MINUTES
OTHERS: C.E.’S Office: Bill Randolph; Budget: Kate Carrano, Leslie Bennett, Arthur Vietro, Meredith Waltman, Robert Kopenhaver, Daniel Cabrera; Finance Dept: Peter Pucillo, Thurston Hartford; Solid Waste Commission: Bruce Berger, Fred Fitzrandolph; Child Care Council: Lottie Harris; DSS: Kevin Mahon, Fred Broege, Jewru Bandeh, Bonni Rucker, Olivia Rhodes, Dennis Packard; Journal News: Keith Eddings; CBAC: Barbara Strauss, Fran MacEachron; LWV: Roberta Wiernik; Ossining Children’s Center: Howard Milbert; BOL: Legislator Bronz, Rafael Vega, Sally Schecter, Tara Bernard, Chris Chang, Robert Boland, Tina Seckerson
Chairman Wishnie called the meeting to order at 9:16 a.m.
2002 Capital Budget:
Solid Waste Commission: (C362):
· Quantitative Indicators: Truck permits: can only give an estimate as the number changes weekly. Deadline of March 31st for licensing. 49 have been licensed and 45 are awaiting licensing. Those 45 are grandfathered in. Inspectors go out on a daily basis to transfer stations and find some that have not applied for licenses and they inform them as well as begin enforcement procedures. Have fined some.
· Notification procedures: notifications sent out on numerous occasions as soon as the statute went into effect. Newspaper notification as well as letters went out. Enforcement is now appropriate.
· Expect to have 619 trucks at $1,000 apiece. Will receive licensing fees from 120 companies. Some operate at transfer stations but may not have a truck, they too will have to be licensed and pay a fee. New companies are joining us.
· Contractual Services (4380): covers an attorney and hearing officers
· Services by Data Processing: (5260): Data processing is a set fee. It is an advisory bill, not an actual bill.
COMMITTEE ON BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
MINUTES – NOVEMBER 26, 2001
PAGE 2
· Recycling and separate collection of garbage. Constituents complaining that they are told they will pick-up and separate it later. Mr. Berger stated that it is a recycling issue, which DEF has the power to enforce.
· All the large carters in the county were licensed in December of 2001 (one year license). Sending out bills currently for the next cycle on their licenses. Expect to get those billings in by the end of the year and meet their revenue projections.
Finance: (C75):
· Increase of $77,000 in annual regular salaries due to the estimated 2% cost of living raise.
· Increase of $30,000 in the 2002 equipment budget request due to the Bureau of Purchase and Supplies’ required purchase of a new truck.
· Increase of $98,000 in interdepartmental charges, consisting of a $110,000 increase by Information Technology, a $20,000 decrease by Law, a $2,000 increase by DPW and a $6,000 increase by the Records Center.
· Decrease of $170,000 in departmental revenues primarily attributable to a decrease in revenue generated by the Department’s Investment Services to Districts.
· Working on GASB. Working with Bennett Kielson (not to exceed $50,000). This year they plan to do a pro forma GASB statement, but not issue it. One staff member will be assigned to work on the GASB project.
· Debt Service: Most of district bonds are through EFC and are not part of the annual bond sale. Lower interest rates on new bonds.
· Cash Flow: Okay for 2002, do not anticipate any TANs.
· Sales Tax: Last Friday will be a telling sign of what people are doing for Christmas. September numbers were better for Westchester than any other county.
· Question re: billings by IT. Kate Carrano will look into it.
· Summary sheet of arbitrage payments for the last two years.
DSS: (C160):
· The Commissioner explained that they cut 33 lines, could not cut more. Caseload goes down in one area but up in another.
· Support collections have increased.
· Federal changes will make it easier to get food stamps. Means more people will come through the door to be serviced.
COMMITTEE ON BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
MINUTES – NOVEMBER 26, 2001
PAGE 3
· Experiencing expanded programs and reduced revenue from the state.
· Federal Social Service Block Grant funding level for 2001/2002 has not been identified. At the current levels, the approved reduction in TANF to Title XX from 10% to 4.25% will result in a $3.2 million loss to Westchester.
· MOE: the way the state distributes MOE is unconscionable. Although caseloads decreased, MOE requirement stayed the same. Penalty passed on to us because of the way they finance and reimburse.
· Child Care Slots: due to a number of efficiencies they realized, costs went down. After experiencing unprecedented growth in the number of children receiving daycare subsidies in 2000, DSS has seen the actual 2001 growth in total number of children serviced proceed at a slower pace. Newly subsidized children are added to the daycare rosters at the average rate of 144 per month. The lower than projected 41 slot net growth per month during 2001 can only be attributed to the closing of cases due to categorical ineligibility, financial ineligibility and failure of recipients to comply with documentation requirements. Projected growth for 2002 is at 50 slots per month. The reasons that closings on the existing caseload are expected to subside are the following: DSS has had nearly a year to carefully scrutinize eligibility on the existing caseload; recent changes in poverty levels and eligibility income standards have increased the pool of eligible households, and it is expected that fewer households will become ineligible for subsidy due to financial ineligibility. The slowing economy is an additional factor. Lack of affordable daycare is one of the greatest barriers to employment. Without subsidized daycare, many Westchester families would be forced to return to public assistance.
· In June of 2002 would have a good sense of daycare slots needed for 2003.
· Family Health Plus: Impact will begin to be felt during the 2002 budget. Believe that NYS has terribly undercounted (3,500-4,000 new individuals coming in). Asked consultant to work up, using 2000 census data, to get an estimate. There is nothing prohibiting people from dropping their insurance to pick this up. Consultant estimated. Since September 11th the state has not talked about this program at all. To run this program the state required a waiver from the federal government to serve the population they anticipate serving. The waiver was granted. Committee requested financial detail on the Family Health Plus program.
· There was a discussion with regard to using MOE money to finance programs (very limited). The Commissioner reviewed the guidelines that have to be followed.
· Spousal Refusal Recoveries: In certain circumstances a spouse can refuse to support a spouse for medical expenses. Look at a case by case basis and try to negotiate a settlement.
COMMITTEE ON BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
MINUTES – NOVEMBER 26, 2001
PAGE 4
· Committee requested a breakdown of Departmental Income
· Nursing Home Cases: numbers are controlled by the state. County pays ten cents on the dollar.
· Impact of assisted living movement: cheaper than nursing homes.
· Emergency Assistance to Families & Children (5630) and Child Welfare (5880): reflects a cost of living increase. These costs can be charged off to TANF
· Committee requested back up on per case cost basis.
· Discussion with regard to family assistance cases that will go over to Safety Net. Have about 900 families that will go over, some will be exempt. About 300 of those are working. Have 5,700 family assistance cases.
· Additional information requested by the Committee:
Ø Breakout of apartments
Ø Breakout of line 5260 - Services by Data Processing
Ø Cost of the 3 shelters now and the projected cost of the move to Grasslands
Ø Schedule of line 4420 – Technical Services
Ø Back-up for state and federal aid
· Trusts: starting a lot of creative programming to work with children. New Program called PUSH ($200,000) was started in Tuckahoe as a pilot program whereby the school district identified specific areas where students were struggling in school. It was a six week program and all of the students attended everyday. At the end they were given a computer and free internet access for a year.
· HEAP Program: how many people have been helped? There are seven positions. Committee requested a breakdown of this account.
A&C CALENDAR:
This week’s A&C calendar was distributed for review.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further items for discussion, on motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Legislator Carsky, the meeting was adjourned at 12:07 p.m.