graphed police overtime over a 10 year period was shown. Overtime is tracked by hours worked rather than dollar cost. Salaries and other factors can affect the cost, so the most accurate way to track overtime is through hours not dollars. Chief Moore compared the last 5 years of officers available to work vs. the overtime hours. Overtime spikes up when they have shortages. July thru Sept is the peak period and high seasonal demands on personnel resources. On average, they spend about 23% of the total annual overtime hours are spent in the 3rd quarter. The number of vacations are limited in the summer to better service the community. Another chart was shown for a 10 year period, from 1999 through 2008, of the number of calls received by the police department. There was a 56% increase in the volume of calls the officers respond to. The calls have consistently risen over the years. Added responsibilities were compounded by things such as crime scene investigations, the associated police responsibility in preserving crime scenes, etc. All investigators since 1996 have been state certified as crime scene technicians. Things that further impact their resources are: development in the City, 11 full time state police pulled out of the racino, background investigations for work, etc. Page 8 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 The transition period from the retirement of one officer to another coming on is up to 18 months. The candidates have to complete a 40 page background check, physical agility test, background interview with an investigator, then take a polygraph test, record checks, etc. Then a conditional offer of employment is made and has to be done before the next phase, such as medical examinations and psychological exams can be done. Then the candidate is sent to the police academy, which is another 6 months. The field training program takes another 13 weeks. Commissioner Kim stated they take the time and money up front to make sure they are getting the best officers. Staffing drives overtime. The major categories for overtime is minimum shift standards, which is written policy, special events, weather, officer safety, and community safety. They want to put enough officers on the street to handle a serious issue until additional officers can be called in. The department minimum staffing level for the patrol division is 6 officers and 1 patrol supervisor. At times staffing has dropped to 1 supervisor and 4 patrol officers. Impacts on overtime for 2008 included 3 officers who began this year with injuries, 1 long term injury from Jan. to July and eventually went on retirement disability in July; 2 long term medical leave from non work related injuries; 12 other officer injuries over the past 9 months for various times, 3 retirements, and 4 officers going thru the academy or FTO. Minimum staff purpose is to maintain a safe number of officers readily available at any given time for the community and the officers’ safety. Assistant Chief Cole stated training is the second highest portion of overtime total. Proper training is required as protection to the City, the officers, etc. Mandatory training must be completed yearly for fire arms, EVOC (emergency vehicle operation and control), etc. Training is taken very seriously. By law a minimum of 21 hours of training must happen per year. In addition, there are specialized units such as canine and equine that require training. Saratoga Springs is the most progressive department in the area in training. They work to decrease or eliminate overtime with training. Policy training is also done at role call and through CD-Rom to reduce overtime. Canines must complete 16 hours of training per month to maintain their state certification in narcotics and patrol and tracking. A lot of training is done in Albany, Latham and Troy; we have to pay the officers to travel to and from the training. Training is a short term expense that will save the tax payers money long term. Chief Moore provided the following statistics: overtime cases and arrests count for 6% of the overtime, an average DWI arrests takes an officer off the street from 2-4 hours, and patrol overtime averages 2 hours per officer per month to follow up and complete arrest and case reports. Sometimes officers are sent home at the end of their shift without completing their paperwork in attempt to save some overtime. Grant related overtime comes from the State, federal government or the Saratoga Springs School District. An extra $25,000 was received this year to target street level drug dealing. About 3% of the overtime each year is administrative overtime. This is from supervisors doing court paperwork that has to be done that is left over from their shift. This year the track spiked overtime by another 2 ½%. The entire traffic safety division, a sergeant and 4 police officers, is assigned to the track. This is to get people in and out of the track safely. They are replacing temporary part-time people with officers because the temporary part time people are quitting stating they don’t get paid enough to take the abuse from track-goers. Subpoenas to appear in court is overtime for an officer who normally works a night shift. They are trying to cut costs by having the cases back to back so it takes less time. Field training is driven contractually. Field training officers are specially trained senior officers who are state certified and are responsible for field training recruit graduates after they come out of the basic school. They