Budget and Capital Committee
May 11, 2004
11:30 a.m.
Scott Heyman Conference Room
Present: M. Koplinka-Loehr, Chair; L. McBean-Clairborne; T. Todd; P. Penniman; D. Booth
Staff: D. Squires, Finance Director; J. Thomas,
Administration; S. Whicher, County Administrator; E. Marx, Planning Commissioner/Deputy
County Administrator; P. Meskill, Sheriff; A. Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner;
K. Leinthall, Probation Director
Guests: Legislative Chair Joseph; A. Tutino, Ithaca Journal
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.
Changes to Agenda
It was MOVED by Mrs. McBean-Clairborne, seconded by Mr.
Penniman, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to add the following resolution
to the agenda:
- Resolution - Authorizing Multi-Year Aquifer Study Agreements
At the request of Ms. Fitzpatrick the agenda item to seek
bids - Medical/Prescription Insurance was withdrawn from the agenda.
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Mr. Todd, and unanimously
adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2004, meeting
as submitted.
Comments from the Public
There were no comments from the public.
Report from the Committee Chair
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he did not have a report except
to thank everyone for attending and participating at the April 27th Legislative
budget retreat. It was a challenging agenda, but useful time spent
together.
Report from the Director of Finance
Mr. Squires reported on the Annual County Finance School
conference he attended last week. One of the themes was to encourage
everyone to be aggressive with State Representatives about capping Medicaid
and not accept the "one-house solution". The State Comptroller was
unable to attend the meeting as he had a deposition. Mr. Squires spoke
about the State's pension plan and feels there will be a change that could
significantly impact the County on a one-time basis. He does not believe
the Governor's proposal will be adopted. He said the County could have
$3.8 million in the budget this year from the retirement system that may
not be due until February 2005. This could give the County flexibility
in preparing the 2005 budget as the money was to be spent in 2004.
Discussion followed and Mr. Whicher commented that one
option is to use the money to reduce the fringe rate by 3-4 percent for the
next four years. He said there are other options to consider as well
and said he and Mr. Squires will be discussing proposals to recommend to
the Committee for consideration. Mr. Booth asked for a summary to give
members time to review the options available.
In response to Mr. Penniman, Mr. Squires said the Governor's proposal addresses
actuarial assumptions and reduces the annual contribution. He feels that
there are some that would like to see that happen, but feels most organizations
are preparing to pay the 12 percent in 2004.
Mr. Joseph commented on a statement made by State Comptroller Hevesi that
long-term contributions have ranged around 16 percent and said he does not
feel the future will be much different. He does, however, feel that
the Comptroller's proposal to shift the time is a real one-time shot.
Another strong point Mr. Joseph feels was made by Mr. Hevesi is the Governor's
proposals are illegal and will be thrown out of court. Following the
meeting, staff from Mr. Hevesi's office called and asked if the County would
consider passing a resolution endorsing the State Comptroller's plan versus
the Governor's proposal. A brief discussion followed and the Committee
agreed it would not be appropriate to recommend a resolution.
Mr. Squires continued his report and said the first sales tax payment received
in May which represents primarily April activity was up by $400,000 over
last year. The second payment is due May 13th and feels the County
will likely be ten percent over for the fourth consecutive month.
In addition, Mr. Squires reported on a press release from
Moody's Investors Service concerning the downgrading of tobacco bonds.
They are awaiting a court decision that could jeopardize the tobacco settlement
payments and result in the bonds going into default. This is related
to the issue of the master settlement agreement when a non-participating
tobacco company is getting a larger share of the tobacco market and not paying
into the settlement fund. Mr. Squires said if the tobacco companies
use this legal position to stop making payments there would be no income
in the operating budget. The County recognized $650,000 in the 2004
budget and that income is expected to decline ten percent per year.
Report from the County Administrator
Mr. Whicher said he attended the same conference Mr. Squires
mentioned above; however, he met with Robert Gregory and Ken Crannell of
NYSAC (New York State Association of Counties). At that meeting they
discussed the Medicaid relief proposals and it was felt that there would
be some relief.
Budget Process
Calendar
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said the meeting with Committee Chairs
may not be necessary as Committees are beginning to review policy impacts
with departments. The capital project requests and PAR process continues
to move forward on schedule. Mr. Marx will be reviewing capital requests
next week.
Fiscal Targets
Mr. Whicher said he would like to meet with department heads one more time
before making his recommendation. He asked that this be discussed at
the next Committee meeting. Preliminary fiscal targets were sent to
departments with a request for them to review and submit any over-target
requests they are aware of at this time. Following receipt of that
information, he will meet with Mr. Marx to review options and make a recommendation
to the Committee.
