Supervisors discuss budget impact

of Erie County and state measures

by Holly A. Lawtons

     Budget-cutting measures recently proposed by Erie County officials have complicated the budget-planning process for local town Supervisors Sam Chiavetta of Brant, Ken Martin of Collins and Tom O’Boyle of North Collins.

     The supervisors were required to have their tentative budgets filed on Sept. 30. Since then, they have been dealing with potential budget issues raised by notifications from Erie County officials about the possibility of having to reimburse the county in order to retain Sheriff’s patrol services. Another sore spot was the possibility that Erie County would terminate its contracts to pay the towns for plowing county roads as of Jan. 1, 2005. The contracts were supposed to expire in April 2005.

     After attending a meeting with officials from other towns on Oct. 14, Martin and O’Boyle both asserted that they do not believe Erie county can legally charge back expenses for the Sheriff’s patrols. Martin explained that this conclusion was based upon a 1993 opinion from the New York State Comptroller’s Office, which was brought to their attention by an attorney from one of the towns.

     Sheriff Patrick Gallivan was also present for part of the Oct 14 meeting. Martin and O’Boyle said they were assured that it is the Sheriff’s Department’s duty to patrol all of Erie County. It is their understanding that, while the Erie County Executive and Legislature are involved in setting the amount budgeted, it is up to the Sheriff to decide how those resources are allocated.

     According to Martin, Sheriff Gallivan maintained that, if his budget is slashed, cuts will need to be made across the board, not just to services provided to the 16 towns previously singled out.

     Of the three local towns, Collins would stand to lose the most if required to reimburse Erie County or face the loss of police services. Martin estimated that such a move would mean a 50- to 60-percent increase in taxes for a town that has seen its tax rate remain relatively flat for the past 10 to 15 years. However, as previously stated, Martin does not believe that the county could legally implement the measure.

     There would be less of an impact for Brant and North Collins. Brant has its own police force, but it does not operate 24/7. The Town of North Collins contracts with the Village of North Collins for police services. The coverage for both of these towns is supplemented by the Erie County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Troopers.

     At a meeting with Erie County Executive Joel Giambra on Oct. 16, supervisors learned that their snowplowing contracts would be honored through April 2005. What will happen beyond that point remains up in the air. Collins Highway Superintendent Joe Gernatt will be part of a committee that plans to discuss a new contract proposal with Erie county officials.

     Chiavetta explained that, previously, the contract length has been five years. “That helps in planning for our budget,” he noted. He added that the contracts have included yearly incremental increases in the amount paid, and the current contract stipulated a 5 percent increase per year.

     The Brant supervisor pointed out that it makes sense for the towns to do the plowing. “We’re driving down county roads with our plows to get to our own roads,” he commented. “Town roads generally aren’t main roads.”

     Chiavetta, Martin and O’Boyle have heard that Erie County might look into bidding out the snowplowing to private contractors. All three of the supervisors contend that the county will not be able to find a private contractor who can do an equivalent job for less money.

     While the towns would experience a loss in revenue if they do not reach an agreement with Erie County on the snowplowing, the three supervisors do not believe that it would have a big impact on their budgets. This is because they would see a significant decrease in their costs for fuel, sand and salt, manpower and overtime. There would be less wear and tear on vehicles as well.

     O’Boyle called the two maneuvers by Erie County politicians scare tactics. “They’re trying to get us riled up to support the additional 1 cent sales tax (that Giambra is promoting),” he maintained. “They’re threatening the public safety of all Erie County residents,” he declared. “The drugs will move out this way if there’s no police presence.”

     The North Collins supervisor continued, “If the roads aren’t plowed, fire trucks and ambulances can’t get through. We keep the roads open all night long; they only do it if a shift is on.”

     At its regular meeting on Oct. 18, the Collins Town Board passed a resolution stating, “The Town of Collins opposes any efforts by the county executive of Erie County or the Erie County Legislature to balance a budget based on reductions in police protection or snowplowing services.”

     Martin submitted, “We realize that cuts might have to be made, but we think that the money should not be taken from vital services.” He suspected that funding for libraries would be the next target, and that now appears to be the case.

     The three town supervisors are also anxiously waiting to see if politicians in Albany will reverse an earlier New York State decision that resulted in a significant loss of funds collected by the town courts in fines and fees. The supervisors are concerned about the impact this could have on their budgets. According to Chiavetta, state officials are not expected to address the issue until after elections in November.

     Because of the uncertainty involved, the Collins Town Board is planning to deduct $60,000 in anticipated revenue from its 2005 budget. O’Boyle noted that, if the decision is not reversed, it will mean an increase of 34 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation in his town.

     Chiavetta is preparing two sets of budgets - one that shows revenues remaining the same and one that reflects only half as much revenue. “We’ll wait to see what happens as we get closer to our public hearing on Nov. 9,” he commented.

     The Brant supervisor added that the rising costs of fuel, energy, health insurance and retirement plans also complicate the process of predicting budget figures. “Every year, every time you do a budget, there are always some challenges out there,” Chiavetta summarized. “You just do the best you can.”