City Council

October 22, 2019 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Budget Workshop Recreation Center 15 Vanderbilt Avenue 1:00 PM 1:00 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES PRESENTATIONS CONSENT AGENDA MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion: 2020 Budget PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS ADJOURN Budget Workshop 10/22/19 October 22, 2019 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Recreation Center 15 Vanderbilt Avenue 1:00 PM PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Mayor John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Shields, Deputy Mayor Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts John Daley, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Vincent DeLeonardis EXCUSED: Peter Martin, Commissioner of DPS Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Tara Gaston, 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 Kelly called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Kelly said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes. Mayor Kelly opened the public comment period at 1:02 p.m. No one spoke. Mayor Kelly closed the public comment period at 1:02 p.m. Page 2 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/22/19 MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion: 2020 Budget Commissioner Madigan stated this is the first budget workshop of 2019. Today they will be looking at the Civil Service Department, Accounts Department, Mayor’s Office, and the Department of Public Works. Civil Service Commissioner Madigan advised several change requests were submitted. One was for an increase in the salary of the Civil Service Coordinator. Another was for either a part time clerk or part time clerk to aid in monitoring exams on weekends. Mark Coccoza of the Civil Service Commission stated the performance of the Civil Service Department has improved dramatically. Things are running smoothly and efficiently. The Commission is responsible for over 1,100 employees and the workload is solely on the coordinator’s shoulders. Corissa Salvo has worked diligently on the outreach to candidates for open positions and has not only increased the number of responses received for positions but the quality of the candidates. Routine processes are falling behind as she is the sole employee. A part time person could assist in handling the routine tasks. Accounts Department Commissioner Madigan advised the total Accounts Department 2020 budget is $1,222,428. The requested budget did not include benefits which totals $246,250 more than requested without benefits and $30,500 less than 2019. She has received two change requests from the department – reinstate the request of $60,000 for the appraisal line and a part time position for the assistant assessor. The part time position can be covered by assignment of knowledge transfer. Commissioner Franck advised there was a large increase in the appraisal line to take care of Article 7 cases and additional work to be done by GAR Associates. Our current assistant assessor is doing the work of three people. We will need a minimum of $40,000 for appraisal services. Commissioner Madigan commented that the GAR project has been successful and will give serious consideration to the request to increase the appraisal line. Commissioner Franck reminded everyone that our City is more complicated than most regarding assessments as we have commercial, residential, and schools all within our City limits. If funding is able to be moved from another line to cover a part time assessor he is ok with that. Commissioner Madigan advised they can use funds for fourth quarter 2020 to hire someone. Page 3 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/22/19 Mayor’s Department Commissioner Madigan advised the total 2020 budget of the Mayor’s Department is $2,878,225. This is $265,089 less than requested and $128,460 more than 2019. She has received two change requests – reinstatement of a full time zoning administrator mid-year and an increase in building permit revenue. Lisa Shields, deputy mayor, presented to the Council (copy of presentation attached). She explained how a full time zoning administrator would benefit the Planning and Building Departments. Year to date there is a 5% increase in land use board applications and a 13% increase in building applications. The average turn- around time for building applications is 41 days and they are expected to receive new building codes in the early part of 2020. The new codes will affect the speed in which permits are issued. They are asking for a new hire mid-year. Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, spoke about the needs of the Legal Department. He submitted a request for an increase in salary/upgrade for the executive assistant in the Legal Department. The prior assistant was a grade 14, which is $11,000 more than the current executive assistant position. This request deserves consideration by the Council. Department of Public Works Commissioner Madigan stated the total department 2020 budget is $11,097,282. This is $896,480 less than their original request and $323,118 more than their 2019 budget. They have requested several changes: re-instate the full amount of a sub-department for trail maintenance; 4 new pick-up trucks; and an upgrade for the administrative assistant for the Engineering Department. Commissioner Scirocco stated his major request is the addition of a trails crew. They have 4.67 miles of trail system to maintain. With the planned expansion of trails, an additional 5.1 miles of trail maintenance will be added. The City is growing but the DPW workforce is shrinking. Also, additional work has been given to the administrative assistant of the Engineering Department and would like to see this person be compensated/upgraded for that. New trucks are needed as trucks have met the end of their life expectancy. These trucks have to be heavy duty (F250) as they use them to plow. Commissioner Madigan stated trail employees are going to be required as part of grants. These grants will require us to identify those people. General Comments Mayor Kelly stated she has seen improvement in the applicant pool from Civil Service. She appreciates Corissa’s efforts. Commissioner Scirocco stated Civil Service can definitely use some additional help/workforce. Commissioner Franck reminded everyone some of the salaries for the Civil Service Department comes from the school district. Corissa Salve, Civils Service coordinator explained the formula of how the amount the school district pays towards Civil Service. Commissioner Madigan advised the next budget workshop is Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. The next public hearing will be Monday, November 4, 2019 and will remain open until the Council votes on the budget. Page 4 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/22/19 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. SUPERVISORS No reports. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Kelly adjourned the meeting at 1:57 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 11/4/19 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 5 of 5