cazenovia interim report 2

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INTERIM REPORT

(December, 2010)

Shared Services Committee

Town and Village of Cazenovia, New York

The Mission of the Shared Services Committee

To "study and identify opportunities for cooperative efforts by local

government entities in order to achieve more efficient services,

control costs, and enhance community life

Committee Members

Helen Beale, Chair; Graham Egerton; Howard Hart; Michael Lee; Randy Light;

Anna Marie Neuland; Jack Rooney; Sharye Skinner


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Miscellaneous:

1. Summary of the joint September, 2008 meeting of the Town andVillage of Cazenovia

2. New York State Local Government Efficiency Grant Application

3. New York State Grant Guidance DocumentShared Services Committee Interim Report

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INTRODUCTION

History of Shared Services

The idea of shared services between the Town and the Village of Cazenovia has been asubject of much conversation in recent years. In September 2008, the Town and the Village

Boards met to begin a more formal initiative. In response to this initiative, a group of citizens

representing residents in the Town and in the Village formed in the winter of 2009 a Shared

Services Committee. Helen Beale was selected to be the chair and spokesperson of this group.

In March of 2009, Ms. Beale went to the Boards of the Town and the Village to report that a

Shared Services Committee had been formed. She advised that the goal of the Committee was to

support the efforts toward enhancing the sharing of services, equipment and materials which the

Town and the Village had initiated in their September, 2008 joint meeting. Ms. Beale said that

the Committee was prepared to research and to examine various ways to enhance this sharing

between the two municipalities. In view of the extended scope of the task, Ms. Beale asked the

Town and the Village to acknowledge and to support the Committee's efforts. During their

respective March, 2009 meetings, the Town and the Village Boards recognized and endorsed the

Shared Services Committee.

Research Plan

The Shared Services Committee has met several times a month for the last year and ahalf. In addition to full Committee meetings, specific tasks were done in small groups.

The first task was to begin to understand the budgets, revenues and expenses ofthe Town and the Village of Cazenovia. This effort involved numerous meetings,emails and phone calls with members of the Boards of the two municipalities.Budgets from the municipalities of Clinton and Hamilton were also examined.

The second task was to ascertain where areas of shared services may possiblyexist and to determine the best means of gathering information in order to learnabout the shared services efforts and experiences of similar communities.

The third task was to research the pertinent information and resources available

from New York State.

The next and final task was to synthesize all the information gathered; makepossible recommendations for further action; and write an initial report of thefindings.

This document is an interim report on the topics for which the Committee presently has

information and recommendations. These topics are: administrator/manager, highway, office

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building and police. Attached to the text of this interim report is an appendix on a compact disk

of all the supporting documentation. The Committee hopes that the Boards of the Town and the

Village will find this material useful in their review of the recommendations of the Committee.

The Committee welcomes the input of the Boards to its interim report and recommendations and

stands ready to meet with each Board at its earliest convenience. The Committee anticipates

studying in the immediate future additional subjects, such as water and sewer services and the

Town and Village Justice Court systems, as well as other relevant matters. Thus, the Committee

would be most appreciative of timely responses from the Boards regarding the Committees

current interim report and recommendations as well as guidance regarding its future efforts.

The Committee is most grateful to all of those individuals who gave their time and

supplied it with valuable information for this report, but in particular it would like to convey

special recognition to the following people who gave considerable assistance to the Committee

in its review of shared services between the Town and the Village of Cazenovia.

Town of Cazenovia

Town Supervisor, Liz Moran (retired)

Town Supervisor, Ralph Monforte

Town Highway Supervisor, Tim Hunt

Village of Cazenovia

Village Mayor, Tom Dougherty

Adm. Department of Public Works, Bill Carr

Deputy Clerk, Susan Dady

Police Chief, David Amico

Madison County

Sheriff Ronald Cary (retired)

Sheriff Allen Riley

Captain Matthew Episcopo

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ADMINISTRATOR/MANAGER

During the past months, the Shared Services Committee has reviewed the work of the

Village and Town of Cazenovia Departments and has interviewed numerous Village and Townofficials. The complexity of the work performed and the issues at stake have presented

difficulties for the Committee members acting in a part-time capacity to understand fully the

work of the Village and Town and, thus, make comprehensive recommendations regarding

improvements, savings or shared services. The constraint confronting the Committee of having

only limited time to focus on these issues is one that surely is shared by each of the elected

officials within the Village and the Town.