acclimate the recruits on department policy, procedure and operational standards as they related to the performance of assigned patrol duties. They also train them on street locations, where crime trend areas are, who the known criminals are in areas, etc. This training is condensed to 13 weeks. Page 9 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 The canine program accounts for only 1% of the overtime in 2008. Officers have to care for these animals in off duty hours. For every 8 hour tour, one of those hours have to be for grooming and caring for the dogs. If the department is short staffed and one of these officers are part of minimum staffing and can’t take the hour to care for the dog, they get overtime for the care of the canine. This union has been very accommodating to help keep overtime down by rescheduling union meetings. Commissioner Kim stated about $100,000 has been cut out of the 2009 overtime budget for the Department of Public Safety. Chief Moore reported that the Police Department is expected to operate in 2009 with 31% less. If 2009 is as difficult with staffing as 2008 has proven to be, the proposed 2009 overtime budget is going to be very difficult for them to meet. Additional cuts in the 2009 budget such as computer hardware will prevent overtime from decreasing. Computer hardware was earmarked to restore capabilities they had in the ‘90s with having a laptop capable of electronically filing reports from every patrol car. With that ability, they only have to do that report once from the field. Now the officer has to write everything down on a notepad and upon return to the station, the officer has to do it over again in the computer at the station. This is a duplication of effort, waste of manpower and increases overtime. Elimination of officer training would save 14%, but would offset by the liability. Special events are 8% of the budget. Is the Council willing to transfer the cost to the people who create the events? These are the types of considerations we have to make to finance this budget if this is the proposed 2009 budget. If we continue with our current staffing for 2009, it isn’t going to meet their needs and they are going to have serious safety concerns if they try to meet the 2009 budget with the current staffing level. Growth has been a modest 6% overall in the department in the past 10 years, with a 66% increase in calls. Of the 4 new positions in the past 10 years, 2 were grant related, the other 2 were from the community uproar over the drug related issues. There was a pressing need for a supervisor on the night shift. They created a fourth shift sergeant who patrols on the 4 busiest days of the year, a 10 hour work shift partly on 4 pm – 12 am and 12 am – 8 am. That relieved 16 hours of overtime they were paying for a sergeant every week of the year. There are 20 officers that are retirement age and are eligible to retire in 2009. Commissioner Kim stated one good thing from a budget standpoint is the replacements for the retirees would be paid less. We would loose a lot of experience and knowledge. With the time it takes to replace a person, we would be running into overtime. There are 4 more that are eligible for retirement in 2010, 5 more in 2011, 1 more in 2012 and 2 more in 2013. The solution is to plan for retirement now by increasing staff in the police department. During the 22 month period of 8/06 and 6/08, 11 officers retired. Overtime spiked in 2007 and 2008 partly due to retirements. Chief Moore showed an agency strength comparison between the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, and the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office. These agencies work hand in hand with them and experience similar calls to them and provide very similar service to them. The Saratoga Springs Police Department has not seen the same increase in staffing numbers since 2002 as those other departments have. Our police department has been managing the work load through overtime. The Animal Control/PEO position has been eliminated. This position writes parking tickets, there are only 3 people writing parking tickets. Together they write about 80% of the tickets in the City. To date, those 3 people have generated the collection of monies equaling about $339,000, and will pay $97,000 in salaries for these 3 people for the year. Page 10 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Project 2009 police staffing will remain a challenge. There will 27 known police officers available right now for 2009. They need at least 30 to meet minimum staffing. They are headed for more of the same in 2009 with the current staffing levels. They will be starting 2009 with at least 9 vacancies. There are 3 injured patrol officers (2 have serious retirement type disabilities that will remain out of work until they can get the state to retire them), 1 patrol sergeant due for surgery in December and will be out when the new year starts, 2 investigators – 1 on light duty and 1 is scheduled for major surgery and will be out at least half a year, 3 patrol officers undergoing academy training and won’t be ready for patrol duty until mid May. 4 members have expressed interest to retire, 2 members have military commitments at various times. The department has 5 authorized training positions in addition to the 71 budgets positions. Chief Moore recommends filling all 5 positions knowing they have at least 4 officers that are going to retire and will probably have others. They are looking at some