Isnt taking something and not giving it back stealing?The town of Lockport has over a $7 million surplus, State auditors tell us only 1.5 million in surplus is needed. For over four years we been on the town to release the funds back to the homeowners. The towns answer stop David Mongielo from speaking at the town meetings. Following letter is to Marc Smith town supervisor from Paul Black Marc: 1) I wish to thank you for your prompt response regarding this years budget. Further, I wish to thank you for your (written) effort to help me find the surplus on my own. Im writing back to inform you that my efforts to uncover this years surplus have failed. I lack the time and experience—as Im sure would be the case with most citizens—to untangle the many numbers, categories and circumstances, addressed in the 2014 budget. (I had no better luck with the 2013 audit.) To your credit, the numbers do inform me that the Board has done hard work in readying Town finances for 2014/2015—for that I wish to express my thanks to all. I am curious to know the “surplus” for the 2014 budget; both the where and how much. If you could explain this as the public hearing comes to order, I would be most appreciative. And, I think others too might appreciate knowing where that part of their taxes called surplus is being held and its present value—perhaps you might even explain the why of the excess. 2) Something to consider—for next year: A couple of years ago I watched the Lockport School Board budget take shape, as I attended both the work sessions and meetings. What impressed me most about their process was the Boards concerted effort to inform the public of the many numbers, categories and circumstances in the budget. In the months leading up to the mandated public hearing the Board explained to the public first one area, then another, then another; until at last the whole budget was established (with public explanation) and ready to be voted. I greatly appreciated the Boards openness. I also appreciated having (real) opportunity to both learn and influence what was clearly a monumental task. A great tool, which the Board used to engage the public, was a SMART BOARD. (Id like to see the Town purchase and use one at its meetings—to aid public understanding of the many decisions that must be made.) So where am I going? The budget, for the Town of Lockport, needs public explanation—and, I would suggest as much in advance of a mandated public hearing as is practicable. It should be realized—and hence influence Board behavior accordingly—that anyone not participating in the budget process (i.e., the citizenry) is in all likelihood not going to understand the many numbers, categories and circumstances addressed in the budget. One might ask: What good is a public hearing, if the people have not heard the matter? By custom, we the people are permitted to (annually) present ourselves before the Board, in the matter of the budget, and we dont know the budget—it hasnt been explained. So, what (public) good does this public hearing serve? I like the idea of dividing the budget into areas and then explaining each area, one at a time, as the budget process is proceeding. I think the Board would well serve its public in adopting such a policy. And, I think an informed public would be better positioned to comment and question on this most important matter—the Town budget. A closing thought: Whereas show and tell is always better than tell only, I would suggest that all Town Board members attend the Lockport School Boards work sessions and meetings during their next budget season—to view first hand their praise worthy process. Sincerely, Paul R. Black 6206 Harding Ave, Ext, Lockport, NY 14094 716-207-8733 (days M-F) 716-434-0370 (evenings) prblack.6206@gmail From: Marc R. Smith Sent: Monday, October 27, 2014 9:37 AM To: Paul R. Black Subject: RE: budget public hearing October 27, 2014 Hello Paul, The Town board monitors the surplus accounts monthly. The audit confirmed balances are also shown in our annual financial statement you can find this on the Town home page “Annual Financial Statement”. The CD’s are listed under each special district as “Cash time based deposits”. The money is in separate accounts. Water Carlisle Garden, Sewer Carlisle Garden, Lighting Carlisle Garden, sidewalk Carlisle Garden, water Lincoln village, sewer Lincoln village, lighting rapids, refuse, fire service, water3, sewer3, etc. Each separate account requires separate ledger accounting. The money must go into specific funds and be drawn back out only to service the specific fund. General fund can be utilized for multiple purposes (highway, parks, buildings & grounds, etc) Government accounting is much more complex than business accounting, however the process is set up to protect the taxpayer. Town surplus funds are kept in CD”s we call 5 banks anytime a CD (certificate of deposit) matures and look for the best rate of return. Most CD’s run from 6 months to 1 year before maturity. Funds are restricted to be utilized within the district that provided them. The Town typically utilizes surplus funds to conduct repairs that would otherwise require borrowing. For instance we are looking into expending some General Fund surplus on road repairs over the next 3-5 years. The Town Board is vigilant in recognizing that these funds belong to the Taxpayers. Our job is to put them to the best possible use, save sufficiently for unexpected repairs and keep our fees as low as possible. Moody’s investment service recently upgraded the Towns bond rating. The expense associated with maintaining our special districts can be enormous. $350,000 for a sewer lift station (we have 39 in the Town) 300,000 to repair 1 road. We have 100 miles of road to maintain. Sincerely, Marc R. Smith Supervisor – Town of Lockport From: Paul R. Black [mailto:prblack.6206@gmail] Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2014 6:28 PM To: Marc Smith Subject: budget public hearing Marc: The intention of this e-mail is to give reasonable notice of a question I intend to ask at the coming 2014-2015 budget public hearing. Im submitting it early, as I imagine you might wish to prepare your response. Im very much curious about the Town budget surplus. Each November this Board announces to its constituents that the Town has some millions of dollars in surplus. Yet, the specifics of this surplus is never explained. Is it in a single account or multiple accounts? Is it liquid or otherwise? How much of it is in the general fund? How much of it is in special districts? How much of it is restricted to a single use? Etc... For the sake of not being a burden to this Board, Ill restrict my curiosity to one question: Where is this millions of dollars of surplus monies? If your response is best explained in spread sheet form, then please do so. Sincerely, Paul R. Black 6206 Harding Ave, Ext, Lockport, NY 14094 716-207-8733 (days M-F) 716-434-0370 (evenings) prblack.6206@gmail
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 23:33:41 +0000
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