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[0:28] he

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[1:58] yeah

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[2:28] like to call the Order special city council meeting for Monday

[2:33] November 20th

[2:35] 2023 and the clerk would please call the

[2:38] rooll Mr L Baron present Mr Toro present

[2:43] Mr Farley is not here Mr

[2:46] Williams M Patrick here Mr pal here M

[2:50] pfield

[2:52] here if the

[2:55] clerk please read the notice of the

[2:57] meeting and proof of service and and I

[2:59] just want to just before that tell um

[3:02] the public that there's no other

[3:03] business that'll take place other than

[3:05] meeting uh the information that's going

[3:07] to be transacted based on the reading

[3:08] from the

[3:10] clerk Sor is the public going to get an

[3:13] opportunity to speak because I did get

[3:14] several calls and emails asking not

[3:17] durin the special meeting all right cuz

[3:19] uh I think if it was at a regular

[3:22] opportunity regular councel me people

[3:24] would have that opportunity I think it

[3:26] would be fair they would but but special

[3:28] the code speaks specifically to the

[3:30] special meeting D

[3:33] 28-3 okay we've done it

[3:39] before the uh the city council was

[3:42] served by um Regular the notice was sent

[3:46] to them and it reads media advisory

[3:48] amended connected city council to hold a

[3:50] special council meeting followed by the

[3:53] city council committee meeting when on

[3:55] Monday November 22nd 20th 2023 at 5:30

[3:59] p.m. where at SKC City Hall 105 J Street

[4:02] room 110 SKC New York 12305 details

[4:06] connect city council convene a special

[4:08] council meeting to pass a 2024 operating

[4:10] budget and capital budget for the city

[4:12] of SKC who this went up to the SK City

[4:16] Council

[4:18] Members pleas please read the agenda

[4:24] item item number one for original

[4:27] consideration an ordinance pursuant to

[4:28] section 36 of the second class City's

[4:30] laws and article F six of the charter of

[4:34] the city of scen approving and adopting

[4:36] the proposed operating budget for 2024

[4:38] and authorizing the Appropriations

[4:40] therein enumerated thank you at this

[4:43] time if there any um discussion from the

[4:46] city

[4:49] council Mr Williams uh I believe what

[4:52] the public witnessed during the entirety

[4:54] of this budget meeting was uh trying to

[4:57] understand how to best negotiate um what

[5:00] you've recognized was there are

[5:01] individuals on both sides uh that were

[5:04] trying to make concessions where due uh

[5:07] I think what I recognized from my

[5:09] vantage point was

[5:12] uh we were um presented with the mayor's

[5:15] budget and then there were a number of

[5:17] council members I can say myself uh that

[5:20] I was not in entire agreement for his

[5:22] budget and I think that for this process

[5:24] to work smoothly it requires uh

[5:26] productive and effective dialogue uh it

[5:29] was more challenging than not at

[5:31] sometimes but I'm confident that this

[5:33] presented budget reflects the abilities

[5:36] of myself I speak for myself to try and

[5:39] meet in the middle and present a budget

[5:41] that best meets the considerations of

[5:43] the city

[5:45] of so any further discussion Mr M Baron

[5:49] yes thank you um I just to add to that I

[5:51] mean it's a long um process

[5:54] unfortunately we went beyond our

[5:57] schedule to get a budget this year

[6:00] but it's you know all of us uh mov

[6:03] forward we should take that as a lesson

[6:05] and to pretty much you know kind of work

[6:08] more stronger together I would say work

[6:11] together work more stronger together so

[6:13] that we can able and as Mr Williams says

[6:16] you know we need to come to the table

[6:19] with an open mind be respective of each

[6:21] other's opinion each other's comments

[6:24] and at the same time we should not be

[6:25] digging our heels in the sand and say

[6:27] well the budget the

[6:30] budget it's been happening for years as

[6:32] long as I've been on this Council here

[6:34] where the mayor present his budget we as

[6:37] Council we have an obligation to the

[6:39] taxpayers to review the budget to go for

[6:41] the budget and to look at the budget and

[6:43] this one here is no different from all

[6:45] the others that we have reviewed in the

[6:47] past yes some will say it's painful

[6:50] because we're doing it public in the

[6:52] past and I can say that we have

[6:55] negotiation budget negotiation at at

[6:58] council members house and I was part of

[7:01] that so there's no secret about that and

[7:02] now we're doing it here in the public

[7:05] yes it's painful because we we have to

[7:07] be accountable to the taxpayer and they

[7:09] say yes connected so I want to encourage

[7:11] everybody as we move

[7:13] forward next year I will ask that we

[7:16] have more open communication from the

[7:19] mayor's office from the council

[7:21] president whoever that president is and

[7:23] from the chair of Finance whoever that

[7:26] chair is next year so all of us need to

[7:28] work

[7:29] together more so that we can able to

[7:32] deliver better for our taxpayer and the

[7:34] C

[7:35] connec as the mayor mention we have seen

[7:38] over the in this budget presentation

[7:41] they will be short Falls and when do we

[7:44] address

[7:45] it and that's what some of the me

[7:47] majority of the members were looking at

[7:48] to address it this this year rather than

[7:51] waiting till next year and I think

[7:52] that's what most of our decide to do is

[7:55] to address the short Falls that is

[7:57] tearing on us in

