Existing Conditions Report Towns of Clifton and Fine

Transcription

1 Existing Conditions Report Towns of Clifton and Fine January, 2016 Prepared for: Town of Clifton and Town of Fine Efficiency/Consolidation Study Committee Chuck Hooven, Town of Clifton Supervisor Susan Westbrook, Town of Fine Supervisor Jared Cooper Sherman Craig Joseph DeMart Brian Donovan Roger Folsom Mark Hall Cory Perrault Bill Reil Kelly Smith II Chris Westbrook This document was prepared with funding provided by the New York State Department of State under the Local Government Efficiency Grant Program Contract No. T00001GG Prepared by: Dulles State Office Building 317 Washington Street Watertown, NY State Route 37 Watertown, NY i P a g e

2 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND POPULATION TRENDS DEMOGRAPHICS SCHOOL DISTRICTS ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY LAND CLASSIFICATION LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAX RATES REAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS TOWN OWNED REAL PROPERTY TOWN SERVICES HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT Roads Bridges and Culverts Sidewalks Gravel Pits Cemeteries Assets and Budgets FIRE DISTRICTS, FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS, AND RESCUE DISTRICTS WATER AND SEWER SERVICES AND TOWN LIGHTING Town of Fine Water and Sewer Districts Town of Clifton Water and Sewer Districts Town Lighting Services TOWN SERVICES GENERAL FUND Town Clerk Tax Collection Registrar Records Management Real Property Assessment Board of Assessment Review ii P a g e

3 5.4.7 Bookkeeping Code Enforcement Town Justice Legal Services Historian Buildings Community Action Dog Control Insect Control Safety Officer RECREATION SERVICES AND LIBRARY BUDGETARY & FINANCIAL SUMMARY BREAKDOWN OF TOWN REVENUES 2014 ACTUALS BREAKDOWN OF TOWN EXPENDITURES 2014 ACTUALS TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUES TOTAL TAX LEVY TAX RATES FUND BALANCE DEBT LEVELS EMPLOYEE SUMMARY TOWN STAFFING BENEFITS TOWN COSTS PER EMPLOYEE LOCAL LAWS CONCLUSION Appendix A Efficiency/Consolidation Study Presentations Appendix B Annual Update Documents FYE 2014 Appendix C Intermunicipal Agreements iii P a g e

4 Figures & Tables Figure 1 - Towns of Clifton and Fine Municipal Boundaries... 2 Figure 2 - Population Trends... 3 Figure 3 - Median Age Trend... 6 Figure 4 - Percentage of Individuals Below Poverty Line... 7 Figure 5 - School Districts... 9 Figure 6 - Land Classification of Entire Adirondack Park - Percentage of Acres Figure Clifton and Fine Land Use Classification - Percentage of Acres Figure 8 - Land Use Classifications Adirondack Park Figure 9 - Town of Clifton and Town of Fine APA Land Classification Figure 10 - Seasonal Residence Locations in Clifton and Fine Figure 11 - Clifton Roads Map Figure 12 - Fine Roads Map Figure 13 - Cranberry Lake Pedestrian Bridge Figure 14 - Wanakena Footbridge Figure 15 - Town Highway Expenditures Figure 16 - Clifton and Fine Highway Department Revenues Figure 17 - Clifton and Fine Highway Department Expenditures Figure 18 - Town Fire and Rescue/Ambulance Districts Figure 19 - Star Lake Water District Annual Revenue and Expenses Figure 20 - Wanakena Sewer District Revenue and Expenses Figure 21 - Clifton Star Lake Water District Financials Figure 22 - Newton Falls Water District Financials Figure 23 - Newton Falls Sewer District Financials Figure 24 - Town Revenues for General Fund and Highway Figure 25 - Town Expenditures for General Fund and Highway Figure 26 - Trend Chart for Highway Department Expenses Figure 27 - Taxable Assessed Values for Clifton and Fine Figure 28 - Tax Levies for Clifton and Fine Figure 29 - Fund Balances as of December 31, Table 1 - St. Lawrence County Town Populations... 4 Table 2 - St. Lawrence County Hamlet and Census Designated Places Populations... 5 Table 3 - Population by Gender (US Census 2010)... 6 Table 4 - Population by Age... 6 Table 5 - Median Household Income and Percentage Below Poverty Level... 7 Table 6 - Population Demographics: Housing... 8 Table Land Classification Statistics - Percentage of Acres Table Property Tax Rates per $1,000 of Assessed Value Table 9 - Equalization Rates for Clifton and Fine Assessments Table Clifton and Fine Total Town Taxable Assessed Values iv P a g e

