Brockport budget approval coming down to the 11th hour

Brockport budget approval coming down to the 11th hour
Cutting police shift under study

A consensus hasn't been reached on the budget for the Village of Brockport and no resolutions for adoption were put forth at the April 17 meeting. A special budget discussion meeting has been scheduled for April 26 at 7:30 p.m., following the board workshop.

According to Village Manager Ian Coyle, the budget currently stands at a 6.7 percent increase, with no sewer funds, or a $9.56 per $1,000 rate which equates to $0.60 per $1,000; approximately $52 per year more for the average home in the village.

Trustee Maria Castaneda said the village can't use a "band aid" approach to the budget. "We need to make some difficult decisions," she said at the April 17 meeting. "Maybe we need to look at adopting the assessment rolls from the Town of Sweden assessor, their assessor is certified, ours isn't. We could realize a savings of about $2,000 to $3,000 a year."

Castaneda also raised the idea of looking at different ways to staff cross walks by either replacing crossing guards with police officers or volunteers. She said the village did save money on the salary that was provided to the former economic development director but that officials need to look at more cost cutting measures.

"I propose eliminating the police department's day shift. We could save $175,000 in the first year," she said. "We are a small village with a small tax base. I would really like to see figures from the police department as to the percentage of crimes committed during the day shift."

Audience members pointed out that two bank robberies occurred during the day shift and Police Chief Dan Varrenti reminded the board that one of the village's most brutal rapes occurred at 6:30 a.m.

"I suggest before you consider getting rid of a police shift, you check with other municipalities that tried that as a cost saving measure and see how it worked out," Varrenti said, adding that Fairport attempted that as a cost cutting measure and eventually hired the officers back at a price more than double what the staffing cost previously.

"My budget is 35 percent of the village's total budget but the department carries 100 percent of the blame for the village's budget problems."

Trustee David Wagenhauser said that all municipalities are facing increasing costs but said when it comes down to the 11th hour to bring up a measure as drastic as cutting a police shift without fully discussing it is not the way to go. "We had two public hearings on an issue to consolidate trash pick up and save money but we haven't heard anything prior to this on getting rid of a police shift," he said. "That would involve laying off two to four people and they would likely be the part timers that the chief uses to back fill positions and save on overtime."

Wagenhauser said the police department's first shift responded to 3,600 calls last year. "We would also have to look at the revenue generated by this shift and use that to offset any savings we might realize," he said.

Castaneda said she always hears comments that she is against the police department and said it isn't true, "I am just saying we can't afford it."

In response to Castaneda's suggestion of cutting a shift, Varrenti asked the village where the $100,000 is which was saved by cutting the village's dispatch center. "Where did that money go?" he asked. "When you got rid of dispatch you said you were saving that money to reduce taxes but you are no further ahead."

In a conversation following the meeting, Varrenti said when a municipality eliminates a service, the money just goes somewhere else. "No one knows where that money went," he said. "Now they are talking about getting rid of a shift. The priorities in the village need to change."

Following the discussion, Mayor Mort Wexler said, "I've heard a lot of things and I know that people mean well but Ian (Coyle, village manager) can't change the figures," he said. "There is no easy solution. The money isn't there. If we want to maintain services, the taxes will go up. I know we are higher than any other municipality but if residents want services, it will cost you more."

Wexler said during negotiations, the department of public works made concessions which will save the village $50,000 to $100,000 over a five year period. "We just couldn't get those concessions from the police union," he said.

When it came to saving taxpayer dollars, resident Mary Ann Rogers asked the village board how it saved money by not signing the chief's 211 waiver. "Isn't it costing us $17,000 more now than it was before? How is that serving the residents?" she asked. "We are at our boiling point with all of this litigation."

Wexler said he would be happy to sit with Rogers and discuss his reasons for not signing the waiver. It was reported previously that he didn't want to sign it because of the perjury clause included in the document.

"By not signing that waiver we have added one percent to the tax rate," Trustee Carrie Maziarz said.

Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan cautioned the board to think about it before making any decisions on cutting police shifts. "As a department head, I can tell you, we need the quick response time that the village police offer. If we have to rely on getting service when we are in Sweden or Clarkson, we sometimes wait 15 minutes for a sheriff to get to the scene," he said.

It was the divisiveness on the board that prompted developer Don Hibsch to request time on the agenda. "Sales are slow in my new development at McCormick Place and a lot of it has to do not only with the high taxes but with the bickering on the board," he said. "I'm pleading with you to settle your arguments and move on. The attitude on the board is killing us more than the taxes. I can prove to people who want to move here as to the reason for the taxes - I can point out the services and amenities, but I can't do anything about the bickering."

Bottom line, Varrenti said, is the village should either make a decision to support and finance the police department or get rid of it altogether. "Don't turn us into a non-functional entity and then blame us when something happens," he said.