City Council

October 19, 2017 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Budget Workshop City Council Room 3:00 PM 3:00 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 the Mayor to Sign Amendment to the Contract with Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion: 2018 Budget Workshop: Public Works, Recreation Department PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 201 of the City Code – List of City Streets PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS Matthew Veitch 1. Nothing at this time. Peter Martin 1. Nothing at this time. ADJOURN Budget Workshop 10/19/17 October 19, 2017 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting City Council Room 3:00 PM PRESENT: Joanne Yepsen, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Christian Mathiesen, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Deputy Mayor Mike Sharp, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Vincent DeLeonardis EXCUSED: Frank Coppola, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Peter Martin, Supervisor 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 3:04 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 3:05 p.m. Lois Celeste of Saratoga Springs and executive director of the Senior Center stated she had a conversation with Mayor Yepsen this morning about the budget. For many years they have held at the same amount in the budget until last year when she requested a small increase. This morning she was advised by the mayor she planned to reduce the amount in the budget for the Senior Center. She understands this year is a tight budget but these are our senior citizens and their needs grow. They have grown a lot of the programs and ask the Council to reconsider. No other non-for-profits were reduced. Page 2 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/17 Michael Billock of Saratoga Springs and president of the board of the Senior Center stated the dues for the Senior Center is $25 per year. They don’t want to put the cost on the seniors. They rely on grants, fundraisers, and the City. He asked the Center not be reduced in this year’s budget. Sheila Quinn, member of the Senior Center and Saratoga Springs resident stated there are a lot of seniors that can’t afford the $25 membership fee. There are a lot of seniors in Saratoga Springs that you all benefit from. Don’t cut the budget, just at least keep it where it is. Mayor Yepsen closed the public comment period at 3:10 p.m. Mayor Yepsen responded advised there is $100,000 in the budget for the Senior Center. They are struggling to make all the numbers work to meet staff salaries. Hopefully before Monday when the discussion will be on the Mayor’s Department they can meet more with Finance. Commissioner Madigan stated she has no intention of cutting the Senior Center budget this year. The proposed budget she will present will leave their funding completely in place. Commissioner Scirocco stated there is no way he would vote to cut any funds to the seniors. He is embarrassed these people had to come here today for this. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Amendment to the Contract with Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau (17-341) Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Madigan seconded to authorize the mayor to sign an amendment to the contract with the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau as listed with the agenda. Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, advised this is an addendum to the existing contract to extend the term to the original contract for a 5 year period. Ayes - All FINANCE DEPARTMENT Commissioner Madigan advised this is the second budget workshop and they will be focusing on the Department of Public Works and the Recreation Department. After the last budget workshop she was advised the figure of $169,550 for the station 1 doors was incorrect in the 2018 capital budget. The correct amount is $226,210 and will be updated accordingly. In addition, it was identified there is an excess fund balance in the water and sewer funds of $265,000 and $619,000 respectively. The Department of Public Works has decided to partially use these fund balances to fund projects currently listed on the 2018 capital budget. The remainder of the excess fund balance will be applied to their respective reserves. Department of Public Works Budget Commissioner Madigan advised the Department of Public Works revenue budget is up $45,000; approximately 3.1% compared to the 2017 adopted budget. The expense budget is down approximately $221,000 or 2.1% compared to the 2017 adopted budget. Contracted services are down; equipment is down due to decrease in vehicle related expenses; personnel services are up due to contractual salary increases; and benefits are up due to increase in the retirement system contributions. The 2018 requested budget has increased revenue by $24,000 due to the Casino rentals; and expenses decreased by Page 3 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/17 $776,000 due to a decrease in contracted services and a decrease in equipment. DPW requested 3 new positions which are not included in the 2018 comprehensive budget. Commissioner Scirocco stated this is all good news. He thanked Commissioner Madigan and her deputy for all their hard work on the budget and for working with his department. In the end, this budget is more than adequate to run DPW in an efficient way. This will allow them to provide the services they need to provide throughout the year. Commissioner Madigan agrees it would be helpful for them to have another dispatcher at the DPW garage. They will continue to work together towards an adopted budget. Recreation Department Budget Commissioner Madigan advised the 2018 Recreation Department revenue budget is up approximately $71,000 or 6.5% compared to the 2017 adopted budget. This is due to indoor recreation center rentals. Ice rink rentals and summer programs are also up. The 2018 expense budget is down $44,000 or 1.8% compared to the 2017 adopted budget. Contracted services are down; program related expenses are down; repair and maintenance expenses are down; and equipment expenses are down. The 2018 Recreation Department requested budget has a revenue increase due to race course parking fees; expenses decreased by $223,000; and contracted services are down by $24,000. The Recreation Department requested an additional $12,500 related to salary upgrades for 2 program coordinators and 2 account clerks. John Hirliman of the Recreation Department advised their budget fluctuates based upon registration numbers. They have consistently increased their revenue and stayed within their budget. Overall they have a large decrease in expenses. He reviewed what they requested and why. They are looking to fund the soccer program with an additional $5,417 to cover referees and not to have to limit the number of participants. It will be hard to hit some proposed revenues if they have to max out specific divisions. The basketball program is in need of an additional $1,500. Without this increase, referees and number of participants will have to be limited. Clinics are in need of an additional $4,895 to avoid maxing out. Camp Saradac is their biggest increase; they are in need of $8,370. Their goal is to have their programs pay for themselves. He explained how DPW plays a large part in the maintenance of the parks and fields. Commissioner Scirocco agreed with John’s explanation of their involvement and the difficulty of accomplishing what they do with the staff they have. John Hirliman continued to discuss the staffing needs of the Recreation Department. They are now a year round operation where years ago they were more seasonal. Commissioner Madigan stated John does a great job running the Recreation Department and manages their budget well. She stated maybe finance did cut too deeply in their programs and they will continue to work with him. Mayor Yepsen stated this City has growing needs. She hopes he can continue to grow the program as people want it. Commissioner Scirocco stated they are having some issues with the chillers at the ice rink. They are looking at replacing at least one of them. If the chiller goes down they will be in big trouble. Commissioner Madigan stated they should meet on that and maybe include in the capital budget. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Commissioner Scirocco set a public hearing for Tuesday, November 6, 2017 at 6:40 p.m. Page 4 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/19/17 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Yepsen adjourned the meeting at 4:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Margaret LoPresti Clerk Approved: 11/6/17 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 5 of 5