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Last week's public hearing on the 2015 Town of Lansing budget didn't go exactly as planned.  In the eleventh hour the Board rehashed a few items, and the budget was not voted on as expected.  An issue of whether municipal budget planning was adequately reflected in the $4.6 million budget was a sore spot when Former Tompkins County Legislator Pat Pryor, the only person to speak in the public hearing, challenged the board to reconsider the budget before passing it.  Pryor asked whether Town Board members had taken advantage of budget training available from the New York Organization Of Towns, and charged the budget doesn't reflect it if they did.

"Municipal budgeting is not a matter of common sense," she chided.  "It is different from any other kind of budget in the county.  Legal requirements and constraints are complex and every elected official who helps to craft a town budget should take advantage of the training that is available.  In the municipal budget training you could learn that a fund balance policy provides a framework to help guide budgetary decisions in multi year plans, helps, insure that an adequate fund balance is available and can be used to develop and amend multi year capital and operational plans.  I see no recognition in this budget of the importance of a fund balance policy."

On October 1 consultant Brian McIlroy presented his analysis of the budget to the Town Board.  The main thrust of McIlroy's presentation was that the general fund's fund balance would be entirely spent within six years at current rates if the Board doesn't raise taxes now, and noted that a decrease in the tax base indicates taxes should go up.

Councilman Robert Cree, who performs monthly audits of Town spending, took issue with Pryor's allegations about budget training, saying that the Town hired McIlroy to provide professional advice on budgeting, and the Board did take his recommendations into account when formulating the 2015 budget.

"(McIlroy) made suggestions, and none of them were that the Town should implement a fund balance policy," Cree said.  "I'm not saying it's a bad idea.  I'm just saying that it didn't come up.  The recommendations he made are implemented.  One recommendations was that we need to start reducing our reliance on utilization of fund balance.  We have taken a step in this budget by reducing our reliance or utilization of fund balance -- that's in this budget.  The point was that we need to start putting money into reserves.  We discussed that and it will be something we're doing."

A large part of McIlroy's message was that taxes should be increased to avoid problems he said were inevitable in half a dozen years.  In addition to fears that the fund balance would disappear in that time, he said a shrinking tax base is putting pressure on the Town budget.

"Due to the recent decrease in the Town's assessed value using last year's tax rate the town would lose approximately $117,000 in tax revenue," he said.  "The tax rate would have to increase nine cents to $1.53 just to generate the same tax revenue.  That doesn't account for any increases in your normal budget line or anything in the general fund.  It is just because of the assessed value going down."

McIlroy presented a spreadsheet showing the general fund balance at the beginning of this fiscal year, what the budget appropriated out of the fund balance, and projected where the fund balance would end.  He focused particularly on the general fund and recommended raising taxes to make up for a decrease in assessment and a fund balance he said would be depleted in six years unless action is taken now.

"The Town used $222,000 of the general fund's fund balance in 2013," he said.  "The current budget appropriated $287,000.  At the current budgeted rate the fund balance in the general fund would be depleted in approximately six years.  I recommend the budget be adjusted to decrease the appropriated fund balance amount to create a more balanced and sustainable budget."

McIlroy noted that the Town has no debt.  He suggested developing a reserve funding plan so future projects don't have to be bonded, and recommended setting aside a portion of sales tax revenue to fund it.  Councilman Ed LaVigne said he was uncomfortable with that approach, noting that with the uncertainty each year to do with the sales tax total, sales tax is applied to the fund balance if there is a balance after projected budgeted uses are funded.

LaVigne, Cree and Councilman Doug Dake have not had the budget training, although Dake notes that budget training is part of required training that all new elected officials must take (all five board members have taken that course).  Councilwoman Ruth Hopkins and Supervisor Kathy Miller have had the budget training.

"You don't need to go to budget school," LaVigne said last week.  "I have 30 years of experience with budgeting in the private sector.  That is real world budgeting where there are consequences.  The problem with municipalities is there are no consequences as there are in the private sector as far as going bankrupt, being bought out, or being fired.  It doesn't take budget school to go through this budget line by line as I have done.  When there is a discrepancy I have challenged it."

"Look at this line right here," LaVigne added during a break in the meeting.  Back in 2013 the contingency account was $28,386.  This year they used zero.  They want to go to 60, and then bump up to 75.  A $15,000 increase.  My question is, why not go back to 30 since you used zero this year?  That cuts that by $45,000.  When you're looking at $12,500 per penny of real money that taxpayers have to pay, you've just found approximately three and a half cents (per $1000 of assessed value) right there."

LaVigne says that in a line by line analysis of the budget he four over $90,000 that could be cut.  He noted that some had to be put back, but also challenged increases in line items that haven't been used this year.  He specifically challenged a proposed rise in a line for continuing education for the Town Supervisor and her Deputy Supervisor, which he estimated was $5,000 more than was used in each of the last two years.

Pryor's other concern addressed employee raises and benefits.

"I'm just as concerned about raising taxes as anybody else," she said. "However to see that the budget recommends only a one percent raise for employees, and at the same time institutes a major restructuring of the payment of health insurance premiums, such that many if not all employees will experience a drop in take home pay, seems particularly callous and unnecessary."

The Board discussed changes to the budget, mainly having to do with personnel issues and an adjustment in the Highway Department budget.  They postponed a vote on approving it.

LaVigne says McIlroy told the Board that the Town has over two and a half million dollars in our fund balance, and recommended the Town should keep one and a quarter million.  $370,000 are being put in reserves, which LaVigne said the Board is not going to do that every year.

"We're also concerned about our fund balance depletion," he says.  "We used $200,000 from our fund balance this year.  Keep in mind that we had a decrease of value of the power plant of $15 million.  Over two years we've had a decreased assessment of 37 million dollars.  We stabilize first, and then we strengthen."

He says that strengthening means increasing development to bring the tax base back up.  He noted Cayuga Farms will bring $25 million in assessment, and noted the West Dryden Road natural gas pipeline is vital to development in Town, that in turn is vital to bringing the assessment back up.  He says the budget is strong, accurate and accountable.

In addition the Town postponed a vote on whether to rescind the tax cap, something municipalities do as an 'insurance policy' in case they have to raise the levy above a state-approved figure.  A new public hearing on that issue was set for November 17th at 6:06 pm.

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