innovative ways to bring more income into the City. Commissioner Kim stated they were cut about $100,000. If that was the only cut, they could probably manage. Their total budget has been decreased. They are looking at presenting to Council actual income enhancements. Overtime budget has to come up or other things they’ve lost have to be there. If they don’t get the overtime increase or some other increases, then they have to cut special events or look at specialized programs because there is a police officer doing things events. In the end if their budget goes this way we will see service reductions. Chief Moore wanted to stress the point again that on average they were down 10 officers all of 2008. He summarized the following points: 56% increase in calls over last 10 yrs, increase in responsibility in community growth, mandated responsibilities by the state, clerical support is at a minimum, 2008 staffing was down 15%, and personnel shortages cause overtime. Police Dept is here to work with council towards a solution. There is a tough choice between taxes and community. We need to gather together as one City Council and pull people in to play a part in this, sit down and have an open dialogue regarding the entire budget. It may not be even in each department but let’s cut where we can. Whatever budget you give them, they will work with. Commissioner Franck stated they used to hire temporary police to work in the street. Is this against the law? Chief Moore advised it is against the law. Civil Service has been informed that no police officer can be put on the street without having been through the basic academy. Commissioner Franck asked if he is aware of any municipalities in New York that have done this. Chief Moore stated he is not aware of any municipalities. Commissioner Franck stated hiring temporary people for a less life threatening situation such as special events would be less costly and these people could also help generate parking tickets. Chief Moore stated it is a union issue, civil service issue, etc. Commissioner Franck stated he voted for the last police contract because they were told there would be a significant reduction in overtime – $100,000. His concern is it didn’t happen. When he sees things for charity such as a 5K race, it is not a high risk issue, can’t someone other than an officer cover this. Commissioner Kim stated in 2006 there was a problem with firefighter overtime due to injuries. Fire and police have such limited staff for what they do, that when they lose 1 or 2 people we see a spike. Fire is basically steady and relatively healthy. One report we owe the Mayor is who is on disability. Commissioner Franck stated the dispatchers have been paid $100,000 in overtime. Has there been any discussion of shared services with the county or to work something out during certain times to keep the overtime down? People aren’t paying on hours, they are paying on dollars. Page 11 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Kim stated part of the reason dispatch is localized is because it is better, they know the city. They can perform more effectively. Commissioner Franck stated we clearly have a problem and are trying to come up with ideas. There are 2 or 3 municipalities in Massachusetts have advertising on police cars to bring in revenue. Commissioner Kim stated we need more officers and have to bite the bullet on that. That is the solution. They didn’t have a civil service list for 6 months and couldn’t hire anyone. They didn’t have bodies to answer the phones and they do go thru training. Commissioner Ivins stated he is for hiring people to reduce overtime. The bottom line is what’s in that number – are we going to be spending less dollars to get the same service. Maybe get the Sheriff to block off roads for events, they don’t need to be familiar with our streets. Have we talked about hiring people in other communities to reduce the time to put people on the streets? Chief Moore stated the Sheriff won’t come in to patrol streets. If they did, you will pay them 15% more than us. Commissioner Kim stated the trooper’s and sheriff’s pay scale is higher than ours. It is hard for us to get laterals because of the pay. Commissioner Scirocco stated the sheriff won’t come in on straight time. Chief Moore stated he understands the concept, it probably seems like good idea, but it’s an idea he doesn’t think would happen. There would be a myriad of legal issues. Commissioner Ivins asked what comparisons have been done with other communities regarding staffing levels. His understanding is the surrounding cities have more officers per residents, their crime is more per resident, and we have a lot less crime with less officers per resident; obviously we have to compare to cities like ours; Albany, Schenectady, and Troy are not like us. Chief Moore stated traditionally we have based our staffing based upon what happens here. The other communities have different needs and therefore difficult to compare. He wants to look out for the future of the police department, he doesn’t want to look behind him. Commissioner Kim stated they did the comparison for the fire department. If we compare ourselves to any city along the Hudson River Valley with a professional fire department, the numbers are startling. Glens Falls is 5 square miles and has 2 fire stations with 45 sworn firefighters, Saratoga Springs is 28 square miles with 2 stations and 56 sworn officers. We think these are issues the City Council has to address with growth. Commissioner