POUGHKEEPSIE – At last month’s meeting of the common council, lawmaker Sarah Brannen expanded the scope of the public hearing on the 2020 budget to allow members of the council to ask budget questions to department heads and the administration. She was absent for Monday’s public hearing.
In addition to Brannen’s absence, Councilman Randall Johnson III was more than an hour late for the 5:15 p.m. meeting. Councilwoman Lorraine Johnson missed most of the hearing as well, not arriving until 6:45 p.m.
Very few members of the public participated in the hearing and those that did, commended Mayor Rob Rolison on presenting what was called a fiscally responsible budget.
The common council used the extra time to question department heads on their respective portions of the budget. Council Chairwoman Ann Finney started the dialogue by bringing Gary Beck, building inspector to the dais. Beck frustrated Finney by not being able to say how much his department’s budget was along with not being able to adequately explain any initiatives carried out by his department. City Administrator Marc Nelson intervened, reminding Finney that the administration had asked that board members submit questions in advance so that the department heads could have the information and answers available. That request, according to Nelson, was not accommodated by the council.
DPW Assistant Superintendent Terry Clayton also appeared to frustrate Finney while trying to explain the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). The program reimburses the municipality for a portion of road improvements and similar projects. Finney questioned the billing process in which the contractor submits an invoice to the city and the city then seeks reimbursement from the State. Finney questioned Clayton’s claim that the process is lengthy and requires the contractors to submit invoices in a timely manner. Finney argued that she didn’t believe that contractors would submit their bills after the work had been performed.
Police Chief Tom Pape was called up to justify his budget increase. Finney questioned a major increase in one budget line which Pape explained was for the purchase of the body-worn cameras that had been recently mandated by the council.
Councilwoman Natasha Cherry questioned staffing and overtime costs associated with the department. Pape explained that his department is just shy of being at full-staff, being down three officers. He indicated that the new bail reforms going into effect in January could have a substantial impact on overtime costs. Pape said that police departments throughout the state are all going to experience an increase in costs associated with the bail reforms. “Accommodating the district attorney’s office for evidence discovery, which will need to be handled within 15 days, will require a substantial amount of manpower, leading to overtime,” he said.
After Cherry was provided the answers, she took a moment to commend Pape and the department saying that “the police department is responsive to the needs of the community.” Councilwoman Yvonne Flowers also praised Pape and the department for their efforts to restore relations between the police and the community. Pape did add that the budget will likely see a reduction in the patrol division’s overtime budget when full-staffing returns.
Other ancillary aspects of the budget were addressed during the hearing with Nelson and Rolison providing most of the answers with the assistance of Finance Commissioner Bill Brady and his assistants. Councilman Chris Petsas announced his plan to approve the budget at the next meeting, saying “I believe this budget to be sound.” Cherry also plans to vote in favor of the budget. Cherry did ask Finney if she was going to continue the budget inquiry or would they be bringing it to a vote before the holidays. Finney announced her plan to bring the budget to a vote at the next scheduled meeting on December 16.
After the budget hearing, the council went to their regular meeting with very little on the agenda. Finney opened by commending the city’s finance department and the members of the council that serve on the budget committee for their work on the 2020 budget.
During the public comment portion, city resident Ken Stickle chastised the DPW and the police for their work during the recent snowstorm. Stickle complained that the smaller city streets like Gifford Avenue and Conklin Street couldn’t be plowed properly because the police failed to enforce the alternate-side parking rules. He added that he was pleased with Mayor Rolison’s budget.
Rolison acknowledged that the city did have a few “hiccups” during the elongated storm last week. “Essentially it was a three-day storm and the DPW is still cleaning up.” Rolison told the council that communication glitches and equipment breakdowns slowed the efforts of DPW. “We’ll be better next time,” the mayor vowed. Rolison said that the enforcement department went out to inspect sidewalks at 39 random commercial properties after the storm and found several that had not been cleared of snow. Rolison said that rather than issue violations, they contacted each responsible party. Twenty-four hours after contacting the property owners, Rolison said that most of the sidewalks were cleaned. Sidewalks that are the responsibility of the city drew an apology from Rolison. “Some of our own sidewalks and properties were in violation,” Rolison noted. One such example of DPW failing to remove snow from the sidewalks was around the Liberty Street parking lot. Employees had plowed the actual lot and most of the surrounding sidewalks. However, they neglected to remove snow from portions of the sidewalk that allows pedestrian and handicap access between the street and the parking lot. When the city was made aware of the oversight, employees returned and cleared the snow between the parking lot and the sidewalk but neglected to clear the section of the sidewalk leading to the street. A second report to the City Administrator Nelson had the problem rectified within an hour.
Councilmember Sarah Salem reported that the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan is still being addressed and needed another time extension. Speaking after the meeting Rolison said that he was proud of the budget that his administration had presented and expressed confidence that the council would approve the spending plan next week.
