Orangetown Officials Clash Over 2014 Budget

The Orangetown Council voted unanimously to approve the Supervisor Andy Stewart's tentative budget as its preliminary budget for 2014 during Tuesday's meeting, but town board members and department heads raised questions about the plan.

The proposed budget has a 1.9 percent tax increase by state calculations, putting Orangetown under the state mandated cap by $15,000. Councilmen Denis Troy and Tom Morr cited the status of the budget being under the cap as the reason they voted during Tuesday's meeting against giving the town the option of overriding the cap. The override failed, 3-2. For more on that, read this report on Patch. 

Councilmen Morr, Troy, Tom Diviny and Paul Valentine, all Republicans, each raised issues with the proposed budget. Stewart, a Democrat, said that he had been waiting for input from the other council members and that they had not met with him or Orangetown Finance Director Jeff Bencik since he submitted the tentative budget Sept. 25. The final budget must be adopted by Nov. 19. 

"We're coming in under the cap, one way or another." Stewart said. "I hope and pray, and I haven't heard anything from the other members of the board. I don't want us to be in a position a month from now where we have to do a rush job in the analysis of the changes.

"I look forward to working with you on it."

Valentine characterized the budget plan as "kicking the can down the road." He pointed to the proposed use of $3.5 million in fund balance and the plan to amortize the pension cost increases for the PBA and CSEA. Read more about the proposed budget here. The town would also bond for nearly $4 million in capital expenses, but that would show up on the 2014 budget as $435,000 in debt service. 

"To clarify, the preliminary budget submitted by the supervisor is a net increase of 5.5 percent," Morr said. "The spending increase, as Mr. Valentine points out, is higher than that.The way the cap calculations are done, we're under the cap now."

Diviny, who voted against the override Tuesday and has done the same in the past said he did not expect the town to spend as much in reserves as the proposed budget calls for and felt there was room to cut.

As the meeting moved on from the override to the approval of the preliminary budget, Stewart brought up Orangetown Highway Superintendent Jim Dean to speak about his concerns with the budget. Dean opposed a cut into the funding for overtime for his department, claiming that it would not allow them to keep up with the leaf pickup schedule, and said the budget called for the loss of part time personnel that had been paid with money from a vacant full-time position.

Dean compared the work to 2011, pointing out that the 2012 snow storm and Hurricane Sandy in 2013 skewed those numbers. 

"It took 4,846 hours of overtime to get the leaves picked up by the third week of December," Dean said. "Reductions in fund allocated to that in 2014 would reduce us 1,152 hours.There is no way to make that up. We will be picking up leaves near the end of December. If it goes through, I don't want to come back in leaf season and have anybody say the highway department isn't doing its job or Jim Dean isn't doing his job."

Bencik said there are two applicable lines in the budget. Dean requested $137,577 for overtime for brush pickup at time and a half and it is in the tentative budget at $125,000. Dean requested $131,250 for overtime at double-time pay and the budget has that number at $110,000. It was $100,000 in the 2013 budget. Part of the reason the requests went up from 2013 is increases in pay related to the new CSEA contract.

"(Overtime) is a 10 percent increase over last year," Bencik said. "We do want him to reduce overtime."

Stewart praised Dean and the Orangetown Highway Department, but added that it is not possible to stay under the tax cap without some cuts to services. He suggested avoiding using so much overtime on the most expensive days, such as the day after Thanksgiving.

"The risk is extending the pickup period," Stewart said. "It is hard to justify having people work on double overtime and holiday pay to do something which, at some risk of having it snow (on the leaves), could be extended. It is a balancing act. You are right to raise it."

Bencik said the highway department will still have the same number of part-time positions funded as 2013, but the vacant full-time position will not be funded.

After Dean spoke, Diviny suggested that Building Department Director John Giardello should also speak about the elimination of an assistant building inspector position. The position had been filled for two years by a person on long-term disability who is now retired. Giardello maintains that the department's workload has gone up recently and they need a person in the position.

"I know John Giardello is not happy with his budget," Diviny said. "We eliminated an inspector. He makes the town money. I can tell you, as someone who deals with is department on a regular basis, they are in the weeds right now. He needs that position."

"When you absorb additional work (by fewer people), the turnaround time is longer and people see that," Giardello said. "There is a certain level of service and quality control that is lacking right now."

Stewart said he believes it is important to consider not filling any vacant position if a department has already done without it, but he has considered adding the inspector position back into the budget.

Troy said that Stewart should have spoken with the department heads directly sooner about the proposed cuts, specifically pointing to Dean's years of experience. 

"As supervisor, it's something you should have done or something the finance director should have done," Troy said. 

"We have talked about leaves on many occasions," Stewart said. "We have discussed the history and cost and man hours. I don't feel like there has been a deficit of conversation about leaves."

Stewart pointed out that every department head was heard during hearings before he submitted his tentative budget. He added that during one session on a Saturday, Troy and Diviny left before Parks and Recreation Department Director Aric Gorton's presentation. 

Diviny did mention some other points he plans to raise with the budget. He said he will push for less funding to the town libraries, asking them to spend more of their fund balance. He also asked why DEA seizure money is not included. Stewart said the amount of money has not been confirmed yet. 

Diviny also said that the Rockland County legislature voted to take the cost of college charge-backs back from the towns for 2014 and that money was not included in the 2014 budget.

Stewart countered that the measure still could be vetoed by County Executive Scott Vanderhoef and the town cannot count on the money until the law is passed by the county. To read more about that legislation, read this report on Patch. One of the sponsors of the measure, Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, said he expected Vanderhoef to veto it, but it is possible the legislature could end up with the votes to override.

"The college chargebacks is a highly uncertain matter," Stewart said. 

Vanderhoef released his 2014 budget late Wednesday afternoon. It included keeping the cost for the college chargebacks with the towns, a further indication that he intends to veto the measure passed by the legislature. 

Stewart, Diviny and Troy are all running for re-election this year. They will  join the other candidates for Orangetown elected offices on the Nov. 5 ballot at a meet the candidates night 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Volunteer Fire Association of Tappan firehouse at 123 Washington Street in Tappan.