Ivins stated the frustration he has been hearing is just the growth. The public safety budget went from $14 million in 2006 to $20 million this year. That is almost a 40% increase. Commissioner Kim stated that dramatic increase was an accounting thing. Until that point, the healthcare was kept in the Finance office, then it was spread around. Finance distributed all the employee benefits to the various departments. Commissioner Ivins he does recall that. It went up only 17% when you take those factors out. Originally Commissioner Kim asked for another 6%, until he proposed cutting it back. People are frustrated, specially this year because of the economy. He did cut everybody. Some did a good job ahead of time and he didn’t have to look to cut more things for them. He and Commissioner Kim have discussed things, and added some back in for public safety. The Mayor moved things around. Commissioner Franck just lived with what I gave him. Commissioner Kim advised they are looking at revenue ideas. These are such large numbers his department can’t say they are going to work within it. They know that and they want to make sure people Page 12 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 understand that. If this continues, it will mean service cuts or they will have to figure out how add some of these things. Tough choices all around. Commissioner Franck asked Commissioner Kim if there was a spike in his budget do to catching up on union contracts. Commissioner Kim stated not in that year. That year was due to the moving of the accounting. Mayor Johnson stated some facts were given for the increase in the sheriff and district attorney staff compared to ours. Much, if not all in the county uses the sheriff rather than having their own. Chief Moore advised they use the sheriff and the state police. Mayor Johnson was trying to get a feel for how much of increase in the sheriff’s department and the district attorneys, because the county has increased so much in population compared to our City. Chief Moore stated he did have a conversation with Jim Bowen who stated he has had an increase in the volume of calls for service and also picked up, county wide, prisoner transports in 2007. Commissioner Kim stated he needs more police when the calls go up, not necessarily when the population goes up. Mayor Johnson asked if Chief knows how much the county calls have gone up. Chief Moore advised he does not have the numbers on that. He has the numbers on the staffing increase over the last 10 years. Some of those increases were to pick up transports. Commissioner Scirocco stated the County increased road staff by 10 when he was with the county. Commissioner Kim stated they sat with the courts and found a 66% increase in their caseload since 1999. Not all is criminal, but it mirrors what they are doing, someone is arresting them. Mayor Johnson commended the Chief Moore on his PowerPoint and asked if a hard copy is available. Chief Moore does want to talk to Commissioner Ivins about putting the presentation on line. Commissioner Ivins advised putting the presentation in an adobe file and Kevin Kling can add to web. Proposed Hearthstone Special Assessment District Matt Jones stated he is here on behalf of the developer of the Hearthstone subdivision. This is located on Route 9N and Kirby Road; a vacant parcel just to the north, just past the Home of the Good Shepard. It is a 13 lot subdivision approved by the planning board in March of this year. A local law adopted in January, MS4, imposes the obligation of the developer to inspect and maintain the storm water systems constructed. A number of subdivisions are going to look at a homeowner’s association (HOA) or a special assessment district (SAD) for the long term inspection or maintenance. From the private sector, the SAD has some advantages. For a single issue entity like this one, to form an HOA for the sole function to inspect and maintain a stormwater system isn’t what an HOA is normally formed for; they usually do a lot more than just this sole function. The SAD, $50 or $60 per home that would be required to fund the inspections and DPW can do the inspections and have the revenue to pay for those inspections. It is revenue enhancement for the city and tax deductible for the homeowner, unlike HOA dues. This would be the first of this kind with more to come. There have been a number of discussions with the City Engineer and Commissioner Scirocco to see which his department wants to go. Commissioner Scirocco agrees the SAD would be the way to go. If this is the way the council is going to go, he will come back next month with more info. Page 13 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Franck stated he would support this. Because of this new change it is more beneficial to the homeowners to get the property tax write off. Commissioner Scirocco stated this will impact his department. The DEC has passed the responsibility of administering the MS4 on to the municipalities. The responsibility includes technical review, additional manpower, equipment to inspect, document, clean, maintain, repair and replace the storm facilities. This is an unfunded mandate from the DEC. The fact we can generate revenue from this is a good thing. At some point we have to look at this globally. Down the road he plans to bring a proposal to the Council in regards to that. This is a good idea and a way to address it with no additional cost to the tax payer. Commissioner Franck asked if this is done globally, will