City Council

October 5, 2010 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Agenda 7:00 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES PRESENTATION(S) 1. Comprehensive Budget EXECUTIVE SESSION Discussion regarding proposed, pending or current litigation; personal private information of a person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a person or corporation. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of 9-21-2010 City Council Minutes 2. Approve Budget Amendments 3. Approve Budget Transfers 4. Approve Payroll 9/24/10 $416,316.14 5. Approve Payroll 9/30/10 $392,985.48 6. Approve Warrant 2010 Mid 10MWSEP3 $433,094.77 7. Approve Warrant 2010 Regular 10OCT1 $852,213.80 MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Appointment to the Downtown Special Assessment District 2. Discussion and Vote: Economic Recovery Supplemental No. 2 Agreement for Spring Run Trail 3. Discussion and Vote: Permission to Hire Part Time Telephone Operator ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Acceptance of State Archives Records Management Inventory Grant 2. Set Public Hearing: Amendment of Taxi Ordinance 3. Award of Bid: Beekman Street Water Main to Tom Kubricky Company 4. Award of Bid: City Hall Roof Repairs & De-Icing System to Moisture Barriers, Inc. 5. Award of Bid: Extension of Lab Testing with CNA Environmental 6. Award of Bid: Extension of Bid with Complus Data Innovations FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign CDPHP Grandfathered Status Form 2. Discussion and Vote: Department of Public Works Internal Controls 3. Discussion and Vote: Department of Public Works Payroll Transfers 4. Discussion and Vote: Mayor’s Department Payroll Transfers 5. Set Public Hearing: 2011 Budget 6. Discussion: City Finances City Council Meeting 10/5/10 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign National Grid – Form M – Outdoor Street Lighting System 2. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Youth Hockey Agreement 3. Discussion and Vote: Sidewalk Agreement with Masonic Lodge PUBLIC SAFETY Nothing at this time SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen 1. County 2011 Budget Process 2. Upcoming County Committee Meetings 3. Balancing Growth and Open Space 4. Saratoga County Public Health Clinics 5. Guardian House Update Matthew Veitch 1. Sons of the American Revolution Cady Cemetery Memorial Dedication 2. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation ADJOURN Page 2 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 October 5, 2010 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting City Council Room PRESENT: Scott Johnson, Mayor Ken Ivins, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Richard Wirth, Commissioner of DPS Matt Veitch, Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, Supervisor (arrived at 8:03 p.m.) STAFF PRESENT: Shauna Sutton, Deputy Mayor Kate Jarosh, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Tim Cogan, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Frank Dudla, Deputy Commissioner, DPS 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. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. PUBLIC COMENT Mayor Johnson opened the public comment period at 7:01 p.m. 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. Ken Klotz of 232 Maple Avenue stated he is here to make people aware of CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty). They have had a CROP walk for the past 31 years. The event is sponsored by a group called Church World Service and will be held on October 17th at 1:00 p.m. This is to draw attention to the problem of world hunger and its attempts to combat it. They will meet at the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park. All are invited to join in the walk. Kyle York of 59 Railroad Place stated we have a local gentleman here in Saratoga Springs, Clarence Dart who is part of the Red Tail project. The project to restore one of the aircraft has been going on for a number of years. The website is www.redtail.org. They are looking for donations to keep this project going and in return for your donation you get a video. Page 3 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Phil Diamond of 29 Waterview Drive state he is here to talk about the proposed Charter change. There was a meeting held last week where half the room was pro-charter and the other half is against the proposed Charter. He asked the mayor to announce in the near future that he is appointing an official mayoral commission for Charter change. We need to tweak what we have now in his opinion. Andrea Hyde Rogers of PO Box 867, Saratoga Springs congratulated Matt Veitch for finding the Cady Cemetery. He should be commended for what he has done – it was a beautiful ceremony. Mayor Johnson closed the public comment period at 7:08 p.m. PRESENTATION 2011 Proposed Comprehensive Budget Commissioner Ivins stated his objectives this year were to keep taxes as low as possible while cutting the least amount of services, address the loss of VLT revenue, and not putting any ‘one-time’ money in the budget. The original requests came in short. Revenues are falling short overall in the 2010 budget. They are projecting that expenses are going to exceed revenues for 2010 by $2.8 million dollars. They used some of the unreserved unappropriated fund balance to balance the 2010 budget. The amount we will be short for the 2011 budget based upon requests is $3.7 million. To make up the shortfall by increasing taxes would mean the increase would have to be over 20%. That is not acceptable to him. If the expenses and revenues remained the same for 2011, the debt service along with the decrease in property values automatically creates in a 1% tax increase for 2011. Total personnel costs are going up almost $3 million dollars for 2011. The increase is caused by the early retirement program, the police contract went into place, and the contracts that didn’t get settled still have step increases. Since he has been here, a net of 48 full time positions have been lost. He put together 2 pages of payroll information. When Commissioner McCabe put the 2008 budget together, he stated