Saturday, July 28

City Manager's Multi-Year "Plan" is a Multi-Year Disaster: Council Must Assert Itself

New York State requires the City of Geneva to file multiyear financial plans. It’s an excellent planning exercise that has forced City Council to confront the stark realities of its General Fund budget through to 2010. What the plans shows is that the City faces massive increases in retirement, health insurance, and debt costs. It also shows that what the City Manager refers to as a “balanced budget” is really a combination of tax increases, dipping into the Fund Balance (cash reserves) and borrowing, borrowing, borrowing.

But the response cannot be to keep raising local property taxes. Property taxes are already far too high. They burden every local tax payer. They depress property values. They are an obstacle to economic development. Business models simply will not work with the high cost of property taxes. We saw that last year with the withdrawal of proposals for condos downtown on the OEO site and housing development in the First and Third wards.

The City needs to pursue other, more creative strategies. Working with Ontario County for more equitable distribution of sales tax dollars to the City was a major, positive development, netting an estimated $350,000 in new revenues. The proposed hotel tax is another new revenue stream (a more detailed post on that issue is forthcoming). The Financial Plan lists other strategies: sharing of services and further economic development to increase the tax base. Councilor Espenscheid successfully put forward an energy conservation initiative to reduce costs. Councilor Capraro has proposed “wellness programs” for City employees that might reduce health insurance premiums. Councilor Augustine has asked for a more thorough assessment of capital projects to make sure that the City gets the greatest return on its investment. Those projects are a double burden on the tax payer: If paid for with cash, they draw a great deal from the General Fund but paid for with bonds, they add heavy weight to our debt burden. A recent bonding proposal was projected to cost $1 million in interest alone.

The plan submitted to the state assumes a yearly tax rate increase of 3%. That will put us over $20.00 per thousand dollars of assessed value within a few years. We know that the tax rate is pricing people out of their homes, and the associated disinvestment in our neighborhoods just perpetuates the problem. We worry when we hear the rest of Council encouraging this approach. It’s irresponsible, keeping us stuck in a vicious circle of tax increases. To avoid discussing the matter in any depth, some people try to throw up a roadblock, saying that the only way to get a handle on taxes is to cut city employees or city services, they usually mention the police and fire departments or our DPW workers. Well, that’s simply not true. But, in an election year, some people use it as an effective smokescreen for a lack of ideas.

The fact is that we need to think differently, more creatively about generating revenue and using it wisely. At the most recent council meeting, the City Manager gave a presentation previewing the 2008 budget. We’ll have a post on that soon, stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 17

Sharing Services in the Name of Community: City, Town, and County Have to Get it Together

Believe it or not, New York State has a total of 1,607 general purpose local governments. That’s 57 counties (not counting the 5 boroughs of NYC), 62 cities, 932 towns, and 556 villages. Those figures do not include our state’s 698 school districts, 272 library districts/systems, 123 housing authorities, 117 IDAs, and hundreds of other local government entities-- 4,250 in all. That’s a lot of government.

And it isn’t cheap. Who pays for all that local government across New York State? Mostly local property owners. Villages, towns, cities, counties, and school districts rely heavily on property taxes. However “fees” are an important source of revenue for cities, as is “state aid” for school districts. Counties are turning more and more to “sales taxes.” All of these are paid, at least in part, by the residents already paying the property taxes.

Many government experts believe New York’s municipal structures are outdated. They are not in sync with our current social reality-- where people live, what services they need, and how to fund them. A lot of money goes toward bureaucracy and not to the direct services, causing New York State to have the highest tax burden in the nation.

The Office of the State Comptroller has issued a number of studies over the past few years recommending intermunicipal cooperation, a decrease in administrative inefficiencies and/or sharing services. The Comptroller believes such efforts would be fruitful in lightening the property tax burden, and so do we.


In a 2005 survey, the New York State Senate Local Government Committee found the most common shared services were between town and village highway departments, including sharing equipment. An Oneida County study presented a menu of services that could be shared: code enforcement, computerization, property assessment, electricity purchases, grant applications, health insurance, highway maintenance, equipment and vehicle purchases, insurance, tax collection, and water/sewer services.

