Hoosick Board Reviews 2012 Budget

by Bea Peterson
On Monday evening Hoosick Town Councilmen had their first opportunity to review the 2012 budget presented to them by Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly. The budget workshop began at 6:30 and concluded three hours later. By that time everyone was chilled to the bone as there appeared to be no heat in the room. It may have been due to a furnace failure or to the fact that the Town is now responsible for heating and lighting the huge building.
Board members had many questions for the Supervisor over the course of the long evening. Things got heated late in the session when Republican Cipperly suggested that some of the questions being asked by the only Democrat on the Board, Councilman Bob Ryan, were “politically motivated.” Ryan responded that, after all, it was the Supervisor’s budget, and as a Councilman, it was his job to ask questions about it. Ryan then excused himself from the meeting and left in a huff. It was a long night for everyone involved as all Board members had worked at their jobs all day before coming to the workshop.
Future Planning
The new Town garage was built in 2006. Annual payments and interest on the structure have amounted to roughly $100,000 a year. The garage was paid off in the 2011 budget. Several council members questioned why none of that freed up money was set aside in the 2012 budget for future replacement of highway equipment or to offset the upcoming costs for the Town Hall, wherever it may be. Some of the funds do appear to be in the Highway budget in the form of a $57,000 increase in hospital and medical insurance for the highway department. This brought about some discussion and may be resolved at the preliminary budget hearing.
Raises
The proposed budget as it was presented on Monday has a three percent wage increase for Town employees. The salary for Board members remains the same as it has for the past several years. Council members receive $5,665 each, and the Town Supervisor receives $16,480. The budget also raised the salaries of the Town Justices slightly. Ryan opposed this increase for elected officials, especially since one of the Justices is away three months of the year.
Laura Reynolds, a Certified Public Accountant and candidate for Town Supervisor, attended the workshop and freely commented on the budget, at times agreeing and disagreeing with its content. She opposed any raises, though they are only a small portion of the budget,  since many Hoosick taxpayers are either out of work or have not received any raises themselves in many years. She noted that increased health benefit coverage is also part of a raise for employees.
As a member of the Board for the Youth Center she discussed with the Town Board the money given to the Youth Center annually. The money was budgeted and categories rearranged to show the funding more clearly. Originally the funding for the Youth Center was part of the salary paid to now retired Leo McGuire who operated the Youth Center, swimming program and the skating rink.
Small Increase
During the workshop Supervisor Cipperly noted that the tax increase for the 2012 budget as presented would be 1.1 percent or 21 cents per thousand dollars of tax assessment. Areas to be looked at before the next workshop include the heat and electricity costs for the Armory while the Town is renting it and projected insurance costs, which appeared high. The Councilmen felt these should be looked into in an effort to lower the cost.
Councilman Louis Schmigel said that for the Town to be viable and successful there are times when taxes must go up to cover the necessary expenses. “Years ago I saw the Town go downhill when they tried to hold the line on taxes, and it took years for the Town to recover,” Schmigel said. He added that there might come a time in the future when the Town can’t support the Youth Center or other community projects. “If it comes to repairing Town roads or supporting the Center, then it will be Town roads,” he said.
The preliminary budget public hearing will be Wednesday, November 9, at 6:30 pm. The budget will then be voted on at the regular Board meeting on November 14.