Board members clash over budget amendments before approval
Rotterdam’s approved budget cut spending even further than the Town Supervisor had anticipated, even if he didn’t agree with the changes.
During the final hours of Rotterdam’s budget discussions, Conservative Nicola DiLeva, Democrat Matthew Martin and Republican Gerard Parisi presented their list of amendments, which were then given to Supervisor Frank Del Gallo and Deputy Supervisor Robert Godlewski for the first time during the Town Board meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
The residential property tax increase dropped from approximately 7.4 percent to 3.5 percent and the commercial property tax increase was reduced form approximately 11.4 percent to 7.4 percent. The amendments reduced spending by another $191,000 and no employees would be eliminated form their position in the proposed changes.
The nearly three hour long meeting held moments of verbal sparing between the supervisor and fellow board members that drafted the proposed changes.
When you have a panel of five people and a supervisor that is in charge of a budget you owe him the right to work with him, you owe him the respect to work with him, said Del Gallo. `You don’t come up at the last hour, at the last night, when the vote is coming on and say we got a new budget and we want you to vote on it.`
DiLeva tried to interject and reply to Del Gallo’s statement, but he abruptly stopped her from answering.
`When I’m done talking, you talk. Until then, you keep your mouth shut,` said Del Gallo as some crowd member quickly shouted against his demand. `Keep her mouth shut till I’m done talking,` said Del Gallo as he raised his voice in response.
Eventually Parisi butted in and said to Del Gallo, `We asked for meetings for six months and you ignored everybody ` give me a break.`
DiLeva echoed Parisi’s comment and said she had been requesting a meeting for months from the supervisor to talk with department heads as board.
`You haven’t asked for nothin’ stop and tell the truth Nicky, you never have and you never will,` said Del Gallo. `You never asked for nothing from me.`
Parisi stated DiLeva had asked at public meetings to have the board meet and discuss the budget, but Del Gallo wasn’t backing down from his argument.
`You undermined me from the day I came into office, all of you,` said Del Gallo. `I will be here for another year and I will do the best I can for the citizens of Rotterdam, without one nickel from them, without any credit for them, I want nothing for it. I’m not looking for my next campaign and votes like you all are, so why don’t you just do the job you took on and quit fighting with the administration and work with them and don’t work against them.`
DiLeva asked if she could answer the supervisor and he said she could, `but it won’t be the truth.`
`First of all I resent everything that the supervisor has said,` stated DiLeva. `Since we have been on this board we have been trying to work with the supervisor.`
After failed attempts to try and setup a meeting with the supervisor, said DiLeva, she reached out to Parisi and Martin to draft amendments to the budget to lower the tax increase. She said she and the other board members separately meet or discussed with department heads and the Comptroller Patrick Aragosa about their goal to lower spending.
Del Gallo pressed DiLeva to answer what department heads she had talked to, but she said she didn’t want name people because of the experience she had while working on the amendments.
`Every time I talk to somebody in here, they get questioned,` said DiLeva.
The board eventually recessed, so department heads in attendance could all have a list of the proposed changes. Also, the supervisor and deputy supervisor had some time to look over the amendments.
Before voting on the changes, DiLeva went through and discussed the each of the more than 70 drafted amendments to the budget.
Some of the changes included cutting all office supplies for every department by 10 percent, reducing spending in the law department, cutting spending in the police and public works department, adding $100,000 in revenue of ALS related billing from emergency medical services and adding an additional $100,000 from the fund balance to total $1.6 million used from the reserve.
Before voting Godlewski said he didn’t support some of the amendments and made clear his opinions. Some of his disagreements included cutting funding in the law line, cutting funding in the police department and putting ALS revenue into the budget without any solid figures in place for how much revenue could be created.
Adding money from the fund balance also wasn’t something Godlewski supported. He said relying on the fund balance is a crutch and the town needs to stop relying on the reserve to lower the tax burden.
`If this budget is approved with these amendments, you’re already in the hole for $1.6 million next year,` said Godlewski. `So next year where are you going to get the $1.6 million you are digging a deeper hole.`
With three votes in support of the amendments from Parisi, Martin and DiLeva and a no vote from Godlewski, Del Gallo shared his thoughts before casting an additional `no` vote.
`If I was to run my business this way I would probably be broke next year,` said Del Gallo.
Without the supervisor or deputy supervisors’ approval the amended budget passed shortly after the amendments were approved with a 3 to 2 vote ending the long debate.“