[8:00] 2025 and that's what concern are is that

[8:03] we keep spending and it's not right for

[8:07] us to pass those spending on on the back

[8:10] of the ordinary

[8:11] taxpayers and I think discussion was

[8:14] fruitful everybody had an opportunity on

[8:17] the table here to discuss we had

[8:19] department heads in several times the

[8:22] public has spoken the public has called

[8:24] every one of us taxpayers I'm sure we

[8:27] got a fair share of calls from everybody

[8:28] concerned

[8:29] about the

[8:31] fees concerned about things are going up

[8:34] and the service that been

[8:38] provided is there any further

[8:41] discussion so first of all I just would

[8:43] like to uh thank you all council members

[8:45] for your diligence and the mayor for

[8:47] working on this budget and I'm glad

[8:48] we're at the point where we're

[8:50] considering passing the budget uh pass

[8:52] the budget is a single most function um

[8:55] of the city council and all Council

[8:58] changes just for every when it's cleared

[8:59] all the changes that were um are being

[9:01] made by the council were discussed at

[9:03] this table and presented at this table

[9:06] openly and negotiation really should be

[9:08] a two-way street and so some council

[9:11] members came with changes that they were

[9:12] interested in and others did not so we

[9:15] only could consider what was brought

[9:16] before us to um to to to to consider I

[9:21] know that this budget process took a

[9:23] longer than usual and I guess the last

[9:25] time was 30 years ago um and but it it

[9:28] took that long we just could not get to

[9:30] that place but we finally gotten to a

[9:32] place where we can consider this

[9:33] budget and you know people talk about

[9:36] the fees and we have to consider our

[9:37] taxpayers and how we're impacting them

[9:40] and if we want to maintain our reserves

[9:42] we don't only do that by raising fees on

[9:44] taxpayers and and um uh taxes on

[9:48] taxpayers but we have to look at other

[9:49] ways that we can conceivably cut our

[9:51] spending so that we can um have a

[9:54] balanced budget and not um only uh

[9:57] burden our taxpayers

[10:00] since the mayor has predicted that there

[10:02] will be a deficit I think it's incumbent

[10:04] upon this Council to review our

[10:06] financial status on a quarterly basis in

[10:08] order to keep track of where we are and

[10:10] to make any adjustments that may be

[10:12] necessary during 2024 and that we not

[10:15] just wait until our annual budget and

[10:16] then consider those things so that would

[10:18] be something that I would propose

[10:20] putting forward um so at this point in

[10:23] time no one else have

[10:26] comments um so the motion the item

[10:30] before us and I haven't had a heard for

[10:32] a roll call see a roll okay okay and

[10:36] this this time with Miss M Michael call

[10:38] the rooll Mr M Baron yes Mr Toro

[10:43] no Mr Farley yes Mr Williams yes M

[10:48] Patrick no Mr palini just want to

[10:52] explain my vote no no we've done that

[10:57] this has gone on for decades and if you

[10:59] want to change the rules you change the

[11:01] rules prior our Corporation Council has

[11:04] told us our discussion takes place

[11:05] before then no the council has never

[11:07] agreed on that and there's been it's in

[11:09] the it's in the code there's been

[11:10] explanation of votes for decades it's

[11:12] been in the code it's in the code using

[11:14] the code prop you want to change the

[11:15] rules and the

[11:16] council and I would ask you to abide by

[11:19] the code well then you've not abided by

[11:21] the code for 2

[11:23] years so so then and Mr Cen brought it

[11:26] to our attention that we hadn't and so

[11:27] now we are when was that discussed at

[11:28] the council meeting it's in the code we

[11:30] don't have this yes it does because you

[11:32] changed the rules we did not change the

[11:34] rules you have changed R we've discussed

[11:37] votes Forever at this counil and the

[11:39] last two times we did it we did it this

[11:41] way and so but there was no discussion

[11:44] it's in the code no see you want to hide

[11:46] under the code the fact is that this

[11:49] budget was a ridiculous process it was

[11:52] political completely political because

[11:55] of an election

[11:56] year you'd sit there and talk about the

[12:00] taxpayers you've done nothing to help

[12:02] the taxpayers in fact all you're doing

[12:04] is going to create a worse situation for

[12:07] taxpayers in 2025 2026 and onward you've

[12:12] taken away the ability of the mayor and

[12:14] the staff to do the management that they

[12:16] require that they should be able to do

[12:19] you've created deficits in this budget

[12:23] which is going to just increase the

[12:26] deficit that's going

[12:27] forward the the mayor said the budget

[12:30] deficit is going to be

[12:32] 7.4 for sake argument we'll say it's

[12:36] 3.7 with this budget you've now created

[12:39] a situation where that 3.7 is even going

[12:42] to be

[12:43] larger you've created a deficit with the

[12:47] police and fire budgets which you've cut

[12:51] in in overtime we automatically know

[12:54] that that's going to be more because

[12:56] they're

[12:57] understaffed you've cut the open

[13:01] positions which you yourself just a few

[13:04] months ago put out literature and let me

[13:07] read it so I get it right

[13:12] the let's

[13:13] see invest in

[13:17] connty is what you're saying restore

[13:19] city services fill many longstanding

[13:22] vacant city jobs in the general Services

[13:24] engineering and development departments

[13:27] when positions aren't filled your calls

[13:29] go unanswered your street doesn't get

