Approved
Minutes
Legislative
Session
July
26, 2007 - 6 PM Meeting
Meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM by Chairman Brown, followed by the Salute to the Flag.
The Clerk took Roll Call with all members recorded as present.
The minutes of June 28, 2007 Legislative Meeting were unanimously approved.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
Ms. Kathie Wilcox, 62 Church Street, Cortland, New York and legislative candidate LD-5 was recognized by Chairman Brown to speak to Agenda No. 1. Ms. Wilcox apologized for her previous behavior regarding the South Main Street project. She was critical of Mr. VanDee bringing the resolution to the floor against concerns expressed by the Chairman of the Legislature. Ms. Wilcox urged legislators to vote no on the agenda item, get a certified appraisal on the property and sell if for an appropriate amount of money to recoup some of the lien and back taxes.
PROCLAMATIONS & RECOGNITIONS
The Clerk read the Proclamation celebrating the 17th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Chairman Brown presented the proclamation to Frances Pizzola, Program Coordinator, Access to Independence, Inc. stating that she has done a wonderful job advocating for disabled citizens. Ms. Pizzola introduced Mr. Steve Potts, Volunteer with the agency and thanked the legislature for the recognition. She commended legislator, Tom Hartnett for his work on their board. Ms. Breed stated that Ms. Pizzola works extremely hard. Chairman Brown agreed.
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS AND NOTICES
RECEIVE AND FILE REPORTS OF STANDING, SPECIAL AND ADHOC COMMITTEES
Ms. Breed stated that she did not see anything regarding Mr. Howe’s appointment under receive & file. The Chairman said there is no requirement for this to come back to the Legislature. Ms. Breed questioned the form submitted for that appointment. The Clerk agreed to submit a copy of the document filed in her office for Ms. Breed to review.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Spaulding and all members voting aye, the Mid-Year Budget Performance Report was received and filed. Mr. Schrader gave a brief overview of the report and said we are doing well with revenues and close to meeting expenditures. He said if the trend continues there should be little or no use of fund balance. In the General fund we have received 58.7% of our revenues. The sales tax revenues bears watching as it appeared we were going to have a $250,000. shortfall, however that trend has reversed itself and could end up at budget or $125,000 short of budget. The interest and earnings revenue is doing well and the Treasurer is doing a good job of leveraging those revenues. We budgeted ½ million dollars for interest earnings and that appears to be on trend. We could exceed that by about $50,000 if interest rates hold true. There is a concern for the sale of our proceeds from Real Property Auction. We budgeted $150,000 but due to delays in foreclosure proceedings an auction may not be possible in 2007, jeopardizing that money. In Revenues, the Mortgage Recording Tax Home Rule Request has been passed in the Senate and Assembly and a letter has been sent to the Governor to complete the process. If signed, that law will not go into effect until 60 days after his signature and the legislature needs to adopt a Resolution imposing that tax and wait another 30 days beyond that so, it appears it won’t go into effect until December 1st. We budgeted $200,000 in anticipation of that tax. Ms. Breed questioned budgeting against the proposal. Mr. Schrader said that the Clerk fee revenue line did better than anticipated so he is looking at $100,000 to cover the shortfall. Mr. Willcox questioned what was the problem getting the mortgage liens to reclaim the property. Mr. Schrader referred the question to the Treasurer or County Attorney. Mr. VanDonsel said the necessary papers have been filed with Judge Rumsey and we are waiting for him to appoint a referee. He predicted that in 45 days we should have a referee report. Mr. Schrader added that there are instances where it has taken longer.
Mr. Schrader continued that as of June 1st, we have spent 48.4% of our budget. A few concerns with expenditures are with Assigned Counsel. It is hoped the office of Conflict Attorney will alleviate some of those pressures but at this time he is reserving judgment. There are unspent funds in the Conflict Attorney lines that can be utilized toward that. Another concern is with the Coroners Office as the medical fee line is running above budgeted amount and we need to look into why that is happening. It is possible that we are not classifying our bills properly. Removal and transportation costs are lower that the $15,000 budgeted amount. The County Attorney and Election Office are running over budget and he will be working with them to determine why. The Sheriff’s Department is doing a wonderful job keeping within their means. Last year there were problems beyond the Sheriff’s control and they don’t seem to be occurring this year. We have only spent $13,000 out-boarding prisoners this year. There are overtime problems in the Dispatch Office as there are 3 vacancies so that won’t improve soon.
