12/19/07 - Common Council OKs $16.8M budget

(As published by Cortland Standard, Aimee Milks reporting)

The city Common Council passed a $16.8 million 2008 budget with a 7.6 percent tax rate increase Tuesday night.

The vote was 7-1, with Alderman Susan Feiszli (D-6th Ward) as the only dissenter. If the budget had not passed, the initially proposed 9.8 percent tax rate increase would have taken effect.

The 2008 tax rate is $17.61 per $1,000 of assessed property value, a 7.6 percent increase from this year’s $16.37 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The tax levy for 2008 will be $7 million, an approximately 6 percent increase from the current $6.6 million levy.

The tax rate increase was cut down from 9.8 percent, mostly because $335,000 was allocated from the city’s health insurance reserve account instead of the usual $200,000 yearly allocation.

The city’s health insurance reserve is used to pay premiums. Mayor Tom Gallagher said each union employee puts money into the account, which varies by contract, to help pay the premiums.

“We keep enough in there to plan on increases, but this year there was more than enough to pay next year’s premiums and reduce the tax levy,” he said.

An additional 0.2 percent was cut from the tax rate after the Cortland County Legislature agreed to take over the $15,000 cost of paying election inspectors and moving the voting machines in the general election.

The council on Tuesday also discussed ways to build its reserves and pay for emergency repairs that recently developed at City Hall, and the police and the fire departments.

Along with an extensive leak in the roof that was discovered at City Hall last week, City Police Chief James Nichols also informed the council that an antenna for the communications system needs replacing. Also, the Court Street fire station has roof leaks that could jeopardize electronic equipment, including computers.

“The 2008 budget has already been impacted by things we didn’t know about,” Director of Administration and Finance Andy Damiano said.

Damiano suggested that if the county pays the $30,000 budget for the fire department’s hazardous material response unit — as the Legislature had tentatively agreed to after a series of meetings between the county and city — the council would move the money into its contingency funds to pay for these repairs. The Legislature is scheduled to make its decision at its meeting Thursday.

Councilors vote to cut $50,000 from library funding

The toughest budget decision the city Common Council made Tuesday night was to cut $50,000 from the Cortland Free Library’s budget.

“The library is being funded by a bankrupt community,” said city finance director Andy Damiano. “In what world does the poor support the rich?”

The Cortland Free Library operates with approximately $200,000 of city support annually, but also has a $2.3 million endowment that builds an interest of $50,000 to $60,000 a year.

After about an hour of discussion and with a 6-2 vote, the council agreed it could only allocate the library $150,000 for its 2008 operating budget. The city’s support of $150,000 in the 2008 budget will be down $50,000 from the library’s request of $200,000, the same amount that it received this year.

“This is very alarming for us,” said Diane Ames, president of the board of trustees at Cortland Free Library. “I don’t know what we are going to do to replace that funding … dealing with endowments is a very misunderstood thing for many people and it seems the library is being penalized for its management of its gifts.”

A large percentage of the endowment funds are restricted by donors to specific uses, such as buying books.

Many councilors were reluctant to cut the funding the library expected to have from the city because the council and library officials are uncertain what kind of effect it will have on the library’s operation.

The $50,000 will go into the contingency fund to be used for emergencies and improve the city’s bond rating.

The council agreed that if the library has financial trouble next year, the money could be reallocated to the library, if there is still money left in the contingency fund.

Originally, the city had hoped for help from the county with the annual funding it contributes to the Cortland Free Library, but meetings between the city, county and eventually library officials, convinced county officials it was not their place to step in and fund the library.

On Tuesday, the council suggested that library officials independently go to the county and city school district to ask for funding.

I put Mr. Damiano's comment in bold and italics to point out it's sheer incompetence. "In what world does the poor support the rich?" The library is public - and FREE! - to everyone.

I am sure there will be a lot of backlash and damage control after what I consider an ignorant statement. If Mr. Damiano looks out his window at City Hall from his $100,000+ paid position, I am sure he would never see limosines in the library parking lot. He would see persons who might not have access to the internet, nor who can afford subscriptions or purchase books. He would see regular people looking for resources, visiting programs and public events.

When was the last time that Mr. Damiani visited the library? Does he understand the services that the library provides to the taxpayers of Cortland? Does he understand the purpose of the endowment?

In my opinion, this was a target that had been on the radar for some time, and this year was an easy one to strike. Poor fiscal management by the Administration has led to a 25% cut in funding of a community resource. What a travesty.

Here's an analogy - This would be like cutting Mr. Damiani's salary by $25,000 and telling him to make up the difference by using his retirement benefits - a pot of money that was accumulated and managed for a specific purpose.

The Cortland Youth Bureau has a $1.7 million dollar budget - cutting $50,000 from that would have been a 3% cut. Can anyone explain where else a part of the City budget was cut so severely? I guess it's easy to reduce funding for an entity that does not have a true "department".

I'll hold my breath and see whether the City will put funding back to the original $200,000 "if the library has financial trouble next year." If the library has to use the endowment to cover the shortage, that just looks like an excuse for the City to not provide funding again next year.

Shame on you, Mr. Damiano, for that statement, and shame on the Council for passing this.