The following is a press release issued by Republican Town Councilpeople Jim Briaddy and Mary Beth Hynes in response to Supervisor Patti Southworth’s initial FY2010 budget proposal and recommended implementation of a highway tax:

PRESS RELEASE — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BALLSTON TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS WORK TO FIX SUPERVISOR’S BROKEN BUDGET

Ballston Town Council members are working together to fix the broken budget proposed by Town Supervisor Patricia Southworth and Deputy Supervisor George Seymour.

Town Council members Jim Briaddy, a sixteen year veteran of the Council, and Mary Beth Hynes, the next most senior member, are proposing to remove the Highway Tax which has been recommended by Southworth and Seymour.  Briaddy and Hynes say the tax can be completely eliminated through fiscally sound utilization of available projected resources, holding the line on spending, and strategic cuts.

For nine years, the Town of Ballston has had no town or highway tax.  The majority of Town funding has come from sales and mortgage tax revenue as well as other revenue generators such as fees and state aid.  Each year, the Country Treasurer provides revenue estimates to provide a starting point for the budgeting process, which have historically been very accurate.

The Supervisor’s current proposal assumes that revenues will be well below estimates provided by the County Treasurer.  If implemented without corrections, Ballston residents would have to pay inflated and unnecessary taxes.

“This is not being fiscally conservative; this is the Town Supervisor double taxing Town residents and businesses by hording sales and mortgage tax dollars while initiating a new tax and allocating water district tax levies unfairly,” said Town Councilman Jim Briaddy.  “In preparing these corrections, we are responsibly making use of available rainy day funds and using more realistic revenue estimates.  Establishing a tax on town residents in this time of economic downturn is not in the best interest of Ballston families and businesses.”

The Town Council members will present to the Supervisor numerous recommendations that will eliminate the proposed $1.149 million Highway Tax and more equitably allocate water district tax burdens.

The Supervisor, rather than using current numbers, has chosen to base her proposal on 2008 revenues.  In doing so, the current budget proposal underutilizes expected resources and makes up the difference by implementing a Highway Tax.  Hynes and Briaddy are recommending using 85 percent of current revenue forecasts which will better reflect the current fiscal situation while maintaining a moderate cushion.

Without changes, the budget proposal would result in a highway tax levy of approximately $1.46 per thousand dollars assessed value.  Such a tax levy would result in close to a $300 tax bill for a home assessed to $200,000.  Farmers and large land owners would be greatly impacted by the increase.

“As the Town’s Chief Budget and Financial Officer, it is the Supervisor’s job and responsibility to put forth a budget proposal that best utilizes town resources while addressing the needs of the Town.  Supervisor Southworth’s budget did neither.  It is flawed by unfairly taxing the people and businesses of Ballston in a time when people can least afford it,” said Town Councilwoman Mary Beth Hynes.  “I am deeply saddened that the Supervisor and Deputy Supervisor George Seymour, rather than coming to department heads and fellow members of the board seeking assistance in the creation of the budget, put together an imprudent proposal that simply is not acceptable.”

Over the years, the Town has accumulated close to $1.5 million in rainy day funds.  The Town Council is recommending in this economic downturn that it utilize a portion of these funds, combined with accepting revenue estimates provided by the County.

In addition, the ad valorem (a tax in addition to the consumption charge that is levied by the Town of Glenville for maintenance of the water system), is not being levied in a way that is proportionate to the size of the Town’s water districts.  The Town of Ballston has nine water districts connected to the Glenville water supply.  The Supervisor’s proposed budget unfairly distributes the $187,000 ad valorem among only five of the districts.  This unfairly shifts the full cost onto only a portion of those who benefit from the use of the system.  In addition, among the five water districts that are being taxed, the distribution of the ad valorem is not in proportion to the number of customers within the district. 

 For example, water district 2, extension # 7 with 61% of assessed value is proposed to pay a total of $77,061 while water district 2, extension 12 with only 23% of the taxable assessment is proposed to pay $76,610.  If the budgeting was done fairly, extension number 7 would pay 61% or $114,070 and extension number 12 would pay $44,132. 

 Proposed actions by the Town Council:

1)      Reduce contingency budget by $75,000 – this money was originally provided to the Town in fiscal year 2007 and was placed in contingency;

2)      Utilize $300,000 of rainy day funds to replace sales tax allocations in General Funds A and B and move sales tax revenue to the Highway Budget;

3)      Reduce Highway equipment budget by $75,000; and

4)      Reduced snow removal related expenses by $21,000.

5)      Related to water district, re-appropriate annual ad valorem charged by the Town of Glenville to be more equitable.

Budget workshops have been scheduled in the next few weeks to discuss necessary changes to the Supervisor’s proposed budget.  The first will be held on Tuesday, October 13th at 7:30 p.m., followed by others on Thursday, October 15th, Tuesday October 20th, and Thursday, October 22nd.  All will be held at the Ballston Town Hall on Charlton Road in the Meeting Room.  The public is invited to attend.

 For further information, please contact:

Councilman James Briaddy:  (518) 399-4436; 573-8767 (cell)

Councilwoman Mary Beth Hynes:  (518) 884-9590; 421-8299 (cell)