that was a ‘bare bones budget’. They have cut that budget by $2 million. He is looking to cut the expenses even below 2010 and proposing a property tax increase of 8.48%. In his opinion, that is too much but he can’t get it lower. He provided what that increase would mean for various home values. Commissioner Ivins presented a slide of what he is budgeting for large revenue sources. He is projecting $8.7 million in sales tax for 2010 and $8.9 million for 2011. He is also projecting that mortgage tax will remain the same for 2010 and 2011. Commissioner Ivins advised contributions by the City for non-profits programs has remained flat even though their expenses have increased. He also advised he did the following to get the tax increase down from 20% to 8.4%: move dispatchers to the County, cut recreation costs, increase recreation revenue (increase fees to bring in additional 10% in revenues), cut $40,000 snow removal truck from recreation, un- fund police captain position, cut $100,000 from the highway labor line, reduce staffing costs to Accounts and Finance, recreation director is planned for early retirement, building inspector and HR director is budgeted for only 9 months of the year, removed request for DPW facility manager, removed request for 4 fire positions, and cut about $440,000 in non-personnel costs. Commissioner Ivins stated there would be a savings of approximately $500,000 by moving the dispatchers to the County. They will look to hire 2 part time positions to do data entry. He is requesting an increase of 10% in revenues in the Recreation Department to offset some of the field maintenance costs. He is looking to cut about $70,000 in labor to the ‘3000’ lines in the recreation budget. Budget trends where displayed from 2005 to the 2011 comprehensive budget. He showed the Saratogian’s solution to saving money such as all employees contribute 20% to health insurance; 1 furlough day per month; single health insurance company; and increase sales tax .5%. To take taxes to 0% we would have to cut about 32 jobs. If we didn’t cut dispatchers, we would be adding another 2.8% to the tax increase and 11 additional people would have to be cut. If we increased sales tax half a Page 4 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 percentage point, we could avoid cutting most employees. To make that happen, we need state approval; which would happen well after when we have to have a budget. Commissioner Ivins stated the next step is to set public hearings and a Council vote between November 1st and November 30th. Commissioner Scirocco verified the City was hit with $1 million by the state for early retirement. Is there any chance to pay that in installments? Commissioner Ivins stated he is not aware of any installment options. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of 9-21-2010 City Council Minutes 2. Approve Budget Amendments 3. Approve Budget Transfers 4. Approve Payroll 9/24/10 $416,316.14 5. Approve Payroll 9/30/10 $392,985.48 6. Approve Warrant 2010 Mid 10MWSEP3 $433,094.77 7. Approve Warrant 2010 Regular 10OCT1 $852,213.80 Ayes – All Council adjourned for a recess at 7:45 p.m. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Appointment to the Downtown Special Assessment District (10-291) Mayor Johnson stated he would like to propose the re-appointment of Lisa Schroeder to the Downtown Special Assessment District. She is a local owner of the Clothes Horse and interested in remaining on the board. Many of the other members have expressed their wishes to keep her on the board. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to re-appoint Lisa Schroeder to the Downtown Special Assessment District. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Economic Recovery Supplemental No. 2 Agreement for Spring Run Trail (10-292) Mayor Johnson stated there is a resolution by the Council as required by the NYSDOT in order for us to receive additional funds in the amount of $283,000 towards the cost of the project. Paul Male, city engineer has explained in the past how we were able to tap into this money. There is no cost to the City to execute the documents. This is just a way to accept the money. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to adopt the resolution to allow the City move forward to accept the money from NYSDOT. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Permission to Hire Part Time Telephone Operator (10-293) Page 5 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Mayor Johnson stated this is a unique situation. It is not designed to increase the budget of his department. They have had a telephone operator on a part time basis. This line item is already in his 2010 budget. The current person has been working for 33 hours per week at $9.50 per hour. Based on Civil Service law, the woman in this position is not able to continue to work this schedule beyond her initial 3 months. She must be dropped to 20 hours per week and we need to add another person for 13 hours per week at $9.50 per hour to man the switchboard. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to approve an additional person to be hired for 13 hours per week at $9.50 per hour as a part time telephone operator. Commissioner Ivins asked if the budget request for 2011 included the 33 hours as is. Mayor Johnson stated for 2011 it is for 40 hours per week and will include different duties. Commissioner Ivins confirmed for 2010 it is a part time position and will be made full time in 2011. Mayor Johnson stated that is correct. Ayes – All ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Acceptance of State Archives Records Management Inventory Grant (10-294) Commissioner Franck stated the New York State Archives informed us that we have received a non- matching grant award from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund in the amount of $15,851 to conduct an inventory of the records of the Office of Planning and Economic Development and Building Department. Nancy Wagner is here tonight to describe the project and how the funds will be used. Nancy Wagner advised that the goals of the project are:  To inventory the records of the Building Department, Zoning Board, Planning Board files, and the files of the Design Review Commission. There are approximately 810 cubic feet of records that need to be inventoried, identified, and purged of duplicates and obsolete documents.  