One of the issues that the Committee has investigated is having a full time administrator or

manager for a village or town. The employment of such a professional executive appears to be a

promising practice that would allow part-time elected officials to work more efficiently and touse their time more productively. The Committee has investigated several communities

(Villages of Brockport, Canastota, Hamilton, etc.) with a professional management type of

government. This investigation suggests that an administrator/manager is a person with the

professional experience and often the formal education who is responsible on a full-time basis

for the smooth and efficient running of a municipality. The duties of the position may or may

not include the authority to hire and to fire, but normally encompass among other tasks:

!Overseeing and coordinating the daily activities of municipal departments;!Addressing the concerns of citizens;!Negotiating with various employee collective bargaining units;!Interacting with other municipalities and governmental entities;!Conducting the budgeting process;!Writing and coordinating the solicitation and administration of financial

grants and other funding.With respect to the Village of Cazenovia for example, a professional executive if retained

could be held, among other responsibilities, to be directly accountable to the mayor and to the

other elected officials within the municipality. He or she could be required to report regularly to

the Village officials on the status of municipal operations and could be obligated to collect

needed information for the officials as requested by them in order to facilitate their governmental

decision-making. With the presence of an executive officer conducting daily operations, elected

Village officials would become freer to focus on planning and other big picture issues. At the

same time, they would be able to maintain their control and ultimate superintendence over

municipal operations as they are charged as duly elected public officials. This form of

government for the Village would seem to provide the opportunity for its elected officials to

work smarter and to ensure the more efficient running of the municipality.


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Various groups such as the Schoharie Citizens for Professional Governance have more

thoroughly detailed the inefficiencies of public governance without full-time professional

management. Material relating to the Schoharie Citizens study, including a cost/benefit analysis

questionnaire, is set forth in the attached appendix. In addition, the attached appendix contains

information such as job descriptions, statutes and interview responses from people in the position

of a professional manager that may be of interest.

The Committee believes that the question of a professional management type of

government merits further consideration by the Village and the Town of Cazenovia. This

consideration should entail a studied assessment of the financial and operational effectiveness

that professional management could offer to the Village and the Town both from a near term and

a long term planning perspective. Also, the Village and the Town may desire to explore the

option of sharing an executive officer as opposed to each having its own officer. No one is

suggesting that professional management could be the answer for each and every challenge that

the Village and the Town are facing today, but it is difficult to imagine multimillion-dollar

enterprises or governmental entities of any significant size that are capable of being truly

successful without full-time executive oversight and coordination. Thus, the implementation of a

professional management type of government deserves to be given a full review by the Village

and the Town of Cazenovia.

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HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

Before looking at any particular governmental services to study, the Committee examined

the budgets of both the Town and the Village of Cazenovia. Inasmuch as the expenses of theTown Highway Department account for more than 60% of the Town Budget, the Committee

looked to see if there might be some shared services between the Town and the Village in this

area. To that end, the Committee interviewed Town Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt and

Village Public Works Administrator Bill Carr and inventoried the equipment and the current

sharing practices of the two governmental bodies. Because of the differences in the type of

equipment needed for the disparate highway maintenance tasks within and outside the Village,

the Committee could see no potential for savings in the sharing of equipment. The larger

equipment needed for Town snow removal is unsuitable for the narrower streets of the Village.

Moreover, there are different equipment needs, such as street cleaners and sidewalk plows,

within the Village. Combined purchasing of materials and supplies offers no savings, as bothmunicipalities get state of New York contract pricing, which does not improve with volume and

which is already below market rates. There is presently a cooperative relationship between the

department heads of the Town and the Village that facilitates sharing of equipment and of

personnel as occasions arise.

