Millbrook budget expectations shared for the new fiscal year

MILLBROOK — Every municipality knows what hard work and determination are required to do the yearly fiscal budget, but for 2020-21, COVID-19 brought in less revenue, created more spending and more challenges than previous budgets, as Mayor Tim Collopy expressed recently in his community newsletter. 

Collopy noted in the newsletter and in a recent interview that going into the budget process there were  “carry-overs” from previous budgets, including that the A-fund finished the fiscal year 2019-20 with $100,000 more in expenses than revenues, leaving less than $100,000 unrestricted in the fund balance in reserve.

This leads to the second issue: The current budget for 2020-21 did not include sufficient monies for base hourly wages for police and highway personnel nor estimated overtime for extra police coverage, snow plowing or off-hour clerk duties. 

The mayor said there were also some unrealistic estimates for the cost of social security and New York State retirement contributions and also attorney fees. The Village Board put controls on non-emergency overtime and cut or deferred expenses whenever possible, he added.

The fiscal year 2019-20  ended with the F-fund owing the A-fund $50,000 and the C-fund owing the A-fund $60,000.  Borrowing from one fund to another is allowed, but must be repaid within two years, he noted.

The Village Board also identified some new issues for the upcoming 2021-22 budget; one is that there are four loan payments that total $33,000, which will begin in 2021-2022 for the purchase last year of both a new police car and a dump truck. 

The firehouse also needs a new roof, and the fire company has proposed a metal roof, due to a shallow slope and a lifetime warranty. The fire department said it will pay 50% if the village pays the other 50%, an amount of $55,000 over a period of three to four years, for a total cost of about $119,000.

The transfer of the Thorne Building, coming up shortly, means that the village will no longer receive $25,000 annually from the Thorne Trust. 

Additionally, there will be a cost for the implementation of the state-mandated Police Reform and  Modernization Plan, which will require training and administration within the Millbrook Police Department (MPD). 

It is also estimated that another $44,000 will be needed for expected overtime for highway, police and front office  personnel in the village.

The board plans to “scrub each budget category line-by-line” said the mayor, to repay the monies owed to the A-fund from the F-fund and the G-fund by July 20, to make the overall village finances healthier, increasing the fund balance and addressing the high fiscal stress rating. The goal is to eventually reach a  fund balance of $500,000. Lastly, the board has set a contingency of zero dollars. 

The largest increase occurred in the MPD’s budget; growing by $47,000 or 29% due to shift coverage overtime expectations, the new police vehicle and additional retirement contributions. There are also the additional costs mentioned earlier for the Police Reform and Modernization Plan and requisite training.  

Expected overtime increased by $10,000 for the village clerk and deputy clerk.

Non-police  and social security increased by $9,000 and $15,000, respectively; projected attorney fees went from $10,000 to $25,000, a more realistic amount for 2021-22, according to the mayor. The contractual cost for 24/7 ambulance coverage by Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP) increased by $10,000. 

The Highway Department budget also increased $10,000, which covers the cost of a new dump truck. The costs listed above added to the budget, accounting for $130,000 in increases to the budget, offset by $70,000 of expense reductions and leaving a net increase of $60,000 in the tax levy. 

The A-fund budget increased $62,000, to $352,000 or 21%, to pay back the $60,000 owed to the A-fund. That includes for the maintenance and repairs of the sewer infrastructure and will begin a capital reserve for future infrastructure improvements. The sewer bills will include an increase to customers of 16% as of April 20 and raise the Sewer Special Benefit Assessment by $10,000.

The mayor named other  key actions for the coming fiscal year of 2021-22; sewer reserve funds will be started for both the F- and G-fund budgets, preparing for future capital improvements for both water and sewer operations. The payments have been frozen for one year to the A-fund reserve accounts for ambulance, highway vehicle, police vehicle and Village Hall restorations.

The overall village budget General Fund is $1,939,000. Revenue and expenses are equal in the budget. 

Actual figures may be found on the village website, www.villageofmillbrookny.com. 

Residents are invited to participate at the Wednesday, April 7, 6 p.m. public hearing on the budget, which will be held via Zoom. 

Email clerk@villageofmillbrook.com or call 845-0677-3939 for the details.