Approved Minutes of Legislative Session: October 26, 2006,  6 PM Meeting

Meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM by Chairman Brown, followed by the Salute to the Flag.

The Clerk took Roll Call with all members recorded as present, except Mr. Cornell, Mr. Dafoe and Mr. VanDee, marked as absent.

The minutes of September 28, 2006 Legislative Meeting and October 17, 2006 Special Meeting were unanimously approved.

PROCLAMATION

The Clerk read a Proclamation declaring November as National Home Care Month. Chairman Brown presented the Proclamation to Jackie Gailor, Public Health Director stating that she only hopes that other areas receive the same excellent level of care as we do, speaking from personal experience. Ms. Gailor thanked the Legislature for all the support, especially this past year, which was a difficult one for the agency.

Chairman Brown announced that the IDA/BDC update to be presented by Linda Hartsock will be moved to the November Agenda.

RECEIVE AND FILE

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Spaulding, Published Single Audit for the year 2005 was received and filed, all members voting aye. Ms. Price requested that a copy be sent to the City of Cortland, Village and Town Clerks.

On the motion of Mr. Armstrong, second by Ms. Price, Foreclosure of Tax Liens by Proceeding in Rem-Treasurer’s Office was received and filed, all members voting aye.

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Troy, Bank Balances July & August 2006-Treasurer’s Office was received and filed, all members voting aye.

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Clark, Bank Balances August & September 2006-Treasurer’s Office was received and filed, all members voting aye.

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Clark, Mortgage Tax Semi-Annual Distribution Report April 1 – September 30, 2006 was received and filed, all members voting aye.

 

RESOLUTIONS

On the motion of Ms. Brown, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 1 became Resolution No. 339-06: Change Meeting Dates for Annual Session.

On the motion of Ms. Brown, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 2 became Resolution No. 340-06: Authorize Public Hearing Tentative Budget.

On the motion of Mr. Troy, second by Mr. Clark, Agenda No. 3 was introduced. Ms. Breed stated that she believes that is a conflict of interest to have Mr. McNeilly perform this service. Ms. Breed read portions of the April and July, 2004 Budget and Finance minutes and Resolutions 15-04 and 113-04 having to do with the creation of the position of Auditor and the proposed duties and responsibilities of the position. She stated that she failed to understand that now; two and a half years later we are still discussing accounting issues. She said that what she does understand is that we have not received any information from our internal Auditor regarding any problems being addressed and no reports on corrective procedures and policies. Yet, when we received the report from Mr. McNeilly we find all is not well. The Comptroller’s report issued in 2003 stated it is the Legislators responsibility and it was my anticipation of creating an internal Auditor position was that we be informed of discrepancies to prevent these issues to crop up again. This should be done by our own staff or hire an outside accounting firm to fix the problem. She stated for the record that this is not an acceptable solution to the problem.

Chairman Brown asked County Auditor Dennis Whitt to respond to Ms. Breed’s statement. Mr. Whitt said that there is no conflict of interest with Mr. McNeilly returning as he is going to be reconciling accounts in the Treasurers office with the assistance of the Treasurer and with the Treasurer’s Office doing the work. To suggest that I do this is clearly prohibited by law. As a legislature you have the post audit responsibility and authority. To say that there are specific audits that I have not conducted is simply not true. The goal of this resolution is to balance the books by the end of the year, which I don’t believe will happen if this does not pass and we will enter another year without balanced books. Scott Schrader said that the work will be done with the Treasurer’s Office with Mr. McNeilly’s oversight. Mr. McNeilly operates under the code of ethics of his industry and I don’t believe he anticipated a conflict when accepting this responsibility.

Ms. Breed responded that was not what she had said. She never asked that Mr. Whitt do the reconciliation, she asked for the Audit Policies and Procedures that the Auditor was to provide and why are we spending this amount of money when we have just hired an additional position in that Office. For the past 2 ½ years Mr. Whitt was supposed to report to us if there were any systemic issues in the Treasurer’s Office. I have seen nothing reported until this Audit was released.

