City Council

MINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SCHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL November 13, 2012 The Meeting was called to order by the Council President Denise Brucker at 7:08 p.m. in Room 209, City Council Chambers at City Hall. Ms. Brucker called upon Reverend Priscilla Richter of The First Unitarian Church to deliver the invocation. Ms. Brucker called upon Carl Erikson to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The City Clerk called the roll and the following members of the City Council answered to be present: Present – Council members Leesa Perazzo, Marion Porterfield, Carl Erikson, Margaret C. King, Vincent Riggi, and Denise K. Brucker Absent – Barbara Blanchard, Council members Also Present –City Clerk Charles W. Thorne, Corporation Counsel John Polster and Mayor Gary R. McCarthy. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Proposed 2013 Budget for the City of Schenectady. Ms. Brucker invited all who wished to speak to come forward, seeing no speakers Ms. Brucker declared the Public Hearing closed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ms. Perazzo made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 22, 2012, as submitted by the Clerk; Ms. King seconded the motion. COMMUNICATIONS: Official: From the Mayor – A veto of Ordinance 2012-13 Approving and Adopting the Operating Budget for 2013 and a letter stating his objections. From the Mayor, a list of appointments dated November 13, 2012 From the Director of Water & Wastewater, a letter recommending the award of the “Maintenance of the Roofs at the Rice Road Water Pump Station – Base Bid and Alternates 1 & 2” to Mid-State Industries, Ltd. of Schenectady, New York in the amount of $31,611.00. General: None Petitions: From the Schenectady ARC self advocacy group SARC Speaks Out a petition signed by 58 people requesting repair of the sidewalks in the area of State and South Ferry Streets. Schenectady City Council Minutes November 13, 2012 Page 2 of 6 COMMITTEE REPORTS: City Development & Planning – Ms. King – Announced candidates are being sought for appointment to the Land Trust Board and encouraged anyone interested in serving to submit a resume. Government Operations – Ms. Perazzo – Spoke in favor of supporting GENDA (Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act), which would designate transgender as a protected class and make discrimination based on status a crime in New York State. Finance – Mr. Erikson – Reviewed the Council's options in reaction to the Mayor's vetoing of the 2013 Budget. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (LEGISLATIVE ITEMS) Ms. Brucker invited all who wished to address the Legislative Agenda to come forward. Diane Blinhand, Scotia – Spoke in support of the GENDA legislation and described the pressing needs for the legislation. She thanked the Council for their support. Mary McClaine, Schenectady – I'm going to talk on two items tonight, numbers 9 and 4. Number 9, maintenance of the roofs at the Water Pump Station. Council wants to spend $31,611.00 to repair two roofs that are 15 years old in order to keep the roofs in warranty for another 15 years. Is that how you would approach a leaky, 15 year old roof on your house? The City should remove the old roofs completely and replace them with new ones. What happens in three years with the old roofs? More repairs? The City will have more money spent on repairs than what it takes to pay for new ones. That is not the way to go. The 15-year old roofs should be removed and new roofs put down. Number 4 – regarding GENDA Legislation. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the topic of transsexuals would find its way on a City Council agenda. I have expertise on the subject because I did an oral exam for my abnormal psychology class. A male-to-female or female-to-male sex change involves a private, surgical procedure. There is no reason for the City to know that a Council member's relative had a sex change. What other revelations can be expected in the future. City officials who hit on other people's spouses? My research did not indicate there was discrimination against those who underwent the operation. I found there was an element of curiosity from the general public and a sense of urgency form the medical community in order to repair war wounds on soldiers coming home from the Second World War. A sex change is a private issue. Putting the topic on a Council Agenda is a stretch. It doesn't belong here. Seeing no other speakers to come before the City Council, Ms. Brucker declared the Privilege of the Floor on the Legislative Agenda closed. INTRODUCTION OF AND ACTION UPON LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: Ms. King made a motion that Council approves the Consent Agenda and the motion was seconded by Ms. Perazzo. Consent Agenda – Resolution No. 2012 – 208 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 209 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Schenectady City Council Minutes November 13, 2012 Page 3 of 6 Resolution No. 2012 – 210 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 211 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 212 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 213 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 214 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – 215 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2012 – CS-23 ................................Adopted Unanimously Mr. Erikson made a motion to override the Mayor’s veto of Ordinance 2012-13 Adopting the Proposed Operating and Capital Budget for 2013 including the General Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund and Golf Fund; Ms. Perazzo seconded the motion. Ms. King – Stated she has concerns about the severity of the cuts, she advised the Council has thirty days to act and there was no urgency to act tonight. Mr. Riggi – Spoke in support of overriding the Mayor’s veto and said they could draw a budget amendment if necessary. Ms. Perazzo – Spoke in favor of overriding the Mayor’s veto and favored amending the budget as needed. Ms. Porterfield – Favored overriding the budget and emphasized the need to closely monitor the finances and amend the budget as needed. Mr. Erikson – Stated the Mayor made cuts and the Council added cuts that he wished weren’t necessary. He also said there is expense available in a contingency fund. 5:1:1 Voting AYE: Porterfield, Perazzo, Erikson, Riggi and Brucker. No: King Absent: Blanchard The motion was carried. