Fiscal analysis scrutinized
Officials debate effect of proposed charter
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » SUCCESS hosted a debate between the city’s Commissioner of Accounts, John Frank, and Charter Review Commissioner Treasurer Gordon Boyd on Monday night, going line-by-line of the commission’s fiscal analysis that was included with the charter in a mailing sent to city residents in early October.
Speaking at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, each representative had five minutes to offer opening and closing statements. In between the statements, each had an opportunity to discuss the estimated cost or savings the fiscal analysis represented line-by-line for two minutes.
The first discussion, however, allowed for each representative to have five minutes on the topic of deputy salaries being eliminated from the fiscal analysis, and the
confusion of whether the deputies remain in the charter or not.
Boyd said there has been some confusion about the transition section of the proposed charter.
“Article 8 paragraph 801 of the proposed charter repeals the old charter, and that eliminates the named position of deputy commissioners. There will be no more commissioners for them to be deputy to,” said Boyd. “...Incoming council and city manager in January of 2020 the option of retaining any of those individuals that they choose for a period of time that they deem appropriate as part of the transition. They wouldn’t be titled deputy commissioners. They are individuals who would be available for employment if the manager chose to make use of them, so we wanted to not preclude them from part of the transition process, but we explicitly removed their titles from the charter because the government is being reorganized.”
Boyd said the commission believes by eliminating the deputies, the city manager will have individuals such as the police chief, the fire chief, code enforcement, director of public works, director of finance, the assessor, the purchasing director reporting to him or her.
Franck said the number of $568,000 savings for eliminating the deputies shouldn’t be included in the fiscal analysis since the deputies could still have a job function in city hall.
“Section 809 B of the proposed charter the existing deputy commissioners or their designees shall, [Franck added that means must], continue to serve in their department management functions until the city management appointment is effective at which time they shall serve at the pleasure of the city manager,” said Franck. “The city transition task force shall recommend adequate funding of these positions in the 2020 fiscal budget.”
There was no or little disagreement in terms of the increase of a mayor’s salary, the addition of the six city council members’ salaries without benefits or the addition of the city manager’s salary. Franck did say he thought the $125,000 salary for a city manager would be a little low.
In the fiscal analysis, there calls for an internal auditor that would be a net neutral. The internal auditor would cost the city $75,000, but the charter said the internal auditor would identify a minimum of $75,000 per year. Franck said that whenever the commission needed to save money in the fiscal analysis the commission would speculate instead.
Boyd said the internal auditor is the legislative branch’s of the elected officials’ eyes and ears into the administration of the city.
“That’s worth $75,000,” said Boyd. “We’re very confident that the savings accruing from the activity will more than compensate for the expense.”
Franck had a major issue with the inclusion of attrition to the fiscal analysis. The fiscal analysis said proposed charter would save $155,000 per year from not replacing two retirees each year. Franck said that’s not the form of government, but that attrition could happen in any form of government.
“This number should never have ever showed up here,” said Franck, who called the figure a “material misrepresentation.”
Boyd said the attrition was not written within the four corners of the charter itself, but it’s in the financial disclosure as reasonable possibilities.
Voters will decide on a new charter proposal when they head to the polls Nov. 7.