Chairman Brown said this has to do with hiring the accountant to correct problems. Ms. Breed responded that she understood that, however we need to fix it, not band-aid the problem.  Chairman Brown said this was for 2005; Ms. Breed responded that she was aware of that. Chairman Brown continued saying this is to resolve issued in 2005 and move on. We can’t fix it by December 31^st. Ms. Breed questioned how she knew that. Chairman Brown said it was common sense to help the Treasurers office, to help the County and get on the right track and move forward.

Mr. Williams asked the County Attorney if he has had a chance to review this and/or sees a conflict. Mr. VanDonsel replied that accountants ethically police themselves. He was not afforded the opportunity to review this therefore cannot comment on it other than he trusted McNeilly’s ethical sense.

Mr. Tagliente stated that it was his understanding that McNeilly would come back as a teacher and help resolve the problems. Ms. Price said she supports this resolution because she takes her job seriously and if this is not corrected the blame falls back on us. It is a lot of money and time and it is very sad that it takes this to make our books right.

Mr. Willcox asked whom are the new people being referred to? Chairman Brown answered that a new accountant had been hired in the Treasurer’s Office. Mr. Whitt said that the new accountant position was hoped to be the solution however she has her work cut out for her to keep up with current and back up stuff. He emphasized that the Treasurer’s Office needs a clean slate and it is time to protect the interest of the Legislature.

Mr. Williams made a motion to table the Resolution, second by Ms. Breed so that the County Attorney could review and advise the Legislature on the question of conflict of interest. Motion failed, with only Ms. Breed, Mr. Willcox and Mr. Williams in support of tabling resolution.

Adopted by a roll call vote all members voting aye, except Ms. Breed, Mr. Willcox and Mr. Williams voting nay, Agenda No. 3 became Resolution No. 341-06: Authorize Agreement with Independent Certified Public Accountant For Specific Accounting Services for the Treasurer’s Office.

On the motion of Mr.Troy, second by Ms. Price and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 4 became Resolution No. 342-06: Authorize Apportionment of Mortgage Tax Monies Treasurer’s Office.

On the motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 5 became Resolution No. 343-06: Amend Budget/Transfer Funds Highway Department.

On the motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Spaulding and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 6 became Resolution No. 344-06: Transfer Funds Landfill/Highway Department.

On the motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 7 became Resolution No. 345-06: Amend 2006 Budget/Recognizing Insurance Recovery Highway Department.

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Troy, Agenda No. 8 was introduced. Ms. Price stated that although she agrees that educating our youth on the use of tobacco is very important, she disagrees with using underage children to buy cigarettes as part of this program, therefore will vote no. Ms. Tytler supported Ms. Price on this.

Agenda No. 8 was defeated by a roll call vote; all members voting aye, except Ms. Breed, Ms. Price, Mr. Ross, Ms. Tytler, Mr. Willcox, Mr. Williams and Ms. Brown voting nay, and Mr. Cornell, Mr. Dafoe and Mr. VanDee absent.

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Ms. Breed and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 9 became Resolution No. 346-06: Authorize Agreement/Accept Funds Health Administration Traffic Safety And Injury Prevention Program.

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 10 became Resolution No. 347-06: Rescind Resolution 44-06 Amend Budget/Amend Agreement Mental Health Department (Catholic Charities).

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 11 became Resolution No. 348-06: Amend Budget Mental Health Department (NYS Office of Mental Health).

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Spaulding and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 12 became Resolution No. 349-06: Amend Budget Mental Health Department (NYS Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services).

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 13 became Resolution No. 350-06: Amend Budget Mental Health Department (NYS Office of Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities).

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Hartnett and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 14 became Resolution No. 351-06: Cortland County Continuum of Care.