Currently, the Town leases its equipment over a seven year period. Upon the expiration

of the seven year period, the Town becomes the owner of the equipment, which it then sells and

secures a new lease for any necessary replacement equipment. This arrangement has proved

financially beneficial for the Town and keeps its vehicles and equipment up to date at a cost

more reasonable than would be an initial purchase of the equipment. The Village, on the otherhand, purchases without any leasing arrangement its equipment, which it then attempts to

maintain without any replacement for a ten year period. The Committee would recommend that

the Village look into a possibly more cost effective leasing/purchase practice similar to the Town

instead of outright purchasing its equipment and maintaining it for ten years.

Should the Highway Departments of the Town and the Village ever combine, there could

be savings in management costs.

The Committee notes that it was favorably impressed with both Mr. Hunt and Mr. Carr of

the Town and the Village respectively. The Committee is most grateful for their cooperation.

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OFFICE BUILDING

In May of 2009, the Board of Trustees of the Town of Cazenovia received at its request

from the architect and planning firm, Crawford & Stearns (C&S), a report to determine: . . .the feasibility and possible impacts upon the Gothic Cottage if an addition were considered to

address spatial needs. See attached C&S Report. In its Report, C & S reviewed the existing

structural quality of the Gothic Cottage, projected expansion of the building to meet existing and

future space needs of the Town, renovation cost estimates in 2009 dollars, and possible funding

sources. C&S stated that the estimated cost of modifications to the existing building and a new

addition would range from $983,500 to $1,158,500. C&S calculated the existing size of the

Town offices at 2,668 sf as well as an expanded size with new offices at 4,393 sf. The

calculation of the combined amount of existing and new office space by C&S (see attached C&S

Plan Drawings) includes rooms that are a duplication of some present offices that exist at the

Village of Cazenovia Municipal Building (meeting room, courtroom and a conference room).With this duplication and a better floor plan, which could be accomplished with new space, the

total needs for new Town offices are less than 3,050 sf. The second floor in the Village

Municipal Building could accommodate this need.

Questions about the Gothic Cottage have been raised regarding its future use, sale or

lease and the continuing maintenance of its historic integrity, if it is no longer used for Town

offices. The C&S Report reads:The distinctive character of the Gothic Cottage as expressed

through period design and construction represents the historical design and development of the

building and is important to retain. Should the sale of the property be considered, the sale

could have a covenant running with the property that would continue to protect its historicuniqueness. This covenant would be similar to that which was part of the initial gifting of the

property to the Town. Should a lease be considered, the Town would continue to control the

historic character of the property. The use of the property as a local museum, a Chamber of

Commerce office, or a hospitality tourism center would appear to be some of several possible

leasehold uses of the property that would not be adverse to its historic character.

As an option to a renovation and expansion of the Gothic Cottage, the Town could move

its offices to the Village of Cazenovia Municipal Building. The second floor of the Village

Municipal Building has approximately 3,100sf, most of which is open space. Thus, the second

floor of the Village Municipal Building could accommodate the spatial needs of the Town. Inaddition to the area of its second floor, the first floor offices in the Municipal Building have

meeting areas and a courtroom that could be utilized by the Town given appropriate scheduling.

In order to access the second floor of the Village Municipal Building for Town offices, an

elevator would be needed and appropriate exits made available for public use. It is understood

that the Town has for some time been escrowing certain money for new construction of Town

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offices. This money along with funding resources identified by C&S in its Report would provide

for the construction of new Town offices in the Village Municipal Building, shared building

operating costs with the Village and possible other shared costs given the proximity of the

offices to each other in the same building.

Parking has been discussed regarding the possible move by the Town into the VillageMunicipal Building. It has been stated that daytime parking needs by the Town would not be

particularly great, as day trips now to the Town offices at the Gothic Cottage are few and of short

duration. Existing street and nearby lots to the Village Municipal Building would seemingly

accommodate any parking needs of the Town during the daytime, if it had its offices in the

Village Municipal Building. Nighttime use of the Municipal Building by the Town would be

heavier, because many of its Trustee meetings and those of its Planning and other Boards and

Committees are generally held at night. However, parking is easily handled now when Village

meetings take place at night and, consequently, should not be an undue problem for the Town,

given appropriate scheduling with the Village regarding nighttime use of the Municipal Building.

In addition, a move by the Town into the Village Municipal Building would result in closer

downtown access by its personnel and customers to local businesses; and, therefore, the move

would likely have some economic benefit for local businesses.