The same study recommended the following issues be addressed:

  • the shared service must be equal to or better than the existing service;
  • the financial benefits must be proven and significant;
  • the sharing must be mutually beneficial;
  • there must be a back out provision;
  • employees should be represented in discussions concerning any agreement.

In 2005, the State started offering incentives for municipalities to share services through its Shared Municipal Services Incentive Grants (SMSIG) program. Essentially, the State funds some of the sharing and the municipalities benefit from the sharing. For 2007-2008, the state has set aside $25 million for this grant program.

Under the grant program the village and Town of Seneca Falls will receive $58,500 to investigate the consolidation of facilities and services. Schuyler County will receive $100,000 to work with the Towns of Dix, Hector, and Watkins Glen to manage record keeping.

What intermunicipal service-sharing might work for Geneva?

We have been offered County engineering and planning services, we see a potential for more cooperative arrangements with the Town of Geneva for water, sewer, and road maintenance. We understand that there have been discussions about a consolidation of assessment services. However, we need to make sure that City employees are protected; that the quality of services for City residents is not diminished, and that the shared services provide a cost savings.

Capraro, as City County liaison to the Town has been discussing these matters with Town Supervisor Mary Luckern, but the response from the Town has been slow, and a broader conversation about intermunicipal cooperation is needed.

Wednesday, July 11

1,500 Visitors Later: A Checklist of "No Strings" Posts

Our 1,500th visitor has checked out our blog, joining our steadily increasing readership of about 1,250. The vast majority of readers who log on return on a regular basis. Here are links to all our posts, since March 15, the date of our first post. Our blog was officially launched March 25, 2007, just over three months ago:


Thursday, March 15

Let the Sun Shine In...

Thursday, March 29

Does Geneva Have the Highest Taxes in the Country?

Monday, April 2

Conflicted Interests: City Staff, Geneva IDA, and the Attorney General

Tuesday, April 3

A Tax Exemption Would Be Good, but a Lower Tax Rate Would Be Better

Friday, April 6

'Tax Exempts' vs. Tax Exemptions

Tuesday, April 10

Putting the 305 Main Street Decision on a Solid Foundation

Friday, April 13

Beckley to Put Down Pen and Take Up Sword?

Monday, April 16

A Case Study in What We Call "The Back Room" and why it's not always a good thing

Wednesday, April 18

1,000 Hits!

Thursday, April 19

Reorienting City Council

Monday, April 23

Can We Expect Different Results From The Same Old Efforts?


Thursday, April 26

The Mayor Reminds Us Why This Website Is Necessary

Latest Radio Interview Available Online

Monday, April 30

Memo on Tax Exempts Now Available

Tuesday, May 1

Property Sale Compromise in The Works: Photo Essay Highlights Church and Land

Thursday, May 3

The Local Impact of Federal Programs: Arcuri's Message About Fire Grants

Tuesday, May 8

County Supervisors Take Charge of Wayward Loan Program

Saturday, May 12

Blog Gets More Hits Than DiMaggio, Mantle, Ruth, or Williams

Tuesday, May 15

Time to Can "The Can?"

Monday, May 21

A Celebration of our 1001st Visitor!

Tuesday, May 22
Hindsight is 20/20: ReRuns of Meeting Show "New Business" is the Same Old Business

Friday, May 25

Correcting Council’s “Revisionist History” with Real Facts

Sunday, May 27

"Curfew" not really a curfew, But It's Still A Good Idea

Monday, June 4

City Manager Evaluation is Council's Primary Responsibility

Thursday, June 7

4256 Hits, 1 Error

Saturday, June 9

Q: What's Black and White and Green All Over?

A: Hybrid Police Cars in Ohio

Thursday, June 14

Radio Appearance Friday 8:35am on 1240 AM

Wednesday, June 20

If You Were the Mayor/ A Call for Reader Responses

Saturday, June 23

Mayor's Comments Heavy on Emotion, Light on Fact

Monday, June 25

Not All Property Tax Relief Is Created Equal

Thursday, June 28

To Post or Not to Post? That is the Question

A Signed Post About Anonymous Comments

Sunday, July 1

Upstate Economic Development Under "The Gun"

Thursday, July 5

Why Employee Health Matters

Thursday, July 5

Why Employee Health Matters

Rising health insurance costs have been a topic of discussion for employers and employees alike, from our city government to the private sector. Oftentimes, the conversation centers around how to minimize those costs while still providing access to plans that meet employee needs. But the health of our city workforce should be more than just a financial concern and, to that end, we should be taking the lead on addressing issues of health and wellness apart from just providing an insurance plan.