[13:31] plowed and code enforcement is

[13:34] inadequate then it

[13:37] continues potholes matter adequately

[13:40] staff engineering and general Services

[13:42] departments to restore roads and

[13:44] sidewalks well that was a bunch of loany

[13:48] wasn't it since we now have those

[13:50] positions cut doesn't

[13:52] matter you've not created any situation

[13:55] where your cost savings because those

[13:57] positions were unfilled that you cut if

[13:59] you really wanted the cost save you

[14:01] would have cut positions that

[14:03] filled so instead of and you say oh your

[14:06] numbers you said that last year when the

[14:09] count the chair of finance of the

[14:12] finance commissioner was asked where are

[14:15] my numbers wrong they're not

[14:18] wrong they were correct because here we

[14:21] had we're using

[14:23] 4.4 million or whatever it was of arpa

[14:27] money that's automatic deficit we're

[14:30] using 6.6 million in Def arpa money this

[14:33] year that's automatic deficit where is

[14:36] that money going to come

[14:37] from you sit there and say well people

[14:40] didn't participate you cash your vote

[14:42] sir I'm not done and so when positions

[14:46] were brought up nope cuz certain

[14:50] departments certain whatever couldn't be

[14:53] touched well then you really didn't want

[14:55] to hear from

[14:56] people so this situation this budget was

[15:01] a farce it creates a deficit situation

[15:04] and it only goes to hurt the residents

[15:06] of the city this is

[15:08] ridiculous yes it is ridiculous please

[15:11] what I would like to say is that I'm not

[15:13] surprised you I'm not

[15:16] surprised EXC me Mr Farley Mr Farley I'm

[15:20] not surpris so would you please C your

[15:22] vote when I'm finished so here Mr Excuse

[15:26] when I'm finished we should talk done

[15:28] this for decades that should not be

[15:31] tolerated yeah it is respect when we've

[15:33] had Decades of voting and now all of a

[15:36] sudden you want to change the rules oh I'm not the parliamentarian I beg

[15:41] your pardon I'm not the parliamentarian

[15:43] there's no question this country though

[15:44] I need you to CEST your my vote is now

[15:47] thank

[15:48] you who's for field my vote is yes and I

[15:52] just want to say this all that

[15:53] commentary comes from someone who has

[15:54] moved out of the city and is now a

[15:56] taxpayer in another city I'm legal

[15:58] resident get your facts straight you

[16:00] know president I said yes vot we voted

[16:03] yes the motion passes 4 to

[16:06] three need a motion to adjourn I would

[16:09] like to give you a motion to adjourn but

[16:10] before I no sir you have to give a

[16:12] motion to to adjourn this is R all in

[16:15] favor I we're adjourn thank you it's

[16:18] unacceptable

[16:19] behavior I'm not surprised I'd like to

[16:23] call to

[16:24] order this city council committee

[16:26] meeting for Monday before Mr jinsky

[16:30] leaves just wanted to acknowledge

[16:32] predecessor here is app does it bring

[16:35] back old

[16:36] memories no I you know what I never saw

[16:39] the council this dysfunctional and for

[16:42] those that vote against this budget God

[16:44] bless you and you know something you you

[16:46] can quote everything you want but you

[16:49] know something you should have had the

[16:51] budget pass

[16:54] you finger poting this is really you

[16:58] wouldn't have want it done when you were

[17:00] here so I appreciate you respecting this

[17:02] process even if everyone doesn't I'd

[17:04] expect that from you thank you I'm

[17:06] respecting the

[17:08] proc know my own I'll see M didn't even

[17:11] get a chance to talk I spend $10,000 a

[17:14] year and my property

[17:19] taxes I'd like to call the ERS conc the

[17:21] city council committee meeting for

[17:23] Monday November 20

[17:25] 2023 the first order of business is

[17:27] finance

[17:30] thank you I would like to call the

[17:32] finance committee to further and the

[17:34] first item is a presentation on the 2024

[17:37] dsic

[17:40] budget from dsic yes I am sorry know

[17:46] where stand yes

[17:49] okay please U give us a brief um summary

[17:52] of your um agency's budget yes um so

[17:57] good evening everyone my name is Carney

[17:59] McGuire I am the interim executive

[18:01] director for the downtown skincity

[18:04] Improvement Court

[18:06] dsic um good evening everyone thank you

[18:08] city council president Mar and

[18:10] Porterfield mayor McCarthy I also want

[18:12] to recognize quickly that they have the

[18:15] entire Board of the dsic joining us

[18:17] tonight we have chair Heather Peterson

[18:20] we have Ray leir we have Andrea Cordo we

[18:24] have Phil wah we have Mitch Ramsey we

[18:28] have

[18:28] um Austin Fischer and we have Michael

[18:31] Burns so we have quite a full house here

[18:33] tonight uh just a couple quick notes um

[18:35] regarding the dsic our environmental

[18:38] enhancement and maintenance program or

[18:41] eem which amounts to the overall

[18:43] cleanliness and beautification of

[18:45] downtown's connecti and the dsic

[18:48] footprint promotions and marketing that

[18:51] includes all events Maps social media

[18:54] Weekly Newsletter and the ongoing

[18:57] promotion and support of our

[18:59] stakeholders and this year the dsic

[19:02] proudly completed the jsquare project of

[19:05] which we were

[19:06] instrumental we are here tonight to

[19:08] present our 2024 budget for your

[19:11] consideration of the dsad assessment as

[19:15] part of your packet you have three items

[19:17] for review first is the 2024 proposed

[19:21] dsad assessment summary you will see we

[19:25] are proposing a total assessment of 300