Benefits to Town and Village of a Shared Office Building

!Shared building operating costs!Coordination of other services!Revenue from sale or lease of the Gothic Cottage

As the above list of benefits discloses, the sharing of an office building may generatematerial cost savings and other efficiencies for both the Town and the Village of Cazenovia. TheShared Services Committee, therefore, recommends that the Town and the Village pursue furtherreview of the shared building option.

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POLICE

Currently, the Village of Cazenovia (Village) maintains its own police force, which

provides 24 hour per day service, 7 days per week. There are usually 8 or 9 full-time equivalentpositions that are filled by a chief, 1 sergeant, 4 full-time patrol officers and 4 part-time officers.

In addition, the Village has a parking officer and several crossing guards as well as a part-time

clerk, who work for the department. All officers are sworn in as town constables and respond to

mutual aid calls in conjunction with other police departments. In this regard, the Village police

cooperate with the Madison County Sheriffs Department and the New York State Police by

adhering to the closest car concept. In the Town of Cazenovia outside the Village, the

Madison County Sheriffs Department and the New York State Police respond to calls for

assistance through the 911 Dispatch System. The Madison County Sheriffs Department

provides one patrol car on a 24 hour basis for each quadrant of the County.

In order to study the policing situation in the Village, the Committee met with Mayor

Dougherty and then Police Chief Amico. With the assistance of Chief Amico and Village Clerk

Dady, the Committee studied the Village Police Incident Reports for a one year period. In

addition, the Committee interviewed Chief English of the Kirkland Police Force (a combined

town and village operation) and Madison County Sheriff Cary and later his successor Madison

County Sheriff Riley. The Committee also met with Captain Episcopo of the Madison County

Sheriffs Department, who provided the Committee with a proposal for the policing of the

Village by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. The Committee examined the Village

Police Budget; and because of the presence of Cazenovia College in the Village, the Committee

looked at police budgets and operations in the following area municipalities that also havecolleges: Clinton, Hamilton and Morrisville. This examination disclosed that Clinton and

Hamilton have their own police forces and that Morrisville does not maintain a police force, but

does contract with Madison County for part-time coverage by a Madison County Deputy Sheriff.

The Committee also examined the current collective bargaining agreement between the Village

and the Police Beneficial Association, which represents the Village police.

As part of its study of the Village Police Department, the Committee examined the

Incident Reports of the Department for a given one year period. During this one year period,

there were 1,240 police recorded incidents within the Village. (A chart of the recorded incidents

is set forth in the attached appendix.). This number does not include any juvenile arrests or otherjuvenile incidents, as the records of these incidents are sealed. Approximately 10% of the total

reported incidents were arrests. According to Chief Amico, the type of recorded incidents, other

than traffic, are generally disorderly conduct, a few burglaries, open container violations, minor

assaults, flower pot dumping, bent street signs, crimes against property, petit larceny (under

$1,000.00) and one or two rapes per year. The last murder in the Village occurred in 1994.

Cazenovia College has its own security personnel, but the Village police respond to the College,

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if there is an incident of a criminal nature. During the one year period examined by the

Committee, the Town of Cazenovia had 1,081 incidents, of which 445 were vehicle and traffic.

(See Tables 1-3 in the attached appendix.). For all of the incidents reported in both the Town

and the Village during the year examined by the Committee, vehicle and traffic matters

accounted for approximately 41% of the total. The Committee has included this study of law

enforcement activity within the Town and the Village so that the public will be aware of the level

of service being provided presently and to assist the elected officials in determining the

allocation of future resources.

The amount allocated for law enforcement in the 2010-2011 Village Budget is

$391,537.63. To that amount, the charge of $89,390.38 for employee benefits must be added to

ascertain the full cost of maintaining the Village Police Department. (The details of these costs

can be found in the attached appendix under Police Budget Analysis.). Thus, the total annual

cost for the Village Police Department is currently $447,928.76. However, this figure does not

include the annual obligation by the Village of $21,723.36 for the combined charge of health

benefits for retired police personnel or for the compensation of the crossing guards and parking

enforcement personnel. The current cost for the active police force is 22.5% of the Village

Budget. These costs can be expected to climb for two primary reasons. One, the current Village

Budget does not include any projected expenditures for future purchases or leases of police cars.

