Pelham Manor village board to review proposed $16.9 million budget on Monday
Editor’s note: This press release was provided by the Village of Pelham Manor.
The Board will meet for its regularly scheduled bi-monthly meeting on Monday, March 8th, at 8:15pm. The agenda for the meeting can be found by clicking here or below.
Among the many topics to be discussed at the Board meeting will be the Draft 2021-2022 Village of Pelham Manor Budget. The Board will be working with the Village Manager to make the final adopted budget more user-friendly for all residents. You can find a copy of the proposed draft budget by clicking here.
In accordance with Governor Cuomo’s State of Emergency Order and its subsequent guidance, the public participation will be restricted to 10 attendees, excluding the Board and staff. As required by the Order and guidance, the meeting will be live on FiOS channel 46 and Altice/Cablevision channel 75. The meeting will also be broadcast live, on the Village of Pelham Manor Facebook page – click here AND the Pelham Manor Vimeo page – click here.
A link to the meeting video recording will also be available the following morning on the Village website (click here). The Mayor, Board Members and staff will be observing the Village’s protocols with regard to social distancing and sanitizing surfaces before, during and after the meeting. As always, if you wish to contact the Board with any questions or comments, click here, or call Village Hall Monday thru Friday, 830am to 430pm, at 914-738-8820 where the phone is always answered.
Tentative 2021-2022 Budget for the Village of Pelham Manor
Village Manager’s Executive Summary of the Tentative Budget
I am pleased to present to you the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Tentative Budget (click here). This budget is tax cap compliant and continues to provide for the same level of services that you have provided in past fiscal years.
The budget is organized using the municipal chart of accounts established by the New York State Comptroller. This system begins by establishing Schedules. The Schedules include Appropriations, Revenues, Surplus, Estimate of Special Reserves, Salaries and Wages, and Debt. The system then classifies the Schedules into categories and thereafter sub-categories and then minor sub-categories. In general, these sub-categories are:
.1 Personal Services – this provides for the salaries and wages of personnel assigned to the category.
.2 Equipment – here is budgeted anticipated expenses for equipment purchases needed to support the activities of the category.
.4 Contractual Expenses – here is captured the sundry expenses other than equipment that is needed to support the activities of the category. They range from postage and printing to telecommunications, heat and electricity.
Schedule 1A Appropriations
The first category is GENERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. Here, the administrative and support services appropriations are accounted. They include the Mayor and Board of Trustees, who all serve without compensation, the Village Manager who serves as the Chief Administrative Officer, the Treasurer’s department, the Clerk’s Office, Law appropriations, Personnel, Elections, Buildings, the Central Garage and Special Items.
It must be noted that the Village Attorney serves without compensation. He is assisted by outside counsel, as needed, and those expenses along with the expenses of prosecuting village code violations and the cost associated with the village’s lobbyist in Albany are included in the law appropriations. In addition, legal costs associated with personnel administration, in particular issues that arise as a result of collective bargaining, are included in the personnel appropriations.
PUBLIC SAFETY is the next category. Here, the anticipated expenses for Police, Fire and Animal Control are accounted. Of particular note this year is the related .202 Radio appropriation included in both Police and Fire. This addresses the need to convert our current analog radio communication system to the digital system conversion taking place throughout Westchester County. In the very near future, the analog system will no longer be supported. In addition, this year’s budget includes funding in the Police Department for Implicit Bias and De-Escalation training, upgrading our active shooter response equipment, enhancing the security camera network and replacing other aging equipment. It should also be noted that the .404 Telecommunication line includes the costs associated with all police telecommunications including the camera network costs, the tracs ticketing system and Nixle, to name a few.
TRANSPORTATION is the next category. Here, the costs associated with operating and maintaining our street and sidewalk network are appropriated. These cost centers include Street Maintenance, Traffic Control, Snow Removal, Street Lighting and Sidewalk Replacement. The major expenditure in this group is .413 in Street Maintenance where funding for re-paving is appropriated.
RECREATION is next. This category accounts for the costs associated with operating and maintaining our parks.
Next is COMMUNITY SERVICES. These appropriations include Zoning, Code Enforcement, Sanitary and Storm Sewers, Refuse Collection and Disposal, Street Cleaning and Shade Trees. Zoning accounts for costs associated with our planning consultant on an as needed basis. Code Enforcement accounts for the cost of a part-time officer to monitor and inspect construction activity in the village as well as enforce other aspect of the village code. Sanitary and Storm sewers account for the costs to maintain our systems, to respond to emergencies and to continue to accomplish the goals outlined in our comprehensive sanitary sewer system maintenance program. This program includes cleaning and televising 20% of our sanitary sewer system each year. Storm sewers includes cleaning every storm water catch basin in the village. This annual activity is part of our program to protect the cleanliness of storm water that is eventually discharged into the Long Island Sound. In addition, in the .204 line of sanitary sewers, it is proposed to purchase a new sewer jet cleaner to replace the old sewer rodder. This equipment is used to expedite our response to a back-up in our system to protect property and the environment. Refuse Collection and Disposal accounts for the costs associated with our municipal solid waste services, including twice per week pick up of garbage, weekly collection of organic waste for composting and weekly collection of other recyclables. Street cleaning accounts for the cost of spring and fall curbside leaf and organic waste collection as well as a public works contract to sweep the streets of debris. This is another component of our program to protect storm water discharges. Shade trees accounts for tree trimming and removal by both in house staff as well as public contract. In addition, it provides for planting new street trees.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS accounts for the costs associated with both New York State mandated as well as collectively bargained employee benefits. The retirement cost is determined by the New York State Comptroller and is due and payable in December of 2021. The single largest increase in raw dollars and percent in this budget is accounted for in the Police and Fire retirement payment. The State Comptroller’s Office has notified us that this cost will increase more than $450,000 over last year’s budget. Health insurance is projected to remain flat in the coming fiscal year, as is nearly every other employee benefit expenditure.
Schedule 2A Revenues
This schedule accounts for anticipated revenues other than real property taxes. It includes the village’s per capita share of sales tax collected in the county, utility gross receipts taxes, mortgage taxes and CATV franchise fees. Other major categories of non-property tax revenue include Building Permit fees, Rental of Real Property and Business Licenses.
Schedule 3 Available Surplus
This year’s budget appropriates $665,000 from our previous fiscal year’s fund balance to reduce the property tax, fund the radio upgrade discussed above and to contribute to the street paving program discussed above.
Schedule 4 Estimate of Special Reserves
Here a budget item is included to offset any insurance claim cost that the village may incur as well as a modest equipment repair reserve.
Schedule 5 Salaries and Wages
This schedule itemizes the salary and wages posted in Schedule 1A in each of the .1 sub-categories. It should be noted that the salaries and wages for Public Works are distributed in the various categories based on a rolling 5-year average of actual costs, because these costs vary from year to year based on weather variations and other factors.
Schedule 6 Debt
The village remains debt free.
In addition to the schedules listed above the budget includes a page that shows the historic changes in the budget and an analysis of the appropriations and revenues contained herein.
John T. Pierpont
Village Manager and Budget Officer
2020 NYS Fiscal Stress Test Report for Pelham Manor
Pelham Manor remains in strong financial health, according to the NYS Comptroller’s 2020 assessment (click here). The Comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Test Monitoring System is based on a score of 0 to 100. The lower the score, the better positioned the municipality is to sustain unsuspected events. For the third year in a row, our score was 5. The Village is committed to maintaining and improving our fiscal health. Pelham Manor remains completely debt-free (a key metric in the NYS Fiscal Stress Test Monitoring System). For more information about the Comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Test Monitoring System, please visit: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/
