City Council

October 14, 2022 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Budget Workshop City Hall 474 Broadway 2:00 PM 2:00 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: 2023 City Budget – Accounts Department & Finance Department PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS ADJOURN Budget Workshop 10/14/22 October 14, 2022 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Budget Workshop City Hall 2:00 PM PRESENT: Minita Sanghvi, Commissioner of Finance Dillon Moran, Commissioner of Accounts James Montagnino, Commissioner of Department of Public Safety STAFF PRESENT: Angela Rella, Deputy Mayor Heather Crocker, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Stacy Connors, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Works Jason Tetu, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety EXCUSED: Ron Kim, Mayor Jason Golub, Commissioner of Department of Public Works 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 Commissioner Sanghvi called the meeting to order at 2:04 p.m. Commissioner Sanghvi stated she presented the proposed comprehensive budget at the October 6, 2022 City Council meeting for $54.2 million dollars. Commissioner Sanghvi stated the Accounts Department is 3% of the total 2023 comprehensive budget. The amount requested was $1,650,381.95 of which $816,810 is for personnel and $353,599 is for benefits. In 2022, the City received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which now the City has to make up that difference in the budget. The first priority is not to lay off any employees and be able to staff the third fire station. The third fire station has $7.1 million dollars bonded in 2022 and the City is bonding another $1.4 million dollars in 2023 due to cost overages due to inflation and supply chain shortages. Commissioner Sanghvi advised there is a difference of $351,738 between the requested budget and the proposed 2023 comprehensive budget. Cuts include the moving of the director of risk and safety to the Mayor’s Office for approximately $250,000, a new position of contract administrator for $65,000, and $57,631 for records retention, which is also a new position for 2023. With the exception of the new firefighters and the city attorney, there are no new hires for 2023. Existing positions currently not filled in 2022 were not funded for 2023. Page 2 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/14/22 PUBLIC COMMENT Commissioner Sanghvi opened the public comment period at 2:12 p.m. Jane Weihe of Saratoga Springs stated she saw on the City’s webpage that there are materials for this meeting. She asked if those materials were available at this meeting. Commissioner Sanghvi advised the materials are on the web. Zeale VanRaalt of Saratoga Springs stated he is here to speak on behalf of his friends and neighbors. The City has been blessed with an increased tax roll. Commissioner Moran stated he discovered the assessment roll is not accurate as there are more than 1,000 parcels not on the roll accurately. Commissioner Moran stated that was due to the lack of the staff and not having enough people to do the work. Mr. VanRaalt stated he doesn’t understand what the Accounts Department is recommending on a go forward basis to remedy the failures of the past and do it with the existing staff. The department needs to be properly funded so the job can get done. Commissioner Sanghvi closed the public comment period at 2:16 p.m. Accounts Department Budget Commissioner Moran thanked Commissioner Sanghvi for the Finance Department’s work on the first budget. He stated all have an opportunity to learn and arrive at a budget that provides services to support the community. The Accounts Department will not balance or break the budget. Commissioner Moran stated the notion that the records retention officer is a new position is not true. The person currently in the position is retiring; therefore, filling the position is a priority. The position is required by the City Charter, is active in converting the City from a paper basis to an electronic basis and needs to complete this as soon as possible. Commissioner Moran stated there are a couple of line items that require adjustment such as birth certificates and death certificates; he can’t guarantee more births or deaths. Commissioner Moran stated every person in his departments performs a singular function with no back up. There is no one in a supervisory position in the department, like managers/directors in other departments, and he would like to see a leadership position if not for this budget but maybe through an amended budget for continuity. Commissioner Moran continued to insist upon having the records retention person. Commissioner Moran stated the Accounts Department only has a few revenue streams and believes the City can be more aggressive in revenues. He also commented that sales tax would increase 6% year over year and mortgage tax will be flat or up. He also emphasized the need to agree on a reasonable expectation for growth and that the City will not be flat year over year in sales tax revenue. Commissioner Moran stated to move forward with a