[19:28] 80,000 this amount is up 25,000 from the

[19:32] prior year in 2019 our district was

[19:36] expanded to include parts of Broadway

[19:39] Little Italy and Erie Boulevard most

[19:43] recently we added J square and Gateway

[19:45] Park as part of our eem program

[19:49] responsibilities when our district was

[19:51] expanded in 2019 an overall increase of

[19:55] 100,000 was approved to take place over

[19:57] 4 years years we froze that due to covid

[20:01] like so many other things and this

[20:03] budget proposal includes that last

[20:06] installment of

[20:08] $225,000 you will see we propose

[20:10] increasing the base for minimum

[20:14] fee from 340 to 360 which amounts to

[20:18] about a dollar a day those are roughly

[20:22] 470 properties that pay that assessment

[20:25] out of the 470 about half of them pay

[20:29] the minimum fee which is about a dollar

[20:31] a day private residences and rentals

[20:34] properties with less than four units do

[20:36] not pay any assessment the second page

[20:40] is a summary of Where the funding comes

[20:42] from to support our operation and

[20:44] programming the First Column shows how

[20:47] we allocate the dsad assessment

[20:50] 11,400 or 3% of the funds are allocated

[20:54] to basic

[20:56] Administration 14 144 or 30% of the

[21:00] funds are allocated to our business

[21:03] promotion programs events and all of

[21:05] those things then you'll see 254 600 or

[21:09] 67% of the funds are

[21:12] allocated um line share to our outdoor

[21:15] program again the EM those are the guys

[21:17] you see out there all the time if you

[21:20] follow that along to the bottom line you

[21:21] will see where the lebby contributes

[21:23] 380,000 to our overall support our

[21:27] expenses are actually closer to

[21:29] 937 the balance of our funding comes

[21:32] mainly from Metroplex Authority along

[21:35] with our own fundraising and our own

[21:37] events the third page is our budget with

[21:40] the breakdown of what our revenue and

[21:42] expenses are and how those amounts are

[21:45] allocated to our programs and this is

[21:47] where you'll see that there actually is

[21:49] some decreases in some areas

[21:51] reallocation we really went through it

[21:53] very carefully and figured out where we

[21:55] needed to to have our spending this year

[21:58] and drop downs on some other things so

[22:01] that's what I've got

[22:03] and like to open it up to any questions come in go ahead please um

[22:10] well I appreciate all the work that um

[22:12] you all do on your board and I and I

[22:14] thank you for all the work that you do

[22:16] uh throughout the city um and I

[22:20] appreciate the the differences here in

[22:22] your budget but I did want to um just

[22:24] ask a little bit about the difference in

[22:26] the um the donations and sponsorships

[22:31] um if you could just talk a little bit

[22:33] about that from the 2023 to the 2024

[22:36] budget right have the top right

[22:39] here um oh so we we dropped that down a

[22:42] little bit we we've already um our

[22:45] donations and sponsorships we we've

[22:47] already met a c a little bit of that at

[22:49] this time and we felt that that was

[22:52] something where we really could tweak it

[22:55] um for for getting our donations that

[22:57] maybe Chang changing up some of the

[22:58] fundraising that we do a little bit and

[23:01] kind of reallocate where we're actually

[23:03] looking for maybe more sponsorship

[23:05] dollars okay thank

[23:08] you any other questions go ahead please

[23:11] I just like to comment on um the

[23:14] condition of downtown how nice it looks

[23:16] and it helps with the Renaissance of the

[23:18] everything that's going on um being uh

[23:21] downtown I'm very appreciative of the

[23:23] work that's done on a daily basis uh the

[23:26] workers are out there day night snow

[23:29] rain snow sleep hail icing every corner

[23:33] so that residents can um you know get up

[23:35] on the sidewalks that are maintained by

[23:37] the by the area of residents and

[23:39] businesses so I would just like to um

[23:41] thank that I really like to see you move

[23:43] a little further out of the city up

[23:45] State Street so um and uh hopefully you

[23:48] know you'll be able to do that moving

[23:50] forward thank you I really appreciate

[23:52] that and I got to tell you our folks

[23:53] really appreciate when people stop them

[23:55] in the street and have a little chat

[23:57] with them and say thank you and kind of

[23:59] bolsters them them up it's a tough job

[24:01] and it's Relentless as you know so I

[24:04] guess I would just Echo what my former

[24:06] also council members saying because

[24:08] sometimes people experience the city and

[24:10] they see these really cool things

[24:12] happening um but you could take it for

[24:14] granted you know because honestly you

[24:16] guys aren't really out here you know

[24:17] beating the chest telling about all the

[24:19] great work that you're doing so anytime

[24:20] we get an opportunity on foration like

[24:22] this is very refreshing and and it's

[24:24] good for people to take away from this

[24:26] that there's a lot of hard work and

[24:27] planning that to go behind all the great

[24:29] work that you guys are doing so I just

[24:30] extend my appreciation as well

[24:32] appreciate that thank

[24:34] you any other coming from a young member

[24:37] again thank you and thank you to all the

[24:38] members are doing a wonderful job for

[24:41] downtown residents and I appreciate that

[24:43] thank you thank for coming there's

[24:45] nothing we need to do on this item it's

[24:46] just a reminder that there will be a

[24:47] public hearing uh next Monday 700 p.m.

