City Council

October 19, 2016 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Budget Workshop City Council Room 1:00 PM 1:00 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES PRESENTATIONS 1. Nothing at this time. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Nothing at this time. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Execute Resolution and NYS Agreements for Geyser Road/Rt. 50 Intersection Improvements ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion: 2017 Budget PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Grant Agreement with LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) SUPERVISORS Matthew Veitch 1. Nothing at this time. Peter Martin 1. Nothing at this time. ADJOURN Budget Workshop 10/19/16 October 19, 2016 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting City Council Room 1:00 PM PRESENT: Joanne Yepsen, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Christian Mathiesen, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Deputy Mayor Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS EXCUSED: Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Tim Cogan, Deputy Commissioner, DPW 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 Yepsen called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. PUBLIC COMENT Mayor Yepsen reminded the public and Council that rules have been adopted regarding the public comment period. She reviewed these rules for all. Mayor Yepsen opened the public comment period at 1:05 p.m. Samantha Bosshart of the Preservation Foundation stated the mayor included the requested increase in the budget for them but she is disappointed it did not remain there. The amount has been the same for 15 years and never asked for an increase until now. All costs have increased over the past 15 years. They have taken the lead in many City owned projects, raised many dollars, and given hours of in-kind services. Samantha went on to state she received a letter from Tamie Ehinger, from North Broadway that is in support of the increased budget amount. She submitted the letter into the record. Tom Frost of Frost Architects commended the president of the Preservation Foundation for their work on historical homes. This information is very important to someone like him. It is an extremely valuable organization. Page 2 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/16 Tara Hutchins and Pauline Kelly from the Senior Center thanked the mayor for supporting them. They are experiencing tremendous growth with the new Community Action Program. Richard King of Saratoga Springs stated he is a member of the Preservation board. Their costs keep rising and he asks the Council look favorable on their request for an increase. Barb Glazer of Saratoga Springs stated she is here in support of the increase for the Preservation Foundation. The request of $6,000 is a small amount to ask. Cindy Corbert, member of the DRC, stated she is here to support the increase in allocation for the Preservation Foundation. William Willard of Saratoga Springs stated we need continued support of the Preservation Foundation. Jim Gold of Saratoga Springs asked the Council to imagine what the City would look like if the Preservation Foundation did not exist. He encouraged the support of the $6,000 increase. Mayor Yepsen closed the public comment period at 1:22 p.m. Mayor’s Department Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Execute Resolution and NYS Agreements for Geyser Road/Rt. 50 Intersection Improvements (16-381) Brad Birge of the Planning Department advised this is an agreement with NYS to allow us to progress with the design work at Route 50 and Geyser Road. This project is eligible for Marcelli Funds through New York State; leaving the City’s share at 5%. Commissioner Madigan asked for the actual dollar amount the City will be responsible for. Brad Birge advised the worst case will be $36,000. Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Madigan seconded to authorize the mayor to execute a resolution and NYS agreement for the Geyser Road/Rt. 50 intersection improvements. Ayes - All FINANCE 2017 Budget rd Commissioner Madigan stated this is the 3 budget workshop. Today they will be covering the Mayor’s Department and Public Safety. The Mayor’s Department total budget is $2,360,000; a 2.2% increase over the 2016 adopted budget. They have requested an increase to their budget for the Preservation Foundation. It was included in their original budget but she has not heard from the mayor that this request is of high priority. Commissioner Madigan stated she believes it is compensated to the best of their ability. She is using $1.8 million of reserves to balance this budget. Mayor Yepsen stated she feels Commissioner Madigan summed up the budget well. Nothing has been increased in the mayor’s budget and feels the Commissioner of Finance is moving in the right direction. Page 3 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/16 Commissioner Madigan stated if the Senior Center was one time funding she would like to see the mayor come back with a one-time funding application. She saw the Senior Center as recurring. She cut the $30,000 request back to $20,000 because it is for ongoing support. If necessary, they can make changes to the budget. Mayor Yepsen asked if any other commissioner would like to take a look at their budget to see if they can find any money to help the Preservation Foundation. She is going to take another look at her budget. Commissioner Mathiesen stated his sense from speaking with Samantha Bosshart is they are in dire need. The allocation has been the same for 15 years but their cost of operation keeps increasing. He believes they need to look at this one more time. Commissioner Franck stated he will look at his budget to see if he can come up with some money. Commissioner Madigan stated Commissioner Mathiesen is going to come forward with a request to increase his budget by $5,000 for signs and posts. This could be moved if they feel strongly about the Preservation Foundation request. Mayor Yepsen stated there is one other item to address; a new law requiring the executive assistant to work more than 35 hours. Funds will be needed for that. st Commissioner Madigan stated there is a federal law change that will take effect December 1 . It will impact employees that work 33 hours per week and make under a specific amount. There is money set aside in contingency to help deal with this. This affects more than 1 employee. Commissioner Madigan stated the Public Safety budget totals $26,000,000; a 5% increase over the 2016 adopted budget. Commissioner Mathiesen stated Fire Chief Williams is happy with the budget as is. The budget allows them to function with a 72 person Police Department. This City gets busier every year with more pressure being put on the department. He hopes the City understands they can only do so much with the resources they have. He believes a slight increase in taxes is fine and people understand. We need to get away from relying on our reserves. Commissioner Madigan stated the Council is able to increase taxes. If she were to do that – she would take less out of reserves. Revenues are coming in where we were last year. Commissioner Madigan advised the second public hearing for the 2017 proposed Comprehensive Budget is set for Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 6:50 p.m. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Grant Agreement with LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) (16-382) Commissioner Mathiesen moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the mayor to sign a grant agreement with Local Initiatives Support Corporation in the amount of $150,000. Ayes - All Page 4 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/16 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Yepsen adjourned the meeting at 2:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 11/1/16 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 5 of 5