this have to be done each time and go through the same process of Council vote for new SADs. Matt Jones advised until they find a solution for the City, you are going to see more and more of these. The infrastructure is there in the Finance Office and DPW to do this. Otherwise you are going to have the each the cost yourself. Mayor Johnson stated the key is to charge enough so there will be a significant amount for reserve for the City in case of maintenance. Matt Jones stated you would set aside capital reserve for structures that have to be replaced at some time. The good thing is the city has experience with this. Commissioner Ivins asked to clarify that the City could take out a fee for administrative costs to administer the funds. Matt Jones advised they could do this. Commissioner Ivins stated he is kind of mixed on this. Down the line this makes sense. It is increasing the size of government; they are going to have to hire additional staff at some point to manage special assessment districts. He will probably vote for this. Matt Jones stated the City is stuck with the obligation; it is just whether you find the revenue source to pay for it. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of City Council Minutes 10/7/08 2. Approve Budget Transfers 3. Approve Payroll 10/10/08 $414,049.36 4. Approve Payroll 10/17/08 $418,894.48 5. Approve Warrant 2008 Mid MC2OCT08 $542,397.94 6. Approve Warrant 2008 Regular 2OCT08 $336,785.40 Ayes – All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Amend the Capital Budget Telecommunications (08 – 188) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the amendment to the capital budget for 2008 for telecommunications. Mayor Johnson stated this is amend the 2008 budget to increase no more than $88,000 to the prior $170,000 already allocated for this project. Page 14 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Ivins stated this is contingent upon the approval of item #2 in the Finance agenda – approval to amend 2008 capital budget. Role Call Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Nay Discussion and Vote: Authorize Mayor to Sign Contract with Carousel for Communications Project (08-189) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Carousel for the communications project. Mayor Johnson stated the deadline was extended from the original deadline of Oct. 15 and was extended 2 weeks thanks to the work of Deputy Mayor Sutton. Commissioner Scirocco stated he did vote against this at the last meeting. His concern was the $170,000 in the current capital to take care of the phone system. He believed that money was for City Hall and the police department. He researched it and found that was the case. He did mention at the last meeting that he felt the money should be used just for the police department for cost savings. He commended the Deputy Mayor for doing a good job on this. He believes it is going to work well, so he is going to support it. Commissioner Kim stated he is in support of upgrading police phones. If in better times, he would have a problem supporting the entire thing. One of the issues Commissioner Ivins presented to us is the increase in the debt service and this is going to add to it. Increase to the debt service is one of the reasons the taxes increase. We can just focus this on the police and public safety. He received 2 separate phone calls from the vendors that were part of this. They both stated they could do it for less. This was not an RFP. In the case of Carousel, the number being put on paper wasn’t the last number. One of the vendors said they could do the entire City for the amount that is currently in the budget. He did not solicit these calls. If nothing else we should go back to the drawing board because money is money. If we are determined to go with Carousel we should cut the project and due what is necessary. They said on October 6th if you didn’t make a decision by October 15th, the train is leaving the station. Apparently the train is still at the station. We shouldn’t be adding to the budget when we are cutting people and essentials. I rather spend this on the EMS supplies that were cut by 2/3; from $36,000 to $12,000. He has to oppose this. Mayor Johnson advised there was a task force formed and meetings which Commissioner Kim’s deputy and the police chief attended to discuss the needs of the police department. What we have here is different than the bids. Mayor Johnson reviewed the spreadsheet that indicated what each one offered, how they differentiated, and the criteria to qualify the bid. Carousel came out on top. The reality is we presently have $320,000 earmarked for this project. $170,000 voted for by you in the prior administration and $150,000 in this year’s capital program which was unanimously accepted by this Council, 5 – 0, to make the total funds available for a city wide solution. It is disingenuous to back peddle at this point. Commissioner Kim stated he has to correct one thing. Mayor Johnson lays the impression that there is $320,000 sitting there ready to spend on this project; this is $150,000. We wouldn’t have this discussion if there was $320,000 there, we wouldn’t need to. You are moving $80,000 to do this entire project. He says let’s spend the $170,000, maximize what we have and he could buy medical supplies with the other $80,000. He doesn’t need a pretty phone on his desk; his does need medical supplies for the EMS people. Mayor Johnson found it interesting that Commissioner Kim has become the taxpayer