Fiscal Policies - Contracts
Mr. Whicher said questions have been raised concerning the contract approval
process for capital projects. Mr. Penniman said this question has come
up in the Communications Capital Projects Committee and it was felt that
the contracts policy should be reviewed and clarified. Mr. Whicher
said the Legislature approves capital projects and then within that project
at the Committee level there are a number of contracts ranging from $1,500
to $15,000,000. The questions are: does the appropriate committee approve
each contract or does it have the authority to authorize the County Administrator
to approve contracts up to a certain amount and does the full Legislature
have a threshold where a contract requires approval. He asked the Committee
for direction.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said the current policy and practice is once a capital
project is approved by the Legislature, the appropriate committee is responsible
for the project.
Mr. Squires reminded the Committee that under the General Municipal Law any
contract over $25,000 for public works has to be advertised.
Discussion followed and Mr. Whicher suggested one option could be that the
approval level of contracts within a capital project is determined by the
appropriate committee. Mr. Penniman agreed to have individual committees
have discretion, but feels there should be a template of the issues before
a committee makes a decision.
The following language was suggested: Each committee of a capital project
shall determine the threshold level for administration authority, committee
approval, and Legislative approval. The Committee agreed to have the
policy changed to reflect this language and review it at the next meeting.
Mr. Booth feels it may be desirable to have a threshold that automatically
requires Legislative approval.
Fiscal Policies - Fiscal Targets
There was no discussion.
Fiscal Policies - Rollover
The Committee briefly reviewed the criteria for funds eligible for rollover.
Fiscal Policies - Capital Project Process
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr asked Mr. Marx if he has reviewed the fiscal policy pertaining
to the capital projects process. Mr. Marx indicated that he had not;
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr asked him to do so before the next Committee meeting.
Discussion followed concerning the PARS form process. Mr. Penniman
said during the budget process last year, it was felt that the PAR forms
were not consistent in terms of the content and asked if their could be a
review done to avoid some of the questions that were raised last year.
He said he would be willing to attend any meetings with staff that may be
working on the form.
Mr. Booth stated the PARS form was supposed to be useful and feels it became
complicated. He said there should be some willingness to change the
form if it is no longer useful.
2006 Budget Process Strategic Planning
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he has asked the Chair of the Legislature to consider
beginning a county strategic planning process. He said the Community
Advisory Panel is recommending that Legislators focus on efforts predominantly
on setting policy directions over the longer haul and having a strategic
plan to do so. He hopes that in the next few months a committee or
process will be implemented to begin this.
Mr. Penniman said that the appropriate role of County government has come
up in the past and feels that question should be addressed.
Personnel Department
Personnel Handbook
Ms. Fitzpatrick said her staff is currently conducting
a survey of other counties regarding the employee handbook issue. She
presented the material that is given to new employees during orientation
in addition to what is provided within their own Department.
She learned that a handbook should be put together carefully
as it can be used in legal disputes as a separate contractual agreement with
employees. Currently, all employees receive copies of the bargaining
unit contract that pertains to their employment. Ms. Fitzpatrick spoke
briefly about documents and other information available to employees such
as the Code of Ethics, Administrative Manual, etc.
Position Request - Probation
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr noted this item was deferred at that
Public Safety Committee to allow Committee members adequate time to review
the request. A brief discussion followed and it was MOVED by
Mr. Todd, seconded by Mrs. McBean-Clairborne, to approve the request to fill
the vacancy of Probation Officer contingent upon approval of rollover funding.
Ms. Leinthall explained the caseloads have increased an
average of 21 new cases per month since December. There is a 25 percent
increase in caseloads for the Family Court unit. In that unit,
Probation Officers are required to be in the middle schools and high schools
and some elementary schools at least once a week. There contacts are
with clients, parents, schools, and treatment providers. In family
court cases involving juveniles are treated as a level one case, which is
the highest classification of cases with the most frequent contacts.
The current caseloads in family court are averaging around 50 per Officer.
Ms. Leinthall explained that certain positions were left
vacant that resulted in rollover money being available to fund this request.
The Social Services Commissioner understands the need for this type of work
and hopes to provide funding support for this position as well as an additional
Probation Officer in the Probation Department next year.
Following further discussion, a voice vote resulted as
follows on the motion: Ayes - 4 (Koplinka-Loehr, Todd, McBean-Clairborne,
and Penniman); Noes - 1 (Booth). MOTION CARRIED.
Revised Reclassification Study
Ms. Fitzpatrick distributed copies of the draft policy
concerning the creation and reclassification of positions and gave an overview
of the proposed changes. She addressed the questions raised at a previous
meeting concerning the reclassification of positions in Personnel, Administration,
and the Legislature. Ms. Fitzpatrick felt it would be appropriate and
the Committee agreed that appeals from Personnel staff be handled by the
County Administrator and appeals from Legislative staff be handled by the
appropriate program committee. She did not feel it was appropriate
for her to address the question of Administration staff. The Committee
agreed the same process as for Legislative staff could be used.
At this time, copies of personnel changes throughout County
departments were distributed for information only. However, since this
information was printed, there was one resignation submitted from a Community
Health Nurse in the Health Department. She said there are now three
vacancies in that title at the Health Department. A concern was raised
about the salary schedule for nurses as Cayuga Medical Center has increased
their salaries for nurses. This issue will be looked at in the near
future.