maximum tax increase while cutting services is a horrible message to send. Commissioner Sanghvi stated they are not cutting services. Commissioner Moran stated $1.3 million is proposed to be cut from the Department of Public Works. Commissioner Sanghvi stated she looked at 10 years of historical data, state and city trends when putting this budget together. There are fewer homes available for sale. Commissioner Sanghvi stated she needs factual data behind Commissioner Moran’s recommendation. Commissioner Moran stated the need for a reasonable expectation of growth. A maximum tax increase while cutting services sends a bad message. Commissioner Moran stated there is an excessive amount in Page 3 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/14/22 the unrestricted fund balance and the City should be using those monies to balance the budget and reduce taxes. Commissioner Sanghvi advised she is using $500,000 of unrestricted money for this budget. Commissioner Moran advised that is the lowest amount ever used. There is about $4 million dollars more that can be used which will bring the fund down to 18%. Commissioner Sanghvi stated the amount of sales tax projected to be collected for 2022 is $16.5 million. She will look at using unassigned fund balance and how it relates to the City’s bond rating. Commissioner Sanghvi stated she was advised the records management position was funded by grant money. Nancy Wagner, records coordinator, advised her position has never been funded by grant money. Nancy read a statement into the record (attached) which advised there has been a change from managing paper to managing electronic records. The title of position and the list of tasks should be changed to accurately reflect the position, which is not new, but has evolved. Nancy advised most training for this position is offered through New York State Records Management and is free. This position takes a lot off the IT Department. Commissioner Sanghvi asked what percentage of Nancy’s time is set aside for writing grants. Nancy Wagner advised the grants are once a year through the local government records as that is where the City qualifies. Commissioner Moran stated it is essential that this position be funded full time at a grade 13 step 1. Commissioner Sanghvi stated there are a couple things that have been pointed out as needs in the Accounts Department, a leadership position in the future for continuity in the Accounts Department, similar to manager/director roles in other departments, and the records retention officer moving from part time to full time. Commissioner Sanghvi asked if there are any additional revenues from the department. Commissioner Moran advised there are some fees that are state mandated and would require time to review if there have been any changes. Commissioner Sanghvi stated she is trying not to lay people off and the least offensive area to cut was training. Finance Department Budget Commissioner Sanghvi advised the Finance Department makes up 7% of the comprehensive budget. Finance requested budget for 2023 was $4,217,316 and the proposed budget is $3,917,210. There were no requests for new personnel. Mike Wangerin, director of IT, advised the Council of IT initiatives for 2023. The IT Department needs at minimum an extra $115,000 in the hardware line to keep what the City has functioning. When the end of life period comes for a device, the City has to replace it. The City has always relied on a vendor support method. In 2022, the IT Department worked on a password management system, which will provide everyone a FOB as part of it and a complete infrastructure refresh. Commissioner Montagnino asked Commissioner Sanghvi if there is a direct correlation between bond rating and the cost of borrowing. Commissioner Sanghvi advised there are multiple factors that are looked at to determine bond rating. The better bond rating the City has the better interest rates the City will get. It is not just about revenues, there Page 4 of 5 Budget Workshop 10/14/22 are many other factors. For example, if the City Council members are actively fighting and there are major silos and the Council doesn’t get along, then the bond rating could be affected, as stability is a factor. Commissioner Sanghvi also commented that horseracing is an industry in decline and if horseracing were to shut down, that would significantly impact the City. Commissioner Montagnino and Commissioner Moran disagreed with Commissioner Sanghvi’s statement regarding horseracing being an industry in decline in Saratoga Springs. Commissioner Moran stated Commissioner Sanghvi is increasing taxes to a maximum amount and cutting services. Commissioner Sanghvi stated that services are not being cut. Commissioner Moran stated he wouldn’t vote for the proposed comprehensive budget as presented. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Montagnino moved and Commissioner Moran seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:12 p.m. Commissioner Sanghvi stated the meeting is adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Secretary to the City Council Approved: 3/21/2023 Vote: 4 - 0 Page 5 of 5