2020 Adopted Budget.Pdf

SCHENECTADY COUNTY Nൾඐ Yඈඋ඄ Aൽඈඉඍൾൽ 2020 Oඉൾඋൺඍංඇ඀ Bඎൽ඀ൾඍ County of Schenectady NEW YORK Rory Fluman Phone: (518) 388-4355 County Manager Fax: (518) 388-4590 Office of the County Manager 620 State Street Schenectady, New York 12305 TO: The Honorable Chair and Members of the Schenectady County Legislature FROM: Rory Fluman, County Manager DATE: October 1, 2019 _____________________________________________________________________________ I am pleased to present to you the 2020 County of Schenectady Operating and Capital Budget recommendations for your review and consideration. The operating and capital budgets continue to provide vital service delivery to the residents of Schenectady County, particularly its most vulnerable populations including our children and seniors, at minimal cost to real property tax payers. The 2020 Budget holds the line on property taxes. If approved, this will be the fourth consecutive year of a property tax decrease or no increase: Tax Levy Change___ 2017 0% 2018 -1% 2019 0% 2020 0% The proposed 2020 tax levy is 1% lower than the 2016 tax levy. In 2016 Schenectady County levied $71,142,528 towards property owners. In 2020 the proposed amount is $70,431,103, an incredible 1% lower than five years ago for property owners. This accomplishment is the result of the collective focus and commitment of our County Legislative leadership, management and staff to serve the residents of Schenectady County in the most cost effective manner possible. Again in 2020, spending is controlled in this budget and all resident services are preserved. The average County share of a property taxpayer’s total bill is approximately 21%; slightly lower in the City and slightly higher in the Towns. Were it not for mandated Medicaid and other New York State mandated costs, there would be no County tax at all. The permanency of the Tax Cap is anticipated to have an impact to the County’s operational flexibility in the future. New York State has linked certain State reimbursement and Grant programs to the Tax Cap. For example, in order to receive funding to offset costs associated with State mandated Raise the Age Legislation, the State requires counties to confirm that the Tax Cap provisions were met. The State has linked intergovernmental grant opportunities with staying under the Tax Cap as well and may consider linking other State funding streams to the Cap in the future. Budget Highlights In 2020 a number of major Capital initiatives will be implemented to update and maintain vital County infrastructure. We have sustained our financial commitment to our County Library System, Airport, and multiple existing County facilities in this budget year. Two areas of change that directly affect the 2020 budget are related to New York State mandates of increased requirements for lead prevention impacting our Public Health Department and bail/discovery reform which has the potential to significantly impact the District Attorney’s office. Lead Prevention Protecting children from exposure to lead is a key public health priority. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, attention skills, and academic achievement. Schenectady County like most other upstate communities has a high percentage of pre 1978 and pre 1940 housing stock. These homes were commonly manufactured with lead based paints and building materials. Lead is a cumulative toxin and builds over time in a child’s body. There is no “safe” level of measured lead blood levels for children. Previously 10 microgram/deciliter of blood would trigger a notification to our health department that a child in our county required environmental intervention. This has been reduced by the State to 5 micrograms/deciliter. This will increase dramatically the number of referrals for our Lead program. The State’s efforts to address this public health concern are laudable. However, the State has provided limited funding and an aggressive timeframe to meet the requirements associated with the new Public Health Law which takes effect on October 1, 2019. The County Legislature had the foresight to bring on additional staff in the late summer of 2019 to ensure that staffing resources were available to meet the requirements of this mandate. The 2020 budget adds one additional, full time Public Health Sanitarian to the two that were created in 2019. 