[24:52] the next item is the presentation of the

[24:54] 2024 Upper Union Street bid do we have a

[24:57] representative here

[25:02] please thank you you're

[25:05] welcome thank you I know it's always a

[25:07] hard one to follow behind downtown

[25:09] because we're a much more modest

[25:12] group so they start the bar a little

[25:14] high but um I'm here representing the

[25:16] Upper Union Street business improvement

[25:18] district I am the acting executive

[25:20] director currently so thank you to the

[25:21] city council for their support to mayor

[25:23] mccy for his support as well um as I

[25:26] just mentioned we have a more modest

[25:28] budget that we run up on our you know

[25:30] small neck of the woods but we've really

[25:31] been focused and you'll see reflected in

[25:34] the budget for this uh upcoming year on

[25:36] beautification efforts on up reunion

[25:38] street so this year a big um part of

[25:40] that was getting brand new Street

[25:42] planters that we were able to filled

[25:44] with flowers that matched the downtown

[25:47] uh landscape as well we actually worked

[25:49] with downtown Improvement Corp and had

[25:51] um brought their Landscaping Crews up

[25:53] our way we actually um uh yeah paid to

[25:56] have theirs come up take care of

[25:57] installing flowers that match just for

[25:59] the cohesion since we are one of the

[26:00] thorough faires that take people into

[26:02] downtown um and we took care of watering

[26:05] so that way everything stayed looking as

[26:07] good as when they planted it um and now

[26:09] we're exploring some ideas for next year

[26:10] that include some Urban art

[26:12] opportunities uh we're working with

[26:14] local artists um nonprofit art groups

[26:17] just to try to bring some of what's

[26:19] happening in downtown up to our neck of

[26:20] the woods um you know we've obviously

[26:22] had an interesting year as being the

[26:25] first location with the dispensary in

[26:27] connected and EMP Union Street uh which

[26:29] has been a lot of the focus up our way

[26:31] so we're researching opportunities for

[26:33] extra signage for parking um and all of

[26:36] that's kind of into our beautification

[26:38] efforts here and then we still do have a

[26:40] couple of events that we run uh a

[26:42] Halloween trick-or treat for kids and

[26:44] then our holiday tree lighting which is

[26:46] this Saturday as well so I think that

[26:48] pretty much touches on most of it if

[26:50] there's any questions happy to answer

[26:53] those questions come

[26:56] on just one

[27:00] again I'd like to thank you I I know

[27:02] this Christmas decorations up by the the

[27:04] um in the circle there yes um they are

[27:07] they they look beautiful and spending a

[27:09] lot of time and U visiting a lot of

[27:11] businesses in the uh Upper Union Street

[27:13] my account include it that um I always

[27:15] like going up there things look nice and

[27:17] I thank you for taking the time to make

[27:19] it all the residents and U visitors

[27:21] coming into the city appreciate how

[27:23] pretty our city actually is so thank you

[27:26] great thank you go ahead um I also would

[27:28] like to just say the events are fun and

[27:30] I know that the the trick-or treat thing

[27:33] was just I mean it was unbelievable how

[27:35] many people were out two years of

[27:38] perfect weather too which helped cuz it

[27:40] was near 70° 2 years in a row so yeah it

[27:42] was wonderful to see this the sidewalks

[27:44] full again you know in the postco world

[27:46] it's just nice to see and we have a very

[27:48] walkable community so you have a lot of

[27:50] people that live on those side streets

[27:52] coming out yeah it was great I know

[27:53] talking with some of the businesses they

[27:55] had a lot of fun with it too so

[27:57] fantastic fantastic thank you very much

[27:58] thank you thank you very much thank you thank you for you're doing you

[28:03] and this is also just a reminder for a

[28:05] public hearing uh next Monday 7

[28:09] p.m. the next item is increasing the minimum income for New

[28:14] York real real property tax

[28:18] exemption Mr Williams yes uh so we left

[28:21] off last meeting where miss m was going

[28:23] to come and give us an update and some

[28:25] proposed numbers so she's here at the

[28:27] time I looking forward to hearing her

[28:29] update um

[28:31] so is it on um so I had had been

[28:35] expecting some questions and I didn't

[28:37] really get much from people um in

[28:40] between the last time that I was here

[28:42] you know I ran the two scenarios I still

[28:45] would like to um encourage the the idea

[28:49] that um you stick with a lower number um

[28:53] to start because if we do have another

[28:55] increase in Social Security in the

[28:56] future we want to be able to adjust um

[28:59] and you know stay like I I think I gave

[29:02] the scenario of uh

[29:05] 4,400 and then I went all the way up to