One or the other of these two expenditures is likely to occur. Two, Village police personnel are

scheduled next year to receive a minimum of a 4% increase in pay pursuant to their collective

bargaining agreement.

In response to the Committees request, Madison County Sheriff Riley has proposed 24

hour daily coverage of the Village by a Deputy Sheriff of his Department at the rate of $50 per

hour. The annual cost of the Deputy Sheriff with a fully equipped car providing patrol and

protection for the Village would be approximately $436,800. This figure does not include the

cost of any crossing guards or parking enforcement personnel. The figure is about $11,000 less

than the amount that the Village has currently budgeted for the Village Police, excluding any

charges for crossing guards and parking enforcement personnel. The Village currently

budgets the costs of crossing guards and parking enforcement personnel at about $31,500. A

copy of Sheriff Rileys proposal is included in the attached appendix. The Village also has

occasions, especially on weekends, when there are two officers on duty. The proposal of Sheriff

Riley does not address this coverage. Overall, though, the cost for utilizing the County for police

services in the Village in lieu of a local police force is about the same. However, by contractingwith the County, the Village could eliminate future legacy costs of retiree health

benefits. While the Village has the responsibility of paying the promised benefits for its three

retired police officers, it would not have to add to that number in the future for other retiring

personnel. It is reasonable to assume that the charge of the County for its police service to the

Village will also increase, as the County has not given its personnel a raise since 2008 and

presently is in negotiations with its deputies over compensation and related financial matters.

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Village authorities will have to determine what level of police service the Village can

afford and desires. Currently, the Village strives to maintain 24 hour per day coverage, but the

Committee has learned that there are times when the Village has been unable to provide such

coverage due to a lack of personnel. Of the 556 villages in the state of New York, 320 do not

have local police coverage, whether it is their own or contracted from an outside source. 226

villages have some type of coverage. Madison County Sheriff Cary recommended that the

Village not go without local coverage because of the presence of Cazenovia College in the

Village. It was difficult for the Committee to ascertain how much law enforcement activity is

generated by Cazenovia College students, as only incidents that physically occur on campus are

recorded as college related (2.6%.). It is significant to note that in the several other college

towns that the Committee studied, the colleges there make a monetary contribution to local

governments in order to help support the services which they use and which are provided by

taxpayers without costs to the colleges. Cazenovia College does not make any such contribution.

In reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of transferring Village police protection

to the Madison County Sheriffs Department, the Committee has determined that on balance, it

would be beneficial for the Village authorities to examine making the move. The previously

mentioned legacy retiree health benefit costs would be avoided by such a move; and, thus, a

financial savings to the Village would occur over time. More immediately, the Village would

get the benefits of a police agency with more levels of supervision and with higher levels of

training that can accrue in a larger operation than in the local Village police force. As it stands

now, the local force is unable to conduct many investigations due to a lack of both equipment

and specific expertise. Currently, a Village trustee has to provide oversight of the chief and of

the operations of the local police department. The Committee believes that these tasks could be

better accomplished by those professionally trained at the Madison County Sheriffs Departmentlevel. In addition, the training of County Sheriff personnel is superior to what the Village can

provide to its police personnel. By receiving services from the County Sheriff, the Committee

believes that the citizenry of the Village would get a higher caliber of service.

In conclusion, the Committee finds that its study of the matter indicates that the Village

should strongly consider contracting with the Madison County Sheriffs Department for the

desired police coverage of the Village. Accordingly, the Committee recommends that the

Village explore this matter further. In addition, the Committee also recommends that the Village

formally contact Cazenovia College to request direct financial support from the College for the

municipal services, including police enforcement, that it receives from the Village.

NOTE: Should the Village be interested in a more formal study than that conducted by the

Committee, New York State grant money is available on a non-competitive basis for such a

study. Inasmuch as the Village expends in the top quartile of the State for its police services, the

Village qualifies for this grant money provided that it meets the other applicable requirements,

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such as contributing 10% of the cost of the study. Included in the attached appendix is a copy

each of the pertinent grant application and of the related grant guidelines of the State of New

York.

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cazenovia interim report 2

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