In Social Services the Safetynet and Child Care costs are on the rise. The Commissioner is looking at both programs to see if there is some way to mitigate that. Other programs there are running at or below projections so they may cover the other two. Last year the Health Insurance Fund went over budget and we compensated for that this year but we are still running over so we will be looking to see if we can do anything about that after receiving Pharmaceutical Usage Report from our 3rd party administrator. Revenues in that fund are doing well. The D (County Road Fund), DM (Road Machinery Fund), EL (Solid Waste Fund) and S (Worker’s Comp) lines are running well. The Road Machinery Fund is running over in both expenditure and revenues. The S fund (Worker’s Comp,) bears watching. At present it is significantly under budget however there have been some reform measures at the State level that are supposed to reduce our costs while boosting costs to recipients. We will wait and see what impact that reform will make. Mr. Schrader asked for questions.
Mr. Williams referred to a hand out dated July 25, 2007 from Mr. Schrader regarding questions raised at the last meeting in regards to the Chamber of Commerce payment. He asked for clarification with the Chamber of Commerce payment and professional fees related to the south Main Street project line items in the budget. He asked if there is a reason that the Chamber is charged to the Chamber account rather than to a professional services line. Mr. Schrader said that it was previously paid from that line as a service versus a membership fee and the County Attorney noted he was uncomfortable with payment made through a membership line. Therefore the Chamber is being paid from the professional line, as were the architect fees. Mr. Williams asked whose line in the budget was it paid from. Mr. Schrader answered the Legislature. Ms. Breed asked if this was missed in the budget. Mr. Schrader responded that it wasn’t missed. It was assumed that the architectural fees were to be applied to a capital budget. When that was rescinded we had to find another place to pay that cost and he made the administrative decision to take that money from the Legislature professional line. If it weren’t for that payment we would have had monies to cover the Chamber fee.
On motion of Mr. Cornell, second by Mr. Troy and all members voting aye, the Treasurer’s Operation Update and Second Quarter Sales Tax Distribution Report were received and filed. Chairman Brown asked the County Treasurer to speak to the Operational Update. Mr. Ferris said that the County’s Bond rating is higher this year due lower interest rates. We have seen saving so far of $650,000 on the last bond issued in February. He said we will be borrowing another 9 ½ million dollars in the next few months to cover the costs of the two new cells at the Landfill and highway equipment. Over the next twenty years we anticipate an excess of 1,272,000. in savings because we have a better bond rating. He cautioned legislators that excessive use of fund balance to balance the budget could put us back where we were three years ago. He stated that we were able to attain this goal by working together with the Legislature, Administration and giving his office the tools necessary to move toward that goal. We are at 84.4% of our taxing limit versus 98% three years ago. Through negotiations with several banks we were able to manage a better interest rate. We have less cash on hand than last year because we are front ending some casual projects rather than borrowing. Mr. Willcox asked how does the bond saving affect next years budget. Mr. Ferris said it amounts to about $35,000 in savings. Mr. Ferris concluded saying that we have filed our report with the Comptroller’s Office on April 9, 2007. The 2006 Single Audit is progressing well and we anticipate filing the report prior to the September deadline. Ms. Breed complimented Carolyn Kennedy for her hard work complicated by problems with the Munis system. Mr. Ferris said his office has been short staffed in the past few months but everyone has pitched in and we are working with IT to streamline some of our work. Ms. Breed asked the status of interfacing with the Towns to make the tax collection process easier. Mr. Ferris said that all but 3 Towns interface with ours, one of which will be converting to our system soon. Ms. Breed asked if anyone has contacted Munis regarding the many frustrations the system has. Mr. Schrader said that we will get on that.
On the motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Clark and all voting aye, Report on the State Certification of the Horizon House was received and filed.
ARTICLES POSTPONED TO DAY CERTAIN
Mr. VanDee
pulled Agenda No. 1 Authorization for Chairman to execute Satisfaction of
Mortgage Property at 17 Stewart Place, City of Cortland. Mr. Van Dee
stated he pulled this at the last meeting for lack of information. He believes
that this could be resolved between DSS attorneys and Ms. Aloi’s attorney.