[29:08] or 45,000 and I just think that's a pretty big jump um to make in

[29:13] terms of you know I think making an

[29:15] increase would be a wise decision just

[29:18] because we haven't done that since uh

[29:20] 2009 um but making a big jump could you

[29:23] know I mean it's listening to the budget

[29:26] stuff and all that it wouldn't want to

[29:28] um have that be a problem you add to

[29:30] that you know what what's going to

[29:32] happen in the future

[29:33] so

[29:35] um so I don't yes are you so can you

[29:39] before you gave us the amounts um so can

[29:41] you tell us what the amounts are and

[29:43] then which you would be um So currently

[29:46] the um the threshold is

[29:49] 37,400 um and that's for that's the most

[29:53] amount um and then as that reduces to

[29:56] 29,000 um that's how the percentages go

[29:59] up so what I'm suggesting is instead of

[30:03] 37,400 we bump it up to

[30:06] 4,400 um and I had in those the scenario

[30:09] and the paperwork that I had given you

[30:10] last time you know that

[30:14] um would looking at what a tax bill

[30:17] would be for that amount um wouldn't be

[30:19] as much of a hit as if we were to go any

[30:22] higher than that um for the time

[30:25] being um see again 7 4 uh

[30:29] 4,400 so it's just increasing it by

[30:32] $3,000 increasing thank

[30:36] you go ahead um and do we know or can

[30:41] you I I mean I don't know that you can

[30:43] estimate necessarily how much that is

[30:45] going to hit our budget it's hard

[30:47] because I don't know who's going to

[30:48] apply that I think that was part of the

[30:50] discussion last time is that it's it's

[30:52] really a you know I mean it's anybody

[30:54] who turned 65 um it's people that may

[30:56] have been um may have lost the exemption

[31:00] in the past because of a one oneoff situ

[31:02] you know just one year um so it's hard

[31:05] to predict we're getting a lot of

[31:06] applications in now but a lot of these

[31:08] are people who already had it um because

[31:11] we just sent out our renewal notices so

[31:13] got you thanks

[31:16] yeah and you think by moving it to 45

[31:18] that would be too drastic I do yeah I I

[31:21] think it's just it's I think it's too

[31:23] much to um to go at least for the first

[31:26] year now the the fact that the state set

[31:28] the limit at 50 you know I mean I think

[31:30] we had a discussion too about down state

[31:32] and and higher incomes down but it also

[31:35] gives then if if we go to

[31:37] 4,400 it allows us in the future to you

[31:40] know continue to to bump it up if we

[31:42] need to

[31:46] um and the 4,400 is commensurate it's 8%

[31:51] increase so it's right along the lines

[31:54] of the increase with Social Security

[32:10] any other

[32:13] question uh go ahead please so that's

[32:17] the conclusion of the comments I

[32:18] definitely appreciate you coming back to

[32:20] the council writing us another upate uh

[32:22] I know that we were identifying there's

[32:24] no apparent rush because we have

[32:26] conceived till March of 2024 to make a

[32:30] determination it sounds more as if that

[32:33] the council is accepting of the

[32:36] 4,400 price range just trying to gauge

[32:38] where everyone

[32:39] is

[32:41] yeah and I believe there has to be a

[32:44] public hear in

[32:51] C some goad please are we calling for a

[32:54] public hearing at this point or I think

[32:57] so wanted to know gaug where where the

[32:59] council sits in terms of

[33:01] 40,000 400 or 45,000 or

[33:05] maximum I I I I'm incl to go with the

[33:09] suggestion from U our assessor who is

[33:12] knowledgeable in this field so I would

[33:15] say that um let's look at 4,400 at this

[33:19] point in time and then you know revisit

[33:21] it if we need to down the

[33:25] road more

[33:29] that I mean I initially uh my natural

[33:32] inclination was to I'd like to see it a

[33:35] little higher but I think I'm based on

[33:36] you know us not really being able to

[33:38] gauge how many people I think that that

[33:40] is where you know you know I definitely

[33:42] offer that difference I

[33:50] care so you would you like to move

[33:53] forward now or we we can call for public

[33:56] hearing since we have the information

[33:58] have what we're going to move forward

[33:59] with in terms of

[34:01] numbers so would you like to wait

[34:04] another two more

[34:05] weeks uh heard from four council members

[34:11] oh oh I I would support going to with

[34:14] what our City Assessor is

[34:18] recommending as

[34:21] well I already already

[34:25] said sure some make a motion uh that we

[34:28] proceed with the

[34:29] 4,400 um based on Miss um M Roy's

[34:33] recommendation which allows us to to

[34:35] gauge how that affects our our city

[34:38] moving forward and should we need to

[34:40] continue with subsequent increases I

[34:42] think that does it in a manner that's uh financially prudent to the city and