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Ms. Brucker invited all who wished to address the City Council on any matter of City business to come forward. The following speakers rose to be heard and their remarks are summarized: Rev. Phil Grigsby, SICM – Thanked the Council for the resolution honoring Reverend Larry Phillips at the October 22nd meeting. He also spoke on the upcoming Thanksgivings services. Joe Rodriguez, Schenectady – Presented Council with a picture of section of his street, which he said has been dug up since August. He stated the City needs to start working together with the residents. Marva Isaacs, Schenectady – Congratulated the Council for their work on the budget but said it didn't go far enough. Chris Morris, Schenectady Landlords Influencing Change (SLIC) – Spoke regarding changes needed to be made in legislation regarding rental property in Schenectady. Stated he is willing to work with the City. Julie Horn, SLIC – Said inspections shouldn't be required in two to three unit owner-occupied homes. She stated Schenectady is becoming an undesirable place to do business. The inspection fee should be $25.00. Schenectady City Council Minutes November 13, 2012 Page 4 of 6 Mohamed Hafez, SLIC – Stated that the proposed rental certificate inspections are impractical. He stated that the City should negotiate with landlords for a reasonable schedule. Steve Markham, SLIC – Suggested the City re-institute the Housing Standards Board and asked that two members of the board be members of SLIC. The board would be able to mediate disputes with Code Enforcement. Al Kuhn, SLIC – Stated that Schenectady should recognize they are in competition with other communities for landlords and tenants. Bob Burgess, SLIC – Stated SLIC is a positive organization in the City. Fewer fees will encourage purchases and eliminate burned out buildings. He stated they are willing to meet. There are good landlords in this City. Marelza Brown, SLIC – read a statement on behalf of Guyanese landlords. It stated complaints that included charges of bias by Code Enforcement. They requested moving from a more subjective to objective system. They requested re-establishing the Housing Standards Board to look into complaints before being forced to go to court. Pamela LaBrake, Schenectady – Vote to override the Mayors veto of the budget - Greetings, Vote to override the Mayor’s veto of the budget. The hardworking homeowners of Schenectady NY have had enough. We already pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation; we have the highest crime rate per capita in New York State. While millions of dollars are pumped into downtown, our neighborhoods are deteriorating. Our houses are extremely over assessed. Due to the over abundance of non profits in our city the homeowners are being burdened with another tax increase and a garbage fee increase. People are trying to sell their homes to no avail. There are no jobs here because there are no retail stores. Businesses are closing. We as citizens of the city of Schenectady ask that the city council over ride the Mayors veto and put a stop to higher taxes. The citizens especially the elderly and those homeowners on fixed incomes are suffering and it’s time for the city council to do their job and work for the citizens as they were elected to do. Harry Brand, Schenectady - Complained that no one listens to the citizens. He stated Schenectady is one-third the size of Albany, but Schenectady Police Department is top-heavy in comparison. Mary D’Alessandro, Schenectady – Announced that this Sunday is the 9th City-Wide Open House. She stated there have been 95 closed loans and 1,000 inquiries resulting form the program. She also said program sponsorship has increased since the initial open house. Randy Egnaczyk, Schenectady – Stated he has lived in Schenectady for 20 years and things have not got any better, they’ve got worse. Any change should not include a tax increase. Joyce Wachala, Schenectady – Spoke against the Mayor’s vetoing of the budget and criticized the Council for holding meetings without including Mr. Riggi, labeling such actions as not democratic. Ed Eksterowicz, Service Plumbing – Objected to the lateral repair and replacement being proposed by the City. He said the City cannot do the work for the price they are claiming. Linda Hart, Schenectady – Stated that John Polster’s claim that Marche was not going to be a witness in a City Court case was disputed by Gilah Moses. Mary McClaine, Schenectady – As you know, I attend many Committee Meetings. While there, not only do I listen, I observe. From my observations Jason Cuthbert is not a rebel rouser. On the contrary, he is very low key. The City has done an injustice to this young man. And the Schenectady City Council Minutes November 13, 2012 Page 5 of 6 injustice must be corrected. The youth of this City cannot be left with the impression that if they are honest, possess integrity, are educated, have valuable skills, etc. there is no place for them on Schenectady’s workforce. At the last Council Meeting two children spoke at this podium. As they spoke, I said to myself they are the Jason Cuthberts of the future. They saw a problem and spoke up. Jason Cuthbert also saw a problem and wanted to fix it. I am asking you with all the diplomacy that I can muster up to re-instate Jason Cuthbert to his job, with full benefits and uninterrupted service. Tony Buonome, Schenectady – Stated he was upset by reports in the paper of Democratic members of the Council meeting in caucus. He stated all members should be included. He was upset by reports in the Daily Gazette that the Council was considering eliminating the Commissioner of Public Safety position. Don Birch, Schenectady – Objected that all of his remarks are not recorded in the Council minutes. He also stated he made a FOIL request and was told it would cost “thousands of dollars” to fulfill. He criticized the “secret meetings” of the Council. Seeing no other speakers to come before the City Council, Ms. Brucker declared the Privilege of the Floor closed. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL Ms. Perazzo – Reminded everyone to recycle; it has a direct effect on City revenue. Ms. Porterfield – Thanked everyone for coming to the meeting, especially member of SLIC. She said she would like to meet with the members. Ms. King – Emphasized that eliminating the Public Safety Commissioner’s position was never discussed. Mr. Riggi – Compared the experience of being held out of meetings to being on the team but not being allowed to play in games. Mr. Erikson – Cited the many issues brought up by the landlords, saying a vibrant rental property business is needed in the City. He asked Ed, from Service Plumbing to provide contact information. Mayor McCarthy – Stated that Schenectady is not in the terrible fiscal shape that some people would like to believe. He cited the recent Comptroller’s report indicating the City is relatively the same as others across the state and is in the recovery process. Ms. Brucker – Recognized the SLIC members and thanked them for coming down. Schenectady City Council Minutes November 13, 2012 Page 6 of 6 ADJOURNED: Seeing no further business to come before the City Council, Ms. Brucker adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. A true record By Charles W. Thorne Schenectady City Clerk