Studies show that wellness programs are a way of showing employees that they are cared about. And happy workers improve the system all around, from interactions with co-workers to dealing with the public. City workers are the ‘face’ of the city and boosting morale amongst employees will not only make their jobs more rewarding, but will serve as a model for the community.


The Rochester Business Journal teamed up with Rochester BC/BS to present “Wealth of Health” awards to private sector employers that involve their employees in creative wellness activities that yield measurable positive results. Geneva’s own Guardian Industries was a winner in the “Midsize Firms” category. The facility has an on-site gym with fitness equipment, and creates incentives for employees that use it. They have also introduced healthy alternative to their vending machines and have a “HealthGuard Football” program where employees are divided into teams named after their NFL favorites and compete with others on weight loss goals, number of steps taken, and other wellness measures.


All nine winning organizations are featured in the June 1st Journal and their programs were highlighted at a ceremony in Rochester on June 5th. There are many innovative strategies that are described, and many would be easy for the City to implement in the near term. For instance:

  1. A monthly ‘pot-luck’ luncheon with employees bringing healthy dishes around a particular theme (i.e., green foods in March). This provides a social outlet for employees as well as introducing new foods and preparation techniques.
  2. Sponsoring teams in competitive sports leagues such as softball, bocce, and basketball.
  3. Sponsoring smoking cessation programs and support groups.
  4. Sponsoring a health screening clinic and providing each participating employee with a specific goal that would earn him/her an additional day or two of vacation. (If an employee has high cholesterol, the goal might be to lower it by 5 points within three months; if an employee is very fit, the goal might be to complete the Musselman Triathlon, or mini-Mussel this month).
  5. Including tips on wellness and/or healthy recipe ideas in employee paycheck envelopes.
  6. Providing incentives for participation in events like Relay for Life and the March of Dimes walk.

These are relatively simple ideas for promoting a sense of well-being amongst city workers. In the long term, of course, the city does stand to gain financially from these efforts. A healthier workforce means better insurability: better coverage at a lower cost. Right now, municipal workers are not considered, by the insurers, to be the healthiest group which means that there is more risk of disease and therefore the insurance costs more. If we can turn the tide on that, we believe that the benefit would be felt all around the city!

Sunday, July 1

Upstate Economic Development Under "The Gun"

Daniel Gundersen, the new Empire State Development Corporation Upstate Co-Chair, was hired by Governor Spitzer to jumpstart the economies of Upstate and Western New York, including the Finger Lakes and the City of Geneva. This “new set of eyes on the problem” approach seems sensible to us.

At the winter meeting of the New York Conference on Mayors (NYCOM), Gundersen articulated his bold vision for economic change. He said the old days of “deal making” in New York State are over. Those deals were not only wrong, but they didn’t work! Instead, he said Upstate communities must join forces with the State to develop a ‘total environment’ conducive to business and the creation of jobs.

Since that NYCOM meeting in February, we have been urging our Mayor, City Manager, and Economic Development staff to bring Gundersen to Geneva. We want him to listen to our concerns and see our challenges and opportunities as he shapes the new economic development agenda for Upstate.

We even proposed an “economic summit,” to be hosted by Geneva, bringing together leaders in the public and private sector, including Gundersen, and citizens. Instead, we learned that Gundersen was in Geneva last week, brought by the Technology Farm, but the City hasn’t been successful in brokering a broader discussion of the regional economic development needs, most specifically, property tax relief.

In the mean time, Gundersen is pushing on with his work and developing his agenda. Sandra Parker of The Rochester Business Journal (June 15, 2007) has outlined Gundersen’s vision, framed by “eight key actions for successful and lasting economic development”:

(1) Helping existing companies grow.
(2) Identify and benchmark growth industries.
(3) Understand the power of universities and research.
(4) Fill capital gaps with private resources and wise public investments.
(5) Attacking without mercy the cost of doing business.
(6) Helping give workers new skills.
(7) Improving infrastructure.
(8) Revitalizing communities.

These sound like a prescription for success. Now if we could just get an appointment with the doctor!