[34:47] it's not going to overwhelm so we're

[34:49] moving forward a motion to call for

[34:51] public hearing based on those comment

[34:53] and recommendation from the

[34:55] assesses we have a second I'll second

[34:58] all in favor I thank you thank you thank you very

[35:05] much the public hearing is de December

[35:08] 11 thank you the next item is the

[35:10] highback maintenance and repair for

[35:12] 20123 Mr

[35:17] Leon are you coming yes goe excuse

[35:23] me um we're here uh what we're doing

[35:26] here is uh actually U using the city's

[35:29] connect purchasing policy and what we

[35:31] did uh to provide the uh pair and

[35:35] maintenance of uh all the ventilation

[35:37] Air Conditioning Heating and all the

[35:39] Haack for the whole city we went out the

[35:41] competitive bid so that we get the you

[35:43] know a company in with us so that

[35:46] there'll be our call then you know

[35:47] they'll come in right away um we we went

[35:50] out the bid and R&B mechanical were were

[35:53] the winners of the bid um if you seen

[35:56] the pack it until it shows you how much

[35:58] uh the the cost will be and we're

[36:01] requesting that the mayor authorize

[36:04] this discussion go ahead please so how

[36:07] long is the uh contract for it's going

[36:09] to be for a year just one year

[36:11] yeah thank

[36:13] you any other

[36:16] comments hold on hold on so um so we

[36:20] only had one person that uh came back on

[36:21] the bid that is correct that's it yeah

[36:24] but we did we did send them out to all

[36:25] our uh all our uh respective people that

[36:28] we use okay thank

[36:32] you any other comment may have a

[36:36] motion yes second second all in favor I

[36:40] thank you the next item is the road Ro

[36:42] Garden restoration committee potential

[36:45] reimbursement of expense Mr Ferrari yes

[36:48] uh every year Rose Garden uh they

[36:50] request us to uh uh help them uh with

[36:54] the bills that they pay throughout the

[36:55] year and we pay them with the amount

[36:57] that we've collected for the use of the

[36:59] garden permits and phot photo permits uh

[37:02] this this year we received the

[37:05] $1,795 for the garding request and for

[37:08] photos we actually received

[37:10] $1,875 for a total of uh for a total of

[37:15] uh where is it right

[37:17] here

[37:19] 3670 uh uh the Rose Garden they sent us

[37:23] uh uh bills and uh requested uh bills

[37:26] for

[37:28] $3,635 37 which is you know uh a little

[37:33] bit below us so we got about $34 and 60

[37:35] something cents that we can play with

[37:37] extra but we're requesting to send this

[37:39] to the r ging committee because they do

[37:41] a great job uh it's always beautiful

[37:44] they're working very well and I'm hope

[37:46] uh we pass

[37:48] this any question on this see now may

[37:51] have a motion I'll move it all in favor

[37:54] I thank you thank you very much any

[37:56] business supp for finance motion to

[37:58] adjer

[37:59] second second all in favor I thank you

[38:03] i' like to call order City development

[38:04] and planning we have six items on the

[38:06] agenda uh our first one is followup of

[38:09] arpa contracts Miss

[38:13] Carver good

[38:17] evening mayor Madam president city

[38:20] council it's always a great pleasure to

[38:22] be here um to report and give you update

[38:24] on our updates on our state fast

[38:27] progress regarding executed arpa

[38:30] contracts um So currently we were able

[38:33] to move since the last time I recorded

[38:36] on the six two ex fully executed

[38:39] contracts from scat and Hamilton hill

[38:41] art center um contracts that have been

[38:44] approved by corporate Council and signed

[38:46] by the mayor and we are waiting for um

[38:49] signed back from our sub recipients

[38:51] include the Green Market Boys and Girls

[38:53] Club and the seat Center um currently in

[38:57] corporate Council review is Habitat for

[38:59] Humanity and the skn SKC Kus club and we

[39:03] are still pending decisions um from the

[39:06] city council on the bcni Hamilton Hill

[39:09] um infield Project Extension and the

[39:11] Coco house change of use of funds and

[39:13] also pending the um extension um

[39:17] deadline to move forward with getting

[39:19] contract out to our sub recipients would