The Committee agreed to postpone action on the policy as amended for further review at the next meeting.
Mr. Marx briefly reported that the percentage of minorities
countywide is 14.5 percent; the percentage without the student population
is 7.1 percent. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said in the next few months, he
would like to see the breakdown of these numbers in a chart.
Revenue Options
Possible Revenue Stream
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he did not have anything further
to report. Mr. Penniman asked if there was a report from a workshop
concerning revenue streams held at the Annual Finance School. Mr. Squires
said he learned that under the Real Property Tax Law, the remedy for delinquent
taxes has always been foreclosure; however, some counties are now suing (civil
actions) for the collection of unpaid taxes rather than foreclosing.
He said this would be pertinent in developers' cases as they may have assets.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he met with Professor Bob Frank
of the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University yesterday
who has looked into various funding mechanisms for municipalities such as
a luxury tax, income tax, and property tax. He said at the municipal
level, a luxury tax can be implemented; however, people will often purchase
a luxury item over a municipal line to avoid paying the luxury tax.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said he discussed with Mr. Frank a progressive property
tax that would capture some of the higher income properties at a different
rate. He said he will continue to look into this and bring forth information
to the Committee for review. Mr. Marx stated that another tax that
has been raised is a local gas tax for local roads.
Mr. Whicher announced that a two-year agreement with the
Airport was signed by US Airways with the same terms. He also reported
that Cornell University has agreed to fund one to two interns for the summer
and fall to support the Air Services Task Force. Mr. Penniman asked
if there would be any report by the Airport Manager in light of the new contract
concerning the budget request that failed at the last Legislature meeting.
Mr. Squires said there will be a discussion at the Facilities and Infrastructure
Committee today. Mr. Marx said he hopes there will an interim report
from the Air Services Task Force by the end of the summer.
Mr. Todd reminded the Committee that this fall the voters
will be considering Off-Track Betting and said the potential revenue is estimated
at $200,000-300,000 annually.
Resolution - Aquifer Study
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Mr. Penniman, to
approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval.
Mr. Todd asked what the actual cost is to County taxpayers for this project.
Mr. Marx said the actual cost is the approved amount in the Capital budget
of $77,000 per year.
A voice vote resulted as follows on the resolution:
Ayes - 4 (Koplinka-Loehr, Booth, McBean-Clairborne, Penniman); Noes - 1 (Todd).
RESOLUTION CARRIED.
RESOLUTION NO. - AUTHORIZING MULTI-YEAR AQUIFER STUDY AGREEMENTS
WHEREAS, the public health and the economic and environmental well-being
of Tompkins County and its residents are dependent on safe and dependable
supplies of drinking water, and
WHEREAS, water supplies in Tompkins County originate, or receive contributing
waters, from underground water sources and aquifers, and
WHEREAS, Tompkins County contracted with the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) to complete a protocol of study for each of the surficial aquifers
in Tompkins County detailing a methodology for and cost of undertaking studies
to better understand the hydrologic characteristics of surficial aquifers
in the County, and
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature approved in 2003 a capital funding
program to complete detailed aquifer studies throughout the County based
upon these study protocols, and
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature wishes to contract with USGS to
conduct detailed aquifer studies in municipalities throughout the County,
and
WHEREAS, Tompkins County and the relevant municipalities will each contribute
thirty-five percent of the total cost to complete an aquifer study, and
WHEREAS, USGS will contribute thirty percent of the total cost to complete an aquifer study, and
WHEREAS, the Towns of Caroline and Dryden have already initiated detailed
aquifer studies, the total cost of which are $419,867 and $432,024 respectively,
and
WHEREAS, the contributions of the County to the aquifer studies in the Towns
of Caroline and Dryden are $137,855 and $139,454 respectively, and
WHEREAS, signing multi-year aquifer study agreements with USGS to complete
detailed aquifer studies in the Towns of Caroline and Dryden would provide
greater financial certainty to both the County and local municipalities and
better assure the availability of resources to complete projects underway
and projects to be initiated in the future, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Planning, Development and Environmental
Quality and the Budget and Capital Committees, That the Tompkins County Planning
Department is authorized to negotiate multi-year aquifer study agreements
that include partial County funding for the completion of aquifers studies
in Tompkins County,
RESOLVED, further, That the County’s contribution to aquifer studies will
be dependent on the financial contributions of USGS and the municipalities
with land area overlying a surficial aquifer and will not exceed thirty-five
percent of the total project cost,
RESOLVED, further, That such agreements shall not exceed five years in duration
and shall include a clause allowing termination after reasonable notice,
RESOLVED, further, That the County is authorized to enter into multi-year
contracts with USGS to complete detailed aquifer studies in the Towns of
Caroline and Dryden,
RESOLVED, further, That the County Administrator is authorized to execute said contracts.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE: II-21
* * * * * * * * * *
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Tompkins
County Board of Representatives Homepage
Tompkins County Homepage
E-mail Comments about this
page