watchdog based upon his history of voting over the past few years. Calling a phone a pretty phone is insulting to the Page 15 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 committee who worked on this. This system is going to take care of a problem now; that is addressing a public safety need. Commissioner Kim read the following line from Jamie Johnson’s memo to the Mayor’s office dated June 20, 2006: “The estimate from Telephone Technologies is $154,346.00.” This was to deal with the police department for the necessity. It is important that someone picks up the phone and dials 911 and gets a dispatcher. It is not so important that someone picks up the phone and calls City Hall and has a question on their tax bill. Is it valuable, yes, but in tough economic times, he believes they should do what is necessary, not what is nice to do. Commissioner Ivins stated 50% due upon signing and 50% due upon completion. More than the first half is already bonded. When it is completed, depending upon timeframe, it may be put into the next bond or we may have to take out an anticipation note. Mayor Johnson stated if approved this evening, system will be put in place as soon as possible. Everything will be up and running at the latest by February, 2009. Commissioner Kim asked if $88,000 is being bonded separately. Commissioner Ivins stated no, we are taking out a bond anticipation note. Commissioner Kim asked if they still have to go to bond council to have that done. Commissioner Ivins stated they just need to go to a bank and borrow the amount. Commissioner Franck stated the reason for the bond anticipation note is it is cheaper to do it at one time if you are going to be bonding several things at one time. He further stated that his complaint with the vendors who contacted Commissioner Kim didn’t respond to the RFI. Commissioner Kim stated they had responded. Commissioner Franck asked if this vendor is someone Commissioner Kim personally knows. Commissioner Kim stated he was contacted today at his legal office from 2 different vendors. One he does know because the vendor’s son knows his son. The other guy he never heard of. They are saying they never got the opportunity to be dealt with the same way as the City dealt with Carousel. Mayor Johnson stated getting a call complaining of the process is one thing but translating that their project or service is as good is a big leap. Commissioner Scirocco said to Commissioner Kim he understands he is passionate about the issue and he cares about the police department and what he does. He called the police department the other day, told them who he was, they didn’t know it was him because they don’t have caller id. It is time we do what we need to do. That’s the point he’s at. Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Commissioner K im) Discussion Status of the Indoor Recreation Facility Mayor Johnson stated the last time we were here we were discussing the SEQRA status. He is trying to keep the process as open as possible for the public. He is referring this matter to the planning board for site plan review prior to any SEQRA being issued. The Council shall remain the lead agency in this matter, the planning board will become an involved agency by law, by the referral of this to them for review. It is important because of the issues being made that the planning board look at the propriety of the project at this location. He is asking for them to expedite the review as we do have a bonding implication. Page 16 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Kim asked if they have to vote on referring to planning board. He is not opposed to it, but thought it had to be a vote. Tony Izzo stated you do it in regards to zoning petitions. For an advisory opinion he is not able to site any specific provision of the law that covers this. Mayor Johnson made a motion and Commissioner Franck seconded to amend the agenda to add discussion and vote to refer the indoor recreation center project to the planning board for site approval review. Ayes – All Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to refer the indoor recreation center project to the planning board for site plan review. Ayes – All ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Hazardous Waste Program (08- 190) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to accept the Hazardous Waste Program as presented. Marilyn Rivers advised the Council that this is a foundation document passed by the Safety Committee on October 16th. The Safety Committee will be working with Supervisor Veitch and the County as part of their hazardous mitigation and recycling planning. The Committee is trying to develop economies of scale to make money from waste. We are hoping to continue the City’s efforts to go green and minimize the carbon footprint. Key members of each department will be receiving a copy of the manual. The manual gives the City’s policies, the DEC mandates, and some how to dispose of waste within the community. This will also be put on the website. She thanked Commissioner Ivins for his assistance in getting all the information on the web. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Natural Gas Contract Commissioner Franck stated over the past couple of years the City has saved significant money by going to a fixed contract. Due to the economic times and commodities have been dropping dramatically, he believes we are going towards the low of a fixed contract. He spoke with the Chamber representatives and asked them if we could wait another 2 weeks. From the last meeting to now, the price has gone from $1.15 to $1.07, which is $.09 cheaper than it was the previous year. He is going to hold off for a vote for another 2 weeks. From everything he is reading and hearing, there is still room for the price to drop. It has already proved to be beneficial to wait a week, so he is going to wait another 2 weeks before asking for a vote. Discussion and Vote: Professional Appraisal Services (08- 191) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the entering into contract with a new professional appraisal company. We are requesting the approval for the Mayor to sign a professional services contract for the retention of the Bauer Appraisal Group of Albany. Due to a conflict of interest, we had to discontinue services of the existing appraisal group. This contract has been reviewed by legal and risk and safety. Page 17 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Zoning Map Amendment West Avenue and Grand Avenue Commissioner Franck stated he will have Deputy Boxley obtain additional information relating to alternate proposals for the zoning map amendment. The City Planning Board and the County Planning Board both found an unfavorable review. A public hearing was set for November 3, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to set the next City Council meeting for November 2, 2008 due to Election Day falling on the regularly scheduled council meeting day. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Hound Dog Graphics(08- 192) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Franck seconded the approval for the Mayor to sign a contract with Hound Dog Graphics. Commissioner Ivins stated the Council awarded bid last month. The amount of the contract is $9,000 which is less than was budgeted. Commissioner Scirocco asked if the contract includes all departments. Commissioner Ivins stated it would include all departments. Commissioner Scirocco asked if each department will have the opportunity to meet with Hound Dog. Commissioner Ivins advised each department will be meeting with Hound Dog and will be asked by Hound Dog what are the 10 most asked questions asked of the department. Those questions will be addressed on the web page. Commissioner Franck feels this is way past due and happy this will be done. Ayes – all Discussion and Vote: Amend 2008 Capital Budget (08- 193) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded amending the 2008 capital budget in the amount of $88,017 for the new telephone system . Role Call Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Nay Discussion and Vote: Bond Resolution New Telephone System (08- 194) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded the adoption of the bond resolution for the new telephone system , not to exceed $88,000 . Page 18 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Commissioner Ivins explained the amended bond amount is and even $88,000 because it is easier to bond. The total amendment for the project is $88,017.97. The additional $17.97 will be added from interest. Role Call: Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Aye Discussion and Vote: DPW Capital Payroll Transfer (08- 195) Commissione r Ivins moved and Commissioner F ranck seconded the capital payroll transfer for DPW. Commissioner Ivins advised this is for the part time assistant engineer approved by the Council on October 7, 2008. The amount of the transfer is $8,174.76. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: DPW Payroll Transfers (08-196) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded the payroll transfer for DPW. Ayes - all Discussion: City Finances Commissioner Ivins stated we are looking at $200,000 - $300,000 short for the year but things may change. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Unified Court System Agreement (08- 197) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the approval for the Mayor to sign the Unified Court System agreement. Commissioner Scirocco stated this agreement is for a period of 5 years starting on April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013. This agreement allows the City to be reimbursed for the cost of maintenance and cleaning services rendered to the court system. Mayor Johnson clarified this is for the City courts in City Hall. Commissioner Scirocco advised it is for the courts in City Hall. Ayes - all Discussion and Vote: Street Acceptance of Tyler Drive (08-198) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to accept Tyler Drive as a City owned street. Commissioner Scirocco stated per chapter 201, section 201-1 Official Street list entitled “Street Naming and Numbering” be amended to include Tyler Drive from Arrowhead Road to the end. He stated the acceptance of the street is conditioned upon the developer filing all necessary deeds and easements in Page 19 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 the Saratoga County Clerks Office with written proof provided to the City of Saratoga Springs City Attorney’s Office. Upon receipt of this documentation, a minimum of 1 year letter of credit, maintenance, and security will be required and any existing letter of credit will be released. Ayes – All Commissioner Scirocco stated he was not able to be at Beau Kilmer’s memorial service due to a family emergency. He was scheduled to speak. Both of Commissioner’s kids played for Beau. Beau made a difference in a lot of people’s lives. Commissioner Scirocco stated his heart goes out to Beau’s family. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion: Code Enforcement This item was pulled from the agenda. Commissioner Kim asked if he could take 10 minutes at the public hearing tomorrow night to do this presentation. Discussion: Area Capital Projects This item was pulled from the agenda. Set Public Hearing: Property Maintenance Inspection Registration Fees: Ordinance to Amend Chapter 118 of the Code of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York entitled “Building Code Administration” Commissioner Kim set a public hearing for property maintenance inspection registration fees for Tuesday, November 3, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. Discussion: History of Police Department Repairs This item was pulled from the agenda. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen Report on October Board of Supervisors Meeting Supervisor Yepsen stated several resolutions were passed today. It was announced today that the $6 million dollar loan to the Saratoga County Water Authority has been paid back in full by the County Water Authority plus the 4% interest. A resolution was passed in support of rail use to reduce highway congestion. They also established a capital fund in the amount of $52 million to expand the sewer system within the County. There will be a public hearing by the Saratoga County Office of the Aging on October 29th from 1 -2 pm in Clifton Park. County Budget Schedule The County budget is up and running. On October 28th at 10 a.m. there will be a press conference at the County board rooms where they will present the 2009. Workshops will follow on November 10th and 12th, November 14th will be a full board workshop, December 3rd a public hearing, and December 12th a special meeting to approve the 2009 budget. Saratoga Race Course Coalition Update Page 20 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 This coalition was successful with lobby efforts for local input and preservation consideration in the bill passed last February by the 3 houses of state government and to enable a new contract with NYRA to be signed. They recently met with Carol Ash on two points in the bill; the local advisory board that will be set up and the Saratoga local advisory board in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Office and the franchise oversight board will compile a complete updated historic resources inventory identifying all the buildings and landscape features in their current condition at the Saratoga Race Course. Carol Ash is offering staff advice and support. Saratoga Trails Update Supervisor Yepsen stated the overall picture of the trails is working. A trail system for Saratoga Springs and the County is being put together. They are putting together on road and off road trails. Daniels Road and Bloomfield trails over the water is being looked at closely. Women Veteran’s Home November 10th Event The event to raise money will be on November 10th. She has been working with Saratoga County Rural Preservation Company on this. County Board is supportive of this. There are several females in the areas that don’t have a place to live and many have children. Some homeowners and land owners in Ballston Spa are coming forward to provide either a home or land for them to build on. Matt Veitch Update: Geyser Road Trail RFP Process Supervisor Veitch stated they met with vendors. Committee is evaluating responses and should vote in next two weeks to have a vendor for the feasibility and survey study. They may be doing more fundraising. Update: County Airport The County voted to fix the obstructions to the planes coming in and out. American Flight Services will cut overgrown trees and take care of things like that. The County will pay up to $25,000 for them to do that. This should allow planes to land at night. Update: Nursing Home Appropriation The County voted to take an appropriation from their surplus to work on intergovernmental transfer of funds for match of Medicare reimbursement for the nursing home. Most stated cover the match, but New York doesn’t. The County is taking $5 million plus from their surplus to put into the pool at federal government and the federal government gives back twice the amount, $11 million plus. Nursing home runs at a deficit every year. Commissioner Kim asked if the deficit increases or is it stable. Supervisor Veitch stated the deficit is pretty stable. Geyser Road Bridge Construction There are signs on Geyser Road indicating construction. The work started this week to resurface the bridge. They are not reconstructing the bridge, that is a different project projected for 2010. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation Page 21 of 22 City Council Meeting 10/21/08 Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation is doing a grant program again this year. They give out money for community service agencies. Officers have been chosen for this year; Matt Veitch is the Chairman, Scott Johnson is Vice Chairman, George Hargrave is the Secretary, and Skip Carlson is the Treasurer. The applications have opened for this year, the deadline to submit an application is November 26th, by December 10th they should have acted on those applications, and by December 19th they will notify the agencies of the awards. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to adjourn the meeting. Ayes – All There being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 10:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 11/3/08 5-0 Page 22 of 22