2 Bail/Discovery Reform The 2019-2020 New York State Budget includes criminal justice reforms that limit bail, amend the discovery and speedy trial process, change civil asset forfeiture, and speed the community reentry process. How the Schenectady County District Attorney practices law will fundamentally change. The DA under law will have to speed up their response for discovery and improve management practices for storing, editing and transferring digital data. These strengthened measures to ensure a defendant’s right to a speedy trial will require resources by the County to ensure the DA’s office obligation to prosecute cases. The changes identified above are effective on January 1, 2020. While the operational impacts remain to be seen, the budget includes additional resources for the District Attorney’s Office should they be needed. Like the changes with Lead Prevention, State funding to offset costs associated with the new mandates was not included in the 2019-2020 State Budget. New costs associated with bail reform will be funded with 100% County dollars. Supporting the Arts, Cultural and Special Events The 2020 Budget assumes the levying of an additional 1% hotel occupancy tax recently passed by the State Legislature for Schenectady County to support tourism and the arts including $200,000 to support Proctors, our premiere theater, and $60,000 to support cultural and arts initiatives through the County Initiative Program (CIP). Funding for the Schenectady County Tourism and Convention Bureau is continued at $417,000. Additional hotel occupancy tax not dedicated in 2020 will be dedicated into a reserve for future programs to support the Arts, Cultural and Special Events of Schenectady County. The 2020 focus of our Special Events and Discover Schenectady staff will be an aggressive multimedia campaign to promote Schenectady County as a destination for growing arts, entertainment and leisure activities as well as a strong hotel and conference venue. Our line- up of County special events continues to grow and draw residents and visitors to all parts of our County. In 2020, we continue to support: SummerNight Pedal Paddle Run Independence Day Celebration Canal Fest Family Summer Movie Night Series Bike Demofest Funk n’ Jazz Fest Fall Foliage Festival Nearly New Year’s Eve 3 Countywide Library System Our Central Library and eight branch libraries have increased programming and partnerships, which are attracting new patrons. The libraries have increasingly become community centers for learning, activities and community gatherings. Our new Mont Pleasant Branch alone has been a success since it has opened with over 30,000 people in attendance, 13,000 items circulated, and 9,000 wireless users connected since its grand opening. Facility improvements will continue at the Scotia Branch, as they continue their architectural improvement and new program space addition. In 2019 a new Assistant Library Director was hired to round out the management team to develop/ implement expanded library programming, events, and staff training opportunities. The County’s partnerships with the Library’s Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Library continue as important policy and community supporters of our Library system. SUNY Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) Investments The County’s operating budget continues to invest into SUNY SCCC. To remain an attractive choice for students, the College’s capital plan includes $2.6 million in project funding of which New York State and the County share equal financial responsibility. In particular, the County is investing in information and technology infrastructure, a campus generator, and roof replacements for Begley and Elston Hall. These investments in the College’s infrastructure will ensure that the College remains a competitive seat of learning for residents of Schenectady County and the greater Capital Region. With the investment in the 2020 tentative Capital Plan, the County and New York State has provided 44.5 million dollars over the past decade. Beyond the $1.3 million in 2020 County capital expenditures, the County’s sponsor contribution for SUNY SCCC has increased for the fifth consecutive year totaling $2,317,128, an increase of 2% over 2019’s contribution level. Shared Services The Schenectady County Intermunicipal Solar Energy Consortium is well underway with a goal of producing 32MW of solar energy on 9 municipal sites throughout the County. By the end of 2019, 6 sites will have been constructed and ready to be linked to National Grid for Solar production. Each Town, Village, and the City of Schenectady has signed onto The County’s Solar Consortium and will begin to receive electric bill credits for their participation. This is real energy savings delivered to our partners to reduce their municipal operations costs minimizing tax impacts for home and property owners at all levels of local government. The solar power consortium is an example of “working together works.” As the solar project matures, the Intergovernmental Committee will be moving on to other shared services projects including Radio. Schenectady County has not only accepted the challenge of establishing a county-wide radio system, but is now leading the way in cost sharing, interoperability, and shared services in the state. This large scale multi-year project will replace 4 our disparate and broken radio systems in the county and serve to protect our emergency responders for years to come. The County has leveraged various grant funding opportunities to fund specific aspects of this multi-jurisdictional project. Additional funding opportunities will be explored and sought after to minimize the outlay of any County financial resources.

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