On the motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Armstrong and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 15 became Resolution No. 352-06: Authorize Agreement Employment and Training Department (Operation of Year Round Youth Programs).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 16 became Resolution No. 353-06: Amend Budget Department of Social Services (Transfer).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Ms. Breed, Agenda No. 17 was introduced. Mr. Willcox asked how much was that last year? Mr. Schrader answered 1.67 million dollars including the second appropriation. Mr. Willcox asked if this is about an 30% increase? Mr. Schrader said it is an additional $900,000. of what we budgeted last year of 1.1 million, an increase of $300,000. That is about an 18% increase. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 17 became Resolution No. 354-06: Amend 2006 Budget Department of Social Services (Home Energy Assistance Program/HEAP).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Spaulding and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 18 became Resolution No. 355-06: Amend Budget Department of Social Services (Transfer).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Troy, Agenda No. 19 was introduced. Ms. Price stated she found it sad that we have to do this. Chairman Brown agreed. Ms. Tytler said she wished we were spending this money on youth services instead of detention centers. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 19 became Resolution No. 356-06: Amend Budget Department of Social Services (Transfer).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Spaulding and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 20 became Resolution No. 357-06: Amend Resolution No. 258-06 Cortland County Area Agency on Aging and Department of Social Services (Point of Entry for Long Term Care Services).

On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 21 became Resolution No. 358-06: Accept Grant/Amend Budget Youth Bureau (Eat Well Play Hard Grant).

On the motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Armstrong, Agenda No. 22 was introduced. Mr. Williams stated that it was discussed in Committee that this agreement was to paid annually over a five year period and the resolution does not reflect the annual amount. Mr. Schrader said that the annual amount is $20,700.  The last Resolved in the resolution states that the agreement is a five-year agreement. Adopted by all members voting aye,

Agenda No. 22 became Resolution No. 359-06: Authorize Agreements Alternatives to Incarceration (NYS Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives).

On the motion of Mr. McKee, second by Mr. Troy, Agenda No. 23 was introduced. Ms. Breed asked how many salary changes have they approved this year? Mr. Schrader asked if that included contracts? Ms. Breed replied no, just resolutions such as this one. Mr. Schrader guessed approximately 4-5. Mr. Willcox stated this is a covert way of getting a raise. Adopted by all members voting aye, Ms. Breed and Mr. Willcox voting nay, Agenda No. 23 became Resolution No. 360-06: Approval to Reallocate Salary Health Department Early Intervention Service Coordinator.

On the motion of Mr. McKee, second by Mr. Troy, Agenda No. 24 was introduced. Mr. Willcox repeated his statement from the previous resolution. Adopted by all members voting aye, Ms. Breed and Mr. Willcox voting nay, Agenda No. 24 became Resolution No. 361-06: Approval to Reallocate Salary Department of Social Services Staff Development Coordinator.

On the motion of Mr. McKee, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 25 became Resolution No. 362-06: Agreement Between the County of Cortland and the Civil Service Employee’s Association, Inc.-Cortland County Local 812-Unit 6550-02 Effective January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010.

On the motion of Mr. McKee, second by Mr. Clark and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 26 became Resolution No. 363-06: Agreement Between the County of Cortland and the Civil Service Employee’s Association, Inc.-Cortland County Local 812-Unit 6550-03 Effective January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010.

On the motion of Mr. McKee, second by Mr. Spaulding, Agenda No. 27 was introduced.

Ms. Price stated she was voting against this because she has brought issues up in writing and verbally several times this year that we should be looking at the wrinkles in our Health Insurance Program and it hasn’t happened. Here we are contractually with the same Insurer to do a service that many employees are not satisfied with. Chairman Brown assured the Legislature that a plan is being worked on with remedies and we are very close to having a plan. Adopted by all members voting aye, Ms. Price and Mr. Armstrong voting nay, Agenda No. 27 became Resolution No. 364-06: Extend Agreement for Third Party Administration Cortland County Health Insurance.

