You are hereby notified that, I, Frederick H. Monroe, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Warren, pursuant to the power vested in me by Rule A.3 of the Rules of the Board of Supervisors, hereby call and convene a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Warren County to be held in the Supervisors' Room in the Warren County Municipal Center, Town of Queensbury, New York, on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 11:00 a.m., for the purpose of considering, and if determined by the Board to be appropriate, voting on, or otherwise taking action on, the following matters:
The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors is hereby directed to call for the meeting and give written notice to all members of the Board of Supervisors of such meeting.
Dated: December 18, 2009
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Warren convened at the Supervisors' Room in the Warren County Municipal Center, Lake George, New York, at 2:15 p.m.
Mr. Frederick Monroe presiding.
Salute to the flag was led by Supervisor VanNess.
Roll called, the following members present: Supervisors Simmes, Monroe, Girard, Sheehan, Taylor, O’Connor, Kenny, Belden, Bentley, Goodspeed, Tessier, Merlino, Stec, Strainer, Champagne, VanNess, Sokol, Thomas, Pitkin, and Geraghty - 20.
Chairman Monroe recognized Supervisor Tessier, noting that this would be his last board meeting, and requested him to come forward. Chairman Monroe presented Supervisor Tessier with a proclamation for 26 years of dedicated service to the County. Chairman Monroe apprised that he had first met Supervisor Tessier in 1981 and he had enjoyed working with him over the years. He acknowledged that Supervisor Tessier had always shown concern for the citizens of Warren County as well as the employees. Chairman Monroe added that Supervisor Tessier had always balanced the needs of the taxpayers with the needs of the people the board served and the employees of Warren County.
Chairman Monroe read the proclamation and presented it to Supervisor Tessier. The board members responded with applause and a standing ovation.
Chairman Monroe presented Supervisor Tessier with citations from the New York State Assembly and Senate, which he read for the record. The board members responded with applause.
Chairman Monroe announced that there would be a retirement dinner in recognition of Supervisor Tessier on January 24, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in the Town of Lake George.
Chairman Monroe acknowledged John Kearney, resident of Warren County, who requested permission to address the board members. Mr. Kearney said that he applauded the board for the class action lawsuit that had been initiated against the State for unfunded mandates. He added that there were associations of towns, counties, villages and school boards that were all affected by the mandates. He advised that the unfunded mandates were the root cause of the County's budget issues. He recommended that the County get the other organizations involved, as the more groups that were involved that were directly affected by the unfunded mandates the better the chance of winning the suit.
Mr. Kearney acknowledged that the remarks that he would make would not alter the board's decisions. He advised that the State of New York, the federal government and the County were all in a budget crisis. He added that the government needed to stop providing jobs that the private sector could not compete with. He said that the private sector drove the economy, not the government. He stated that they needed to cease spending on government non-essentials and decrease the amount expended on essentials. He apprised that although no one wanted to pay taxes, they were necessary. He stated that income taxes were the only taxes that were remotely fair, as they were based on the taxpayers ability to pay. He said that the County was in a situation where the only way they could raise funds was by increasing property tax or sales tax, which he referred to as two very bad choices. He added that he was generally opposed to a sales tax increase, as it was regressive, anti-business and anticonsumer. He apprised that the County had devised a plan to increase sales tax by 1% with no new spending over a two year period and a sunset clause, which had been well thought out. Mr. Kearney said that the board had originally been in favor of the increase; however, he added, they had let a vocal minority talk them out of it. Now, he continued, the board would pass a massive property tax increase. He advised that there would be no contribution from tourists with the property tax increase, as there would have been with the sales tax increase. He acknowledged that the board had to choose between two bad choices and had made the worse choice of the two. He announced that there was a poll being taken by The Adirondack Journal and currently 60% of the respondents felt the board had made the wrong choice.
Chairman Monroe called for reading of resolutions and discussions.
Joan Sady, Clerk of the Board, announced a motion was needed to bring Resolution Nos. 907 through 916 to the floor. Motion was made by Mr. Stec, seconded by Mr. Tessier and carried unanimously to bring Resolution Nos. 907 through 916 to the floor.
Mrs. Sady noted that Resolution No. 910 amended Resolution No. 897 of 2009, Amending Tentative Budget Providing Appropriations for the Conduct of County Business for the Fiscal Year 2010, which had been approved at the December 18, 2009 Board meeting. JoAnn McKinstry, Deputy Commissioner of Administrative & Fiscal Services, explained that there were clerical errors which had been corrected and additional adjustments, which had decreased the amount to be raised by tax slightly. Paul Dusek, County Attorney, clarified that the original resolution had figures included and the instructions were for that resolution to govern with the exception of some minor changes, which the Office of Administrative & Fiscal Services was entitled to make. Chairman Monroe stated a roll call vote was necessary. Following the roll call vote, Resolution No. 910 was adopted unanimously.
Mrs. Sady stated that Resolution No. 911, Adopting Budget for Fiscal Year 2010, needed to be introduced. Motion was made by Mr. Geraghty, seconded by Mr. Stec and carried unanimously to adopt the Budget for Fiscal Year 2010. Chairman Monroe advised a roll call vote was necessary. Following the roll call vote, the motion was carried by majority vote to approve Resolution No. 911, Adopting Budget for Fiscal Year 2010, as presented.
Chairman Monroe called for a vote on resolutions.
Mr. Goodspeed questioned if any of the resolutions, which would be included in the collective vote, related to the 2010 budget. Chairman Monroe responded that Resolution Nos. 912 through 916 were technical resolutions which were required in order to increase taxes. Mr. Goodspeed stated that he would like the opportunity to vote in opposition to any resolution that pertained to the budget.
Mr. Champagne asked Mr. Dusek to clarify what would happen if Resolution Nos. 912 through 916 were not adopted. Mr. Dusek explained that these were technical resolutions that were necessary in order to complete the adoption of the budget.
Mr. Stec requested roll call votes on Resolution Nos. 912, Making Appropriations for the Conduct of County Government for the Fiscal Year 2010; 913, Adopting Salary and Compensation Plan for 2010; 914, Fixing Tax Rates; 915, Levying Tax-City of Glens Falls- 2010; and 916, Authorizing Chairman and Clerk to Issue Tax Warrants.
Chairman Monroe called for a vote on Resolution Nos. 908 and 909. Resolution Nos. 908 and 909 were approved.
Following the roll call votes, Resolution Nos. 912 through 916 were approved.
Mr. Goodspeed requested Mr. Dusek to provide legal advise regarding collective bargaining negotiations, which could be costly. He added that he foresaw a time when the County could run out of funds and not be unable to borrow additional funds. Chairman Monroe agreed that the board would need to discuss the issue and added that they should begin the discussions today. He continued that the County would have serious financial problems in the new year and added that the bond rating had already been downgraded and was likely to be downgraded further, since the sales tax increase had not been approved. He said that he had also intended to request an executive session to discuss the employment history of a particular person.
Motion was made by Mr. Goodspeed, seconded by Mr. Bentley and carried unanimously that executive session be declared pursuant to Sections 105 (e) and (f) of the Public Officers Law.
Executive session was declared from 2:49 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.
The board reconvened. Chairman Monroe announced that no action was necessary pursuant to the executive session.
There being no further business, on motion by Mr. Bentley and seconded by Mr. Goodspeed, Chairman Monroe adjourned the meeting at 3:36 p.m.