[39:21] be the YWCA Harbor House project Miracle

[39:24] on Craig and Electric City

[39:28] any questions or

[39:29] comments I'm sorry can you just tell me

[39:31] the extension ones were bcni Coco house

[39:34] did you have a was there and

[39:36] Craig um okay I got those I got YWCA

[39:40] miracle and Craig electric city but I

[39:41] thought they were two different

[39:42] categories they are pending decision

[39:44] from city council is the bcni Hamilton

[39:47] Hill and the Coco house change use of

[39:50] funds okay thank you thank you and BC

[39:53] and also wants an extension yes they request an

[39:59] extension so asked oh I'm sorry you have

[40:02] a question asked Miss car to um to give

[40:06] us some writing in a chart so we

[40:07] actually have it all in front of exactly

[40:09] where everything is so it's you're

[40:11] welcome so that we can take a look at it

[40:13] and just kind of keep up with it I know

[40:15] that you got it all down yes not a

[40:16] problem I will get that to you before

[40:18] the holiday okay that's great I was just

[40:21] going to say it seems like progress is

[40:22] moving along um and I just want to

[40:24] appreciate the work that you're doing um

[40:26] I know that this is a fight the undertak

[40:28] and done a wonderful job th far so I

[40:30] appreciate those thank you so much thank you any question so for C house we didn't

[40:38] discuss the M ter just a presentation us

[40:42] right request to change the the contract

[40:46] right so where is that sitting at this

[40:47] point in time at this point in time it

[40:49] has to come back to the council has to

[40:50] have they brought it to us we just

[40:52] discussed it so it's up to the council

[40:54] now so at our next committee meeting we

[40:55] have to bring those back that that we

[40:57] did not make decisions on and the infill

[41:00] for bcni was one and also coko house

[41:03] they both came because one wanted an

[41:05] extension the other wanted change the

[41:06] use of funds and we have to um and also

[41:10] why WCA wanted additional

[41:12] funding so that's why she gives us a

[41:14] chart of what everything is when we come

[41:16] to the next committee meeting we can

[41:18] have all those things before us to um to

[41:20] bring for

[41:21] discussion okay thank you you're

[41:24] welcome thank you thank

[41:27] you uh the next item on the agenda is a

[41:30] ceremonial resolution to honor uh Rond

[41:35] Canta uh at the ski County honor of that

[41:38] uh

[41:39] ceremony and I think it's

[41:42] December it's early in December so I

[41:44] want to make sure we get the test so

[41:45] that we have the uh resolution there for

[41:48] the um

[41:50] event second all in favor I thank

[41:54] you see last three items are excuse me

[41:58] the last four items are for property

[42:01] sales and would have to be done in

[42:03] executive session so I ask for a motion

[42:05] to recess Mr Brown's not here who's

[42:09] presenting for him nobody nobody nobody

[42:12] let us

[42:15] Michelle let us no okay well because

[42:18] Miss excuse me I'll go through it if the

[42:21] council's inclined we can work through

[42:23] it together I know that uh Miss DAV Mrs

[42:25] Davis did the um meeting so you will do

[42:28] those okay so we'll go we'll recess now

[42:31] and then do that in executive session

[42:32] motion to

[42:34] recess second all in favor we're recess

[42:37] thank you I'd like to call the order the

[42:39] Public Safety Committee we have two

[42:40] items on the agenda tonight uh first the

[42:42] which will be by Chief Marino and that

[42:45] is the drug screening

[42:53] policy if the council if the council's

[42:56] inclined for this um this could be this

[42:59] could go into executive session since it

[43:01] is uh related to collective bargaining

[43:03] okay corre so we'll hold that for

[43:05] executive session the second item is

[43:07] going to be the firefighter trainee

[43:10] Chief same thing same thing yes it's

[43:13] related to colle okay this

[43:19] time at this

[43:21] time no

[43:25] EX second all in

[43:37] favor no there's no there's no one here

[43:40] I looked around except the um the DI

[43:42] doing the he's getting it

Schenectady City Council Committee Meeting, November 20, 2023

Transcript