His main concern is that this property be returned to the tax rolls as
soon as possible. He said that based on the information received this evening
this resolution will be postponed to Day Certain. Chairman Brown said the main
concern is for the liens for State and Federal funds so that DSS does not get
penalized. Mr. Willcox asked if Mr. VanDee would object to a public auction on
this property. Mr. VanDee said he would agree to anything however the item is
pulled. Mr. VanDonsel said that an auction would not be possible, as we do not
own the property. The question is whether the lien is valid and Mr.
Knickerbocker is weighing on that. Chairman Brown declared the resolution
pulled.
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Ms. Price Agenda No. 2 was
introduced. Ms. Breed stated that she still does not agree with hiring
headhunters for this position and asked if we have finished the mailing. She
said she objects to spending $28,000 until we have results for the mailing.
Chairman Brown said that the mailing is in conjunction with this. The money
will not be spent unless we hire a psychiatrist. Mr. Clark said that we have
spent $4,300 advertising and that hasn’t worked. Mr. Willcox suggested the
money would be better used as a signing bonus. Mr. Schrader stated that NYS
municipalities are prohibited from offering bonuses. Ms. Tytler said they are
gathering labeling information from several sources to send. She said she
favors the two-prong approach. Ms. Breed asked if this is for a staff
psychiatrist or child psychiatrist. Mr. Schrader said ideally a child
psychiatrist however we are leaving that door open so not to limit
recruitment. Adopted by all
members voting aye, except Ms. Breed and Mr. Willcox voting nay, Agenda No. 2
became Resolution No. 230-07 Authorize Agreement with Locum Tenens for the Recruitment of a Staff Psychiatrist
RESOLUTIONS
On motion of Ms. Brown, second by Mr. Troy and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 3 became Resolution No. 231-07 Appoint New Member Cortland County Youth Board.
Mr. Armstrong said that Mr. Reakes no longer wishes to be appointed to the CNY Regional Market Authority. At the request of Mr. Ross, Ms. Brown pulled Agenda No. 4 Appoint Member CNY Regional Market Authority referring it to the Ag/Planning Committee to submit another name.
On motion of Ms. Brown, second by Mr. Clark Agenda No. 5
was introduced. Mr. Clark corrected the address in the resolution.
Mr. Williams asked that MR/DD be spelled out in the resolution. All
members voting aye, Agenda No. 5 became Resolution No.232-07
Appoint Member Mental
Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Subcommittee of the Community
Services Board Mental Health.
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Troy Agenda No. 6 was introduced. Mr. Ross asked what the $4,600 is being used for. Mr. Schrader replied that we provide small grants for homeowner radon kits and testing. Ms. Breed requested that account numbers be added to the resolution. All members voting aye, Agenda No. 6 became Resolution No. 233-07 Authorize Agreement/Accept Funds Health Department Indoor Radon Grant.
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Spaulding Agenda No. 7 was introduced. Ms. Breed said she thought we were using blanket contracts for maintenance. Mr. Schrader said that we have eliminated most of these contracts however we still have a couple of departments that utilize maintenance because it is a grant refundable expenditure. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 7 became Resolution 234-07 Authorize Agreement Health
Department/Administration/Environmental Health (Laser Printer Maintenance)
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Ms. Price and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 8 became Resolution No. 235-07 Authorize Agreement Cortland County Health Department/Nursing Division McBee Associates.
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Spaulding and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 9 became Resolution 236-07 Authorize Agreement/Accept Funds Health Department Central NY Regional Immunization Information System.
On motion of Mr. Clark, second by Ms. Price and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 10 became Resolution No. 237-07 Amend Budget Mental Health Department (NYS Office of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities).
On motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. VanDee Agenda No 12 was introduced. Ms. Breed asked that account numbers be added to the resolution. All members voting aye, Agenda No. 12 became Resolution No. 239-07 Resolution Approving Project and Authorizing Acceptance of Grant Agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration and New York State Department of Transportation for Improvement Project at Cortland County Airport Highway Department.
On motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Troy and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 13 became Resolution No. 240-07 Amend Budget/Transfer Funds Highway Department.
On motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Cornell and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 14 became Resolution No. 241-07 Authorize Transfer of Right-of-Way Highway Department.
On motion of Mr. Tagliente, second by Mr. Armstrong Agenda No. 15 was introduced. Ms. Price complimented Amanda Barber for coordinating this event each year. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 15 became Resolution No. 242-07 Soil & Water Conservation District River Clean-Up Highway Department/Landfill.