On the motion of Mr. Ross, second by Mr. Armstrong, Agenda No. 28 was introduced. Mr. Ross stated that this is just a grant to see if Cortland Transit could better service Cortland County. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 28 became Resolution No. 365-06: Authorize Grant application and Agreement New York State Department of Transportation Assistance Program Cortland County Planning Department.

On the motion of Mr. Ross, second by Mr. Troy and adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 29 became Resolution No. 366-06: Authorize Assigning Village of McGraw House Numbers Cortland County Planning Department.

The Chairman announced that Mr. Schrader will be presenting the 2007 Tentative Budget. Ms. Breed asked Mr. Schrader where we are with the 2006 Budget. Mr. Schrader said there are two areas that bear watching, both of which are in Public Safety. The Sheriff’s Department has experienced an increase of transport and the outsourcing of many prisoners that have caused an increase in overtime, so it appears that the Sheriff’s budget isn’t going to hold. Further, it was anticipated that the Assigned Counsel would have been on board by now that would have saved money and that hasn’t happened therefore the Public Defender’s assigned counsel account is overdrawn. Also, as demonstrated by tonight’s resolutions, Social Services is running tight in all programs. Overall, we are doing very well in all other departments.

The 2007 proposed budget projects a 3.94% increase in the tax rate. Theoretically the tax rate of the County equates to about 14.98 per thousand per assessed valuation and indicates a .55 increase. This is theoretical because there are differences in assessments and equalization rates. The total budget, due to some changes in accounting practices dictated by the Comptroller’s Office, has total appropriations of 108 million dollars. If the changes weren’t made the budget’s proposed appropriations would be 98 million dollars. There is a 10 million dollar add to this budget because the Comptroller requires the County to show the distribution of sales tax to municipalities in the general fund. Previously this was an off ledger adjustment that wasn’t included in the budget.

Revenues are 80 million and the difference is made up by the tax levy, which is $24,999,750.00, an increase of 1.3 million dollars or an increase of 5.45% from 2006. It uses 2.3 million dollars of fund balance, which is a little bit aggressive use of the fund balance, but given the improvements geared for capital equipment and projects we will be able to mitigate the use of fund balance in the future.

The financial state of the County is extremely good. We meet the 10% goal set by the Legislature. It does call for new staff positions. One is Youth Services Coordinator in regards to JD and PINS to coordinate the care of these children and divert costly placements by the Family Courts. Another is Deputy Director of Informational Technology. This department has a huge workload imposed upon them by the Legislature as far as communications and public safety projects. We need someone with the technical and managerial skills to assist the Director to accomplish these goals. Both positions will be mitigated through other aid as shown in the charts within the budget packet.

Generally speaking, there are no service cuts. There are some service initiatives. One is a service clinic within the Mental Health Department to evaluate and provide services for elementary and middle school children. The Community Services Board has initiated this, at the request of the State with State funding.

It is important to note the funding of replacement of heavy equipment in the Highway Department through this budget. With the exception of two pieces of equipment, this budget supports the 20-year replacement schedule adopted by the Legislature. The other issue is funding the highway and bridge projects within the 20-year plan. We have been able to do this due to the capping of high Medicaid burden imposed by the state. If the state doesn’t revert back to such mandates, we should be able to hold our own.

This legislature suggested that I try to mitigate any huge increase in taxes and this budget accomplishes that, keeping up with the rate of inflation. There are certain costs that are difficult to control, the price of fuel being one.

I look forward to working with the Legislature to bring this to completion.

Ms. Breed thanked Mr. Schrader for getting this in a timely manner and for a job well done. She added that legislators will probably have to shave a little off in order to do our job. Mr. Willcox asked if we didn’t use the fund balance, what would the tax go up? Mr. Schrader responded that 1% equals $220,000. You would be looking at about 10%. Mr. Willcox asked if that was above the 3.9%. Mr. Schrader said yes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CCTVS Meeting immediately following session in Room 304

Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM