From the Mayor’s desk

I read the comments in the Pennysaver Reader’s Column (Jan. 22) regarding the proposed DPW building and the “3 million dollars”. 

Regarding the $3 million for the proposed new DPW building in the village: The money is FEMA money that would go elsewhere if myself and trustees did not commit time and effort to not only secure this grant money for sole village use; but also to continue with the process to make sure that the money is being allocated/spent in the best current and future interests of our village. 

The Town of Owego was also awarded over $3 million from the NY Rising Program. Fact: in 2016, all six Village trustees and the mayor voted unanimously to use this 3 million dollars in grant money towards our own building, within village boundaries, but out of flood plain as required by FEMA. FEMA is done paying out to repeat flood victims who choose not to remedy their situation. 

Our plan will have a structure to house DPW operations, which will include the Code Enforcement office and possibly the Clerk/Treasurer offices. Further, the seven of us believe that we can make the new facility a reality within and possibly well under the $3 million budget. Any balances of those funds can be used towards other flood mitigation plans, such as improving drainage systems so that buildings and residences in low lying areas of our village get some relief from flash flooding. 

If we do nothing with the awarded funds, we will be in jeopardy of not receiving any FEMA assistance in future floods. 

Another question asked was, “If we are truly trying to cut taxes then let’s do it across the board, not just with the police department.” 

If the person has been following my prior articles and the Village Board meetings they should already know that the Village Board is not singling out the OPD in its efforts to get to a sustainable budget; the Village Board has constrained hiring and expenditures across all the Village’s departments: Village Courts, Fire/EMS, Police, Public Works, and Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Village Board approved a hiring freeze on all Village departments in September of 2016, due to at least five years of tax audits being incomplete, or delinquent, and the uncertainty of the Village’s financial position. 

These constraints were and are necessary for us to get our financial house in order. As discussed at Village meetings, and I have conveyed in prior articles, understanding each of our departments financial demands against the Village budget, and therefore demands on the taxpayers, is imperative as the Board looks for ways to achieve a sustainable budget. For your Village Board to do any less would be to continue the bad past practices that has brought us into this fiscal uncertainty. 

It is true that when we look into each department’s budget the policing budget accounts for nearly one-third of the overall Village budget, so naturally the Board would look at it and look for ways to achieve comparable services for a lesser cost to the Village taxpayers. But the Board is also looking at all departments including those that “bring in revenue”, such as the Village Court, Fire/EMS and the Waste Water Treatment, that help offset the tax levy. 

The Village property tax rate is already rapidly approaching $20 per assessed $1,000. NYS tax cap restrictions have forced small Towns and Villages to reduce their spending and we successfully accomplished this for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. However, the state is pushing even harder to further trim local property taxes. It is getting harder for us to get there if we do not diligently and strenuously look for options to help us. 

Current audit information shows the Village appears to be spending more than the revenue it generates by tax dollars, resulting in a dangerously low fund balance. Fund balances help with relief in any upcoming year’s tax levy. Over 85 percent of the properties within the Village boundaries are tax-exempt in some form. So, less than 15 percent of the total properties within the Village are paying for 100 percent of the tax bill, and some of those properties may also be tax subsidized dependent.  

Employee insurances are increasing by double digits per year while the Village tax base continues to decrease each year. With the sky rocketing increases in the insurance for the Village it makes sense to look at where we can get a service for the best cost ratio and relief for the taxpayers. You hear a lot about “but it was in this year’s budget!” That is a misleading and dangerous way to look at our Village’s fiscal management because it totally ignores the long term fiscal commitments being made when hiring or taking actions under a single year’s budget is enforced without looking forward towards its sustainability. This board and I are trying to find that balance of sustainability, and in the process are looking at all departments including options for policing the Village. 

If we do not seriously look at options for sustainable services, and just allow the departments to grow in personnel the way some want them to, the Village could be facing a $25, or more, per thousand assessments. The taxpayers are already maxed out to the point that our tax rate has negatively impacted our property values and ability to attract businesses.