On motion of Ms. Price, second by Mr. Clark Agenda No. 16 was introduced. Ms. Breed requested account numbers be added to the resolution. The Clerk said that account numbers would not be relevant to this resolution. All members voting aye, Agenda No. 16 became Resolution No. 243-07 Authorize Agreement Employment and Training Department And The New York State Department of Labor.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Spaulding Agenda No. 17 was introduced. Ms. Price commended the Harford Town Board for their foresight to negotiate this agreement at minimal costs and help emergency services in Cortland County. Mr. Cornell added that this demonstrates how municipalities’ working together benefits everyone. Adopted by all members voting aye, Agenda No. 17 became Resolution No. 244-07 Authorize Agreement Fire & Emergency Management Satellite UHF Site, Harford.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Troy and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 18 became Resolution No. 245-07 Authorize Agreement Fire & Emergency Management Satellite UHF Site, Cincinnatus.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Spaulding Agenda No. 19 was introduced. Mr. Willcox said he has problems with this resolution and had hoped that it would be pulled. He felt that the money the county is to receive is too low for the vehicles. He consulted with a car dealer and went to take a look at the vehicles and they had already been taken to Schuyler County. He said this has put him in an awkward position as he respects the Sheriff; but you don’t ask for a resolution to be voted on and for all intents and purposes the job is done. Chairman Brown said the vehicles were taken down for a specific purpose. If we sell them fine, if not they will be returned. Mr. Willcox questioned that if they aren’t returned how can we determine what shape they are in. Ms. Breed questioned if they are drivable and useable why we don’t use them. Mr. Schrader answered that these vehicles have serious operational injuries. The difference is significant, as we would use them as patrol cars versus Schuyler County using them for traffic control. Ms. Breed asked why we can’t use them for transport purposes. Mr. Schrader said because we do not put our employees in unsafe vehicles and we would be putting more money into the vehicles than what they are worth. Mr. Troy stated that he voted against this proposal in Budget and Finance however having additional information he now believes that the County could not receive more money by bringing back these vehicles. Adopted by all members voting aye, except Ms. Breed, Mr. Ross, Mr. Willcox and Mr. Williams voting nay, Agenda No. 19 became Resolution No. 246-07 Transfer Equipment/Accept Offer Sheriff's Department (Schuyler County). Ms. Breed requested that in the future that the Sheriff receives authorization before removing vehicles from the County.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Troy and all members voting aye, Agenda No. 20 became Resolution No. 247-07 Authorize Agreements Alternatives to Incarceration (NYS Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives).
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Spaulding Agenda No. 21 was introduced. Ms. Breed stated that there were no discussions when we created the office of Conflict Attorney of all the additions needed in staff and remodeling of offices. Chairman Brown said it is reflected in the budget. Ms. Breed said that the salary of this position is too high and suggested a secretary position instead. She added that account numbers needed to be added to the resolution. Adopted by all members voting aye, except Ms. Breed, Mr. McKee and Mr. Willcox voting nay, Agenda No. 21 became Resolution No. 248-07 Create Paralegal Assistant Office of Conflict Attorney.
On motion of Mr. Daniels, second by Mr. Troy Agenda No. 22 was introduced. Ms. Breed requested account numbers be added to the resolution. All members voting aye, Agenda No. 22 became Resolution No 249-07 Accept Grants/Authorize Agreements District Attorney (Aid to Prosecution-DCJS).
On motion of Mr. Cornell, second by Mr. Hartnett Agenda No. 23 was introduced. Ms. Breed said that again another outside auditor is proposed. She said she has heard all explanations as why we do this however; she questions why we have a County Auditor when specialized knowledge comes from everyone else. Adopted by all members voting aye, except Ms. Breed and Mr. Williams voting nay, Agenda No. 23 became Resolution No. 250-07 Authorize Agreement Worker’s Compensation Administrative Audit.
On motion of Mr. Cornell, second by Mr. McKee Agenda No. 24 was introduced. Mr. Cornell amended the resolution as follows upon the advice of the County Attorney:
RESOLVED, that the Chairman of the Cortland County Legislature forward copies of this resolution to Governor Eliot Spitzer, Cortland County Representatives in the New York State Legislature and the New York State Association of Counties, indicating the Cortland County Legislature’s support for an Amendment to Chapter 181 of the laws of 2005 amending the Election Law and the State Finance Law relating to Enacting the Election Reform and Modernization Act of 2005, in relation to Voting Machine and System Implementation.
Minutes prepared by Susan Morgan, Clerk