Allegany County Board of Legislators met July 9.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 2:51 p.m. by Chairman Curtis W. Crandall
LEGISLATORS PRESENT: C. Crandall, G. Barnes, P. Curran, W. Dibble, D. Fanton, K. Graves, B. Harris, S. Havey, D. Healy, J. Hopkins, J. Ricci, P. Stockin (Absent: J. Burdick, D. Decker, D. Root)
OTHERS PRESENT: T. Boyde, B. Budinger, C. Clark, S. Decker, K. Dirlam, S. Grusendorf (arrived at 3:20 p.m., departed at 4:26 p.m.), C. Knapp, R. Lynch (departed at 4:03 p.m.), A. McKay, B. Riehle, T. Ross, R. Whitney (departed at 4:26 p.m.)
A motion was made by Legislator Fanton, seconded by Legislator Curran, and carried at 2:52 p.m. to enter into attorney/client session. Immediately following discussion at 3:19 p.m., a motion was made by Legislator Graves, seconded by Legislator Dibble, and carried to end the attorney/client session and return to the regular meeting.
School Resource Officer
Chairman Crandall invited Personnel Officer Bobby Budinger forward to provide the
Board with information on the topic. Mr. Budinger distributed an outline from a session he had attended at a civil service conference. The outline listed the following options:
1. A school district could create a School Resource Officer through State Ed.
2. A school district could create a Security Guard through Civil Service.
3. A school district could contract with a law enforcement agency and hire a Deputy Sheriff or Police Officer.
4. A school district could contract with a law enforcement agency for a recently retired Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff.
5. A school district could contract with a law enforcement agency for a Special Patrol Officer (SPO).
6. A combination of any of the above. #1 would be the best option. He added, he would expect a guaranteed source of funding from the State. He wondered if there was a way for the County to provide funding for schools that may be interested. County Administrator Tim Boyde stated that the local mechanism for paying for this is through school taxes. Wellsville Central School is going to contract with the Wellsville Police Department. It’s a local decision. Legislator Harris stated that he gets the feeling that Board members are interested in helping make this happen. Legislator Fanton remarked that the County already pays for other educational expenses. The County pays for transportation for preschool special education students. County Treasurer Terri Ross stated that that is a mandated program and some of it is reimbursed from the State. Sheriff Whitney said he would recommend option #1. He can’t foresee the County doing any of the other options in the next few years. Chairman Crandall stated that the Board needs to take a position on this. Mr. Budinger said the decision depends on whether or not the Board is willing to sign a contract. Options #1 and #2 are up to the school. We can provide a Sheriff’s Deputy, but we cannot provide a School Resource Officer. Chairman Crandall noted that the term School Resource Officer is used very loosely. Legislator Healy stated, we all want safe schools. Having a person in that role is a good idea. The school should hire someone. Every school is different and their needs are different. They can choose the level of service they feel they need. He feels schools can do it better and less expensively if they do it themselves. The County doesn’t have anyone trained as a School Resource Officer. Legislator Hopkins said that she sees the value in having School Resource Officers in the schools. Schools are going to be happier with their own employee. It was suggested that a letter be constructed detailing the Board’s position. Legislator Hopkins suggested the Board have more conversation with the BOCES Superintendent Linda Quick. A motion was made by Legislator Fanton, seconded by Legislator Graves, and carried, that the Board’s position is to not move forward with any kind of contractual agreement at this time.
E911 Enumeration System
Chairman Crandall stated that the assigned 911 numbers are not in good order. Several people have expressed their concern about their own assigned number not being accurate. Mr. Boyde said that over time the responsibility for the numbering system has shifted from Fire Services to the Sheriff’s Office. Changes in assessors and properties have contributed to the system having inconsistencies. Some areas of the County are in good shape; other areas need a lot of work. It’s not something that can be fixed overnight. We may need to involve the post offices and municipalities. The County has been in contact with local colleges in an effort to set up a student intern project to include mapping and numbering with GPS. We need accurate addresses for responding to emergencies. Chairman Crandall said he could see this being referred to the Public Safety Committee and it could go a number of places from there. Sheriff Whitney stated he estimated it would take 2-3 years to complete the project. Ms. Ross said that the numbering problems have been an issue with Real Property as well. Several organizations need to be involved so that everything matches. A motion was made by Legislator Dibble, seconded by Legislator Fanton, and carried, to refer this to the Public Safety Committee for further discussion. Refer to Public Safety Committee.
Audit Process
Chairman Crandall stated that brainstorming has been done on how to proceed with this process. The County Attorney has looked at different things about the process that have been changed over the years. We can have a resolution that dictates how it will be taken care of. We are also working on a way to share a “cleaned-up” version of the audit report. He suggested making the “cleaned-up” version available on a laptop for the Board to review. Ms. Ross stated that the report which is signed by Tim would be redacted to allow them to review it. Legislator Graves asked if it could be emailed to the Legislators. County Attorney Knapp stated her preference is to not email it. It would require serious redaction for it to leave the building. Legislator Harris asked how long it takes to redact the report. Ms. Ross said it’s difficult to estimate. It probably took a days-worth of time over two days. Legislator Harris asked if that would be done bi-weekly. Chairman Crandall stated he doesn’t feel it needs to be done every meeting. Legislator Graves said he was okay with that. Ms. Ross went on to explain that the audit changes every month, so it’s not the same things that need to be redacted each time. Depending on how many invoices were processed, it makes a difference in how long it takes to redact. Chairman Crandall said his thought is that if we could get one together for the Board to review, we can see what interest there is in taking this further and how often it should be made available.
Legislator Mileage Expense
Clerk of the Board Riehle stated that effective July 1, mileage to and from the County Office Buildings is going to be taxable. There are different scenarios of when mileage is reimbursed as taxable vs. non-taxable. Legislator Graves asked it this is the result of an IRS ruling. Chairman Crandall added that it’s also about what types of things mileage expense is being submitted for. Legislator Hopkins said it seems like it should be the event that determines whether something is taxable or not, rather than the location. Sometimes meetings take place at the County Office Building that are not committee or Board meetings. Ms. Ross stated that if you travel to the Crossroads building for a Committee of the Whole meeting, that’s your job so it’s taxable. You’re getting taxed on the mileage. It’s not taking that much out for taxes. If you itemize your tax return you can get that back. We want to be compliant with the IRS. Legislator Barnes asked why not just raise Legislators’ salaries and eliminate the mileage expense reimbursement. Chairman Crandall stated that they would need to wait until next term to do so.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 4:46 p.m. on a motion by Legislator Graves, seconded by Legislator Dibble, and carried.
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