Retained records will be re-boxed and relabeled by records series year and if applicable the disposition date.  Public Safety will reclaim their vault and storage shelf after 9 years. There is 80 cubic feet of building files now stored up there that will be removed, purged for obsolescence and retained items brought to the Building Department.  Lateral shelving units with pull down locking doors will be purchased to replace 8 legal sized four drawer file cabinets. Those file cabinets will be recycled in that they will be made available to other offices and departments.  This project will reclaim valuable office and storage space. Most inventories yield a 35 – 60% reduction in paper.  Create a written policy and procedures for the management of the records of the Office of Planning and Economic Development and the Building Department and a complete index of all retained records.  The project will result in a needs assessment and records management plan for the efficient management of building and land use board files going forward. Nancy went on to explain the primary benefactors of this project are the City residents and people served by this department will be the primary benefactors as a result of this project because of resulting increased organization and efficiency. Page 6 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Commissioner Franck stated since he has been in office, we have received over $161,300 for 8 records management projects. This is Nancy Wagner’s 25th successful application, a 93% success rate, for a grand total of $465,314. Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded for City Council acceptance of these non-matching funds and approval for the mayor to sign related financial documents as necessary. Ayes - All Set Public Hearing: Amendment of Taxi Ordinance Commissioner Franck set the public hearing for October 19th at 6:50 p.m. Tony Izzo, assistant city attorney advised he did a complete re-write in the 90’s and another committee did another re-write around 2000. There is some concern about the mechanisms of the background check when applying for taxi license. There have always been some difficulties with the background check procedure. Hopefully there will be some resolution of the procedures before the final one is issued. There is no proposed increase of rates at this time. There are proposed changes to the regulations such as if the Accounts Department or the Department of Public Safety will be regulating and enforcing those regulations. Fee being charged for the license has been the same since 1960 so that is something that might want to be looked at. On page 10 - there are new regulations on the markings on taxi cabs. He has to get the final to the Council within a week. Award of Bid: Beekman Street Water Main to Tom Kubricky Company (10-295) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the bid for the Beekman Street water main to Tom Kubricky Company in the amount of $456,493. Commissioner Scirocco stated he would like to hold a special City Council meeting to expedite the contract. Ayes – All Award of Bid: City Hall Roof Repairs & De-Icing System to Moisture Barriers, Inc. (10-296) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the bid for the City Hall roof repairs and de-icing system to Moisture Barriers, Inc. in the amount of $167,725.00. Ayes - All Award of Bid: Extension of Lab Testing with CNA Environmental (10-297) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to extend the lab testing bid with CNA Environmental for an additional year at the same rates. Ayes - All Award of Bid: Extension of Bid with Complus Data Innovations (10-298) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to extend the bid with Complus Data Innovations for the parking ticket management system for an additional 3 years under the same terms and conditions. Commissioner Ivins asked if this extension is for the same terms and conditions. Commissioner Wirth advised that is true. Page 7 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Ayes - All FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign CDPHP Grandfathered Status Form (10-299) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to authorize the mayor to sign the CDPHP Grandfathered Status Form as previously distributed to the Council. Commissioner Ivins stated this is required to either elect or not be grandfathered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We are a candidate to be grandfathered because we are renewing our health insurance plan as is for 2011. If we change plans we will lose the grandfather status. If we don’t get grandfathered we may be subject to additional fees. This was recommended to us by our brokers at Adirondack Trust to sign this. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Department of Public Works Internal Controls (10-300) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to approve the annual updates to the Department of Public Works Internal Controls as previously distributed to the Council. Commissioner Ivins stated this is an annual review and they worked closely with the staff of the DPW. It includes new controls for the token machine in Congress Park for the carousel. Commissioner Scirocco asked for the wording to be changed from “…amendment requests should be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Finance” to …”the Commissioner of Finance”. Commissioner Ivins stated it is currently written this way because the deputy commissioner is there full time and the commissioner is not. It could say the commissioner of finance or the representative if Commissioner Scirocco would like. Commissioner Scirocco stated that would be fine as the rest of the policy refers to the commissioner and not the deputy. Commissioner Ivins made a friendly amendment to change the wording from deputy to commissioner of finance or representative. Commissioner Scirocco accepted that amendment. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Department of Public Works Payroll Transfers (10-301) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to approve the Department of Public Works payroll transfer as previously distributed to the Council. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Mayor’s Department Payroll Transfers (10-302) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to approve the Mayor’s Department payroll transfer as previously distributed to the Council. Ayes - All Set Public Hearing: 2011 Budget Page 8 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Commissioner Ivins stated he has 3 dates as part of the budget process. The dates are October 19th at 6:15 p.m., October 28th at 1:00 p.m., and November 16th at 6:30 p.m. They may be looking at other budget workshops as they get closer to the end. Discussion: City Finances Commissioner Ivins stated he already addressed this during his presentation. *** Commissioner Ivins added that he worked with people at Skidmore in the north woods. He had a number of Cub Scouts from Geyser Elementary School and Skidmore students helping out. He thanked everyone for their help. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign National Grid – Form M – Outdoor Street Lighting System (10-303) Commissioner Scirocco stated he received a letter from National Grid stating they were reviewing and updating their files and realized they didn’t have updated Form M – which allows them to operate and maintain street lighting system. This does not impact billing in any way. Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the mayor to sign Form M with National Grid. Commissioner Scirocco stated this is for cobra lighting. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Youth Hockey Agreement (10-304) Commissioner Scirocco stated this is a yearly agreement for the rental of the concession area from July 2010 – April 2011. Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to authorize the mayor to sign the contract with Saratoga Youth Hockey for the rental of the concession area. Commissioner Scirocco stated there has been no activity at the concession stand up to this point. The contract should have been in place before now but we haven’t lost any money because there hadn’t been anyone renting it. He believes the place was closed in July. Commissioner Ivins stated the contract reads the Saratoga Springs Indoor Recreation Facility. Is that the recreation facility or the ice rink? Commissioner Scirocco stated it is the ice rink. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Sidewalk Agreement with Masonic Lodge (10-305) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with the Masonic Lodge for 882 square feet of sidewalk replacement at 687 Broadway in the amount of $6,174. Commissioner Ivins stated there is no date. He asked if they had a date in mind to do this. Page 9 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 Commissioner Scirocco stated they will be putting this into their schedule. The date of the agreement will be tonight. Ayes - All PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Commissioner Wirth stated he had nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen County 2011 Budget Process Supervisor Yepsen reported the budget for 2011 will be coming out around the 26th of October. There are a couple big figures due to the money for Medicaid reimbursement; now a $2.5 million hold. Maplewood Manor is projected to cost $5 million to ensure we balance the budget. Final budget will be coming to vote in December. Upcoming County Committee Meetings Supervisor Yepsen reported she has a printed schedule of upcoming County meetings for those who are interested. Balancing Growth and Open Space Supervisor Yepsen reported this program will be held at the County Planning Office for 3 consecutive Wednesdays – October 6th, 13th, and 20th. Part 1 will focus on examining the population growth in the Saratoga region, Part 2 is focusing on regional economic impact of Global Foundaries, and Part 3 will feature a discussion of tools local communities can use to balance growth while protecting open space resources. Saratoga County Public Health Clinics Supervisor Yepsen reported they announced their flu clinics. There are several locations starting October 18th. Information is also available on the County web site. Guardian House Update Supervisor Yepsen reported the Guardian House has received the final grant they were waiting for to open the first house in New York. The amount of the grant is $212,000 and that is on top of the $140,000 grassroots money raised. Matthew Veitch Sons of the American Revolution Cady Cemetery Memorial Dedication Supervisor Veitch reported on Sunday they dedicated a memorial to a former Revolutionary War soldier – Jeremiah Cady. He thanked the Council for their vote at the last Council meeting for the resolution to formally appoint the Southwest Neighborhood Association as the caretakers of that cemetery. He thanked all for showing up. Jeremiah Cady was born October 17, 1731 in Windom County, Connecticut. He was Page 10 of 11 City Council Meeting 10/5/10 living in Saratoga by 1790 at Cady Hill and died in Saratoga Springs on October 1, 1798. His action in the Revolutionary War was first as a Minute Man, then commissioned as a major. The marker can be found in the cemetery. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation Supervisor Veitch reported applications are being accepted and due by October 19th. They have $30,000 in grants to give away. Grants will be distributed at the Board of Supervisors Meeting on November 16th. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Wirth seconded to move to executive session for discussion regarding proposed, pending or current litigation as well as an update on collective negotiations at 8:39 p.m. Ayes - All Council returned from session at 9:10 p.m. Mayor Johnson stated nothing was resolved during executive session; therefore there is nothing to report to the public. 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 9:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 10/19/10 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 11 of 11