The 2013 Saratoga County budget, if adopted, would usher in some significant changes.
The most notable aspect of the spending plan, which was released on Wednesday, Oct. 31, is the proposed privatization of Maplewood Manor, the county-run nursing home. A deal would entail reducing staffing there and shutting down a unit with 40 empty beds.
In addition, the budget includes $4 million for the sale of the county landfill, a number County Administrator Spencer Hellwig acknowledged as “placeholder,” but one arrived at with the help of a consultant. The county is examining three proposals from private companies, but details on those plans are not yet known.
Overall, the $300 million budget is $5 million, or 1.6 percent, less than this year’s spending plan. The property tax levy would increase by 2.5 percent under the proposed budget, but that is still considered to be within the state mandated 2 percent property tax cap because certain factors like payments in leiu of taxes programs programs, are exempt from the cap.
“The 2012 budget implemented many tough decisions meant to begin the process of rebuilding Saratoga County’s financial position,” Hellwig said in releasing the budget. “The 2013 tentative budget continues that progress and takes the next steps forward on difficult issues like Maplewood Manor and the county landfill. These steps are necessary to solidify a foundation for the years to come.”
Maplewood Manor has been a drain on county finances for years. Its operating deficit for 2013 was projected at $10.4 million. The budget calls for the creation of a Local Development Corporation (LDC) before the end of 2012 to manage the sale of Maplewood Manor. An LDC would allow the county to borrow against the facility’s value, although Hellwig said that might not be necessary given the savings the county would see from closing the wing and defunding roughly 40 positions vacated by retirement. Those moves are expected to save just over $1 million.
The budget proposal notes the County Board of Supervisors can stipulate that a buyer not evict current residents, but Hellwig did not think that will even be an issue.
“The facility needs to have clients,” he said. “I don’t believe someone would want to come in and take (it) over with empty beds.”
Given that Maplewood Manor has been valued at $13 million to $15 million, Hellwig said, the budget includes $6 million in revenue borrowed against the facility’s sale.
The landfill, meanwhile, has sat unused since being completed in Northumberland some 10 years ago. The county’s Public Works Committee has been working with a consultant to gather and evaluate proposals to operate or buy the landfill. Finch Paper LLC, New England Waste Services of New York Inc. and Capital Region Landfills, Inc., all submitted proposals to run the landfill, and the $4 million included in the budget reflects a possible one-time purchase price. The county could also stand to collect recurring payments from a buyer.
The total property tax levy is budgeted at $52 million, a $1.3 million increase over the 2012 levy. County leaders blamed unfunded mandates, particularly rising pension costs, which they said will increase by $1.7 million next year.
The county also expects to collect $110.7 million in local sales tax, which would be 3 percent more than what was projected in 2012. The sales tax rate would stay at 3 percent.
The budget continues the county’s hiring freeze and does not offer cost-of-living adjustments to management, confidential and elected employees, or union employees. Many unions are in the midst of negotiating collective bargaining agreements. For the fourth year, county supervisors will not see a raise — though this relates to their pay received from the county, and not from the local municipalities they represent.
Officials will present the tentative budget to the Law and Finance Committee on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. Supervisors have a budget workshop set for Thursday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m., at which time they could modify the spending plan. There will be a public hearing on Dec. 3, and the final version of the budget is scheduled for a Dec. 12 adoption.