Petition Asks Town Board To Reconsider
by Alex Brooks
At the Town Board meeting on Monday, November 12, Town Supervisor Ray Darling said he went to the Berlin Central School and met with Schools Superintendent Dr. Young and some of the School Board members, but he came away with the same misgivings about the building that he had before.
A few minutes later Councilman Rick Ungaro offered a resolution declining the School Board’s offer to sell the building to the Town for $1, and it passed unanimously.
[private]Then, at Public Comment time, Fire Chief Jim Goyer presented the Board with a petition signed by 58 residents asking the Board to look more carefully at the pros and cons of purchasing the school building. The petition asked that two public hearings be held, and that the Town Board make a presentation laying out all the pertinent facts.
Goyer said after the meeting that he believes the building is very valuable and it is a great opportunity for the Town to be able to acquire it for nothing. He doesn’t believe the Town Board has fully researched either the costs of owning the building or the potential revenues it might generate. He sees it as a “turn-key” property, with no immediate renovation or repair work necessary.
Rick Ungaro said after the meeting that the Board has received quite a lot of information from the School District about the building, including a 99 page report. He believes there would have to be some work done on the building, and even if no work was done, the costs to heat and insure the building, to pay the electricity bill and routine maintenance, add up to a significant cost.
Audit Underway
Supervisor Darling said auditors from the State Comptroller’s office have begun an audit of the town’s finances. He expects they will be working for another two to three weeks.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said the Dunham Road project is coming to an end and he hopes to get the road re-opened by the end of the week if he can get the paving and the guard rails done.
Hasbrouck said his crew has been getting the trucks set up for winter. He warned the Board that the frame on the Town’s 1996 International truck is rotted, and he doesn’t think it will pass inspection next year so they should plan on replacing it pretty soon.
Openings
Supervisor Darling said there are vacancies on the Planning Board and the Grievance Board. If any Grafton citizen would be interested in serving on one of those Boards, they are asked to contact the Town Clerk.
Reports
Building Inspector Tom Withcuskey did not attend this meeting, but Supervisor Darling said he had reported that he has issued 56 building permits year-to-date.
The Ambulance Squad had a quiet month in October. They responded to 2 calls, and traveled 0 miles, and logged 0 hours on Board the ambulance.
2013 Budget
The Grafton Town Board held a hearing Monday before the regular meeting on the preliminary budget. Overall, the budget shows an increase in the tax levy of about $3,400, which is an increase of about 1/2%.
There are no pay raises for any Town employees in the budget, and in general most programs are level-funded. The Assessor’s budget is down by about $3,000 and the Refuse & Garbage budget is down by $19,000. Some of that is because some of the expense of one of the town employees, formerly all under Refuse & Garbage, is now allocated to the Buildings budget, which is $8,000 higher. The contractual expense line for the Ambulance, which pays for ambulance repairs, medical supplies and training for the EMTs, is $3,700 higher, because that line went significantly over budget in 2012. General fund employee benefits are $9,400 higher. The Board also cut back significantly on the funding for the Supervisor’s Secretary, which was budgeted last year at $26,500 and is now $15,600. This is something that the Town Board has been discussing since the beginning of this year.
Overall, the General Fund allocations are $9,500 less than last year, and General Fund anticipated revenues are $5,000 less.
The biggest issue in the Highway budget was in the employee benefits area. The budget showed an increase of $44,000 in that area, which reflects two things – an increase in the State retirement assessment, and highway workers who are entitled to health insurance but didn’t need it in previous years, now accepting insurance coverage.
To compensate for this new expense, the Board zeroed out the debt service lines, cutting $36,000 there and doing some minor trimming on other lines. The result is that the Highway appropriations are $4,400 higher.
The Board was able to get rid of the debt service payments because they will be paying off the debt on the Town’s loader with money from FEMA reimbursements.
Former Supervisor, and now Hoosick Bookkeeper, Tyler Sawyer came to the Public Hearing and commented at length on the budget, making quite a few comments and suggestions. Sawyer was very polite and respectful, and Supervisor Ray Darling seemed interested in what he had to say.
Some of the most significant of the points he made are that the contractual expense line of the Refuse & Garbage budget is unrealistically low. It was $10,500. Actual expenses in 2011 for that line were almost $19,000, and Sawyer said that has never been less than $16,000. Sawyer also said he thought the anticipated revenue under the fines & forfeitures line was too low. It was $8,500 in the Preliminary budget, and Sawyer said the Town can expect at least $12,000 in revenue from that line. He also calculated the health insurance costs for the Highway workers, and came up with a number about $6,000 more than was budgeted.
The Board will hold a final budget meeting on November 15, when the Board may make adjustments based on Sawyer’s input.[/private]