The Grafton Budget – A Response To A Response

submitted by Tyler Sawyer, Grafton Town Supervisor
I would like to clarify for the record a few of the comments Democratic Chairman Bill Middleton and Committee Member Doug LaRocue made in last week’s [the October 18, 2011 issue] Eastwick Press on my budget statement.
First, he mentioned my “budgets over the last few years.” I have not been involved in any of the budgets in the last four years. That was done by our past Supervisor Allison Kirchner. My last budget was for 2008 and that budget marked my ninth consecutive budget that property taxes were cut or held for Grafton residents.
Next Mr. Middleton and LaRocue question my sales tax revenue in the 2012 budget, stating that a 12 thousand dollars increase may be excessive. They state, “Now Mr. Sawyer may have some information from Rensselaer County that justifies this, but, in what is a stagnant economy at best, I find it hard to believe sales tax revenue is going to increase.” What they failed to look at in the budget was the 2010 sales taxes received was 209+ thousand dollars, only 1,500 dollars less than the 2012 budget estimate. And yes, I do have some information from Rensselaer County that justifies my estimates. I happen to be the County Auditor and one of my duties is to monitor sales tax revenue. In fact, the projected growth for sales tax so far in 2011 is over 7% compared to 2010. If they do the math, my estimate is more than a conservative one and is not overstated.
They mentioned the term “poorly veiled attempt to attack them” in the beginning of their letter but go on to use the very same tactic by implying there is something wrong with me doing both the Supervisor’s duties and the Bookkeeper duties. They say, “We feel it is very inappropriate.”  For the record, the duties of a Town Supervisor “include” the bookkeeping duties! They are not meant to be separate. The primary job of the Town Supervisor is as the Chief Fiscal Officer. Town Law allows for the bookkeeping duties to be farmed out if the Supervisor cannot or does not have the time to do the job themselves.
Lastly, they claim that the current appointed Assessor has an advantage of a software program that the Elected Assessors did not have to do their jobs. Well had the Elected Assessors attended the conferences offered to assessors or even talked to their peers in the assessment community, they would have been made aware of the software and could have been using it two years before they left office. The Town has never denied the past Assessors their continuing education training or tools to help them with doing their jobs.