5 Table Town Utility Assessments Table 12 - Town of Clifton Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value Table 13 - Town of Fine Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value Table Total Seasonal Property Assessment Table Seasonal Property Statistics Table 16 - Clifton Town Owned Parcels Table 17 - Fine Town Owned Parcels Table 18 - Town Roads Table 19 - Town of Clifton Highway Department Equipment Inventory Table 20 - Town of Fine Highway Department Equipment Inventory Table 21 - Transportation Costs Per Road Mile in St. Lawrence County Towns Table 22 - Town Special Districts: Fire and Ambulance Table 23 - Special District Fire and Ambulance Tax Levies Table 24 - Town Water and Sewer Operations License Requirements Table 25 - Town Lighted Areas Table Town Lighting Expenses Table 27 - Town-wide Tax Rates Table 28 - Town Fund Balances as of December 31, Table 29 - Town Debts Table 30 - Town Employee Staffing Table 31 - Town Employee Benefits Breakdown Table 32 - Paid Leave Comparison Table 33 - Town of Clifton Expenses for Town Employee Salaries and Benefits Table 34 - Town of Fine Expenses for Town Employee Salaries and Benefits Table 35 - Summary of Local Laws v P a g e

6 1.0 INTRODUCTION The primary objective of this project is to develop a detailed Efficiency/Consolidation Study with a recommended plan and alternatives which answers questions that the Towns of Clifton and Fine residents have about the process, impacts, and how consolidation would affect residents and local governments. The final report will provide the Towns with a document that includes the following elements: Executive Summary, Introduction, Population Trends, Local Government Tax Rates, Assets & Real Property Information, Operating Budget Summary, Fund Balances & Outstanding Debt, Municipal Program Summaries, and Legal Issues & Impediments. This information will be utilized by stakeholders to determine: 1) Potential Financial Savings; 2) Management Improvements; 3) Service Delivery Changes resulting from a local government reorganization; and 4) Alternatives to Consolidation. These items will be summarized in the Recommendations section of the Plan. The Boards Members from the Towns of Clifton and Fine hired the Development Authority of the North Country to oversee the efficiency/consolidation study process and the Authority utilized Dashnaw Town Budget Service Inc. to provide assistance related to delivery of existing Town Highway Department services. The Town Boards also appointed an Efficiency/Consolidation Study Committee (DSC) which has been charged with developing a study to evaluate consolidating the two Towns and identifying alternatives to consolidation, including fiscal impacts, provision of service and other matters as identified. The DSC is comprised of Chuck Hooven (Town of Clifton Supervisor), Susan Westbrook (Town of Fine Supervisor), Jerry Cooper, Sherman Craig, Joseph DeMart, Brain Donovan, Roger Folsom, Mark Hall, Cory Perrault, Bill Reil, Kelly Smith, and Chris Westbrook. The DSC began this initiative with a kick-off meeting on January 28, Since that time, the DSC has been working to develop a basis of understanding of the Towns services provided, the way in which these services are provided, and the cost to taxpayers to provide these services. The results of this initial phase of the project are summarized in this report, known as the EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT. This report is being funded by and prepared in accordance with the New York State Department of State Work Plan requirements, as outlined in Contract No. T00001GG BACKGROUND The Towns of Clifton and Fine are located in St. Lawrence County and within the Adirondack Park. The Town of Fine was established in 1849 and Clifton was established in The histories of both Towns are linked to logging, mining, and paper processing. Logging was a major local industry in the early 1900s, centered especially around Cranberry Lake, Star Lake, and Wanakena. The hamlet of Wanakena in the Town of Fine was founded by a logging company in Mining was also an important industry in the area in the late 1800s through 1977, when the mines closed. The Hamlet of Newton Falls in Clifton was established by a paper mill that opened in 1894, and was a booming community until the mill closed in The Mill reopened from 2002 and 2013 and then ceased paper operations and sold off all of the equipment within the Mill. In 2013 the plant was shuttered and has remained vacant since then. While the major industries closed in the Towns of Clifton and Fine, there was more focus on other area resources: the SUNY Ranger School near Wanakena that was established in P a g e

7 and renovated and updated in 2003; the SUNY ESF Biology Station near Cranberry Lake; and the Clifton-Fine Hospital, a designated Critical Access Hospital that was established in Star Lake in The Town of Clifton has a total area of square miles (mi 2 ): mi 2 of land, and 15.3 mi 2 of water. The Town of Fine has a total area of mi 2 : mi 2 of land and 2.3 mi 2 of water. Figure 1 illustrates the Towns of Clifton and Fine municipal boundaries in relation to St. Lawrence County and the Adirondack Park. Blue line represents Adirondack Park Boundary Figure 1 Towns of Clifton and Fine Municipal Boundaries 2 P a g e

8 2.0 POPULATION TRENDS The current populations of the Towns of Clifton and Fine, according to the 2010 census, are 751 people and 1,512 people, respectively. Populations in Clifton and Fine have declined since 1960; while in surrounding Towns the populations have increased (Town of Colton and Town of Russell, for example). St. Lawrence County s population has remained relatively flat since Figure 2 illustrates the overall population trends in Clifton and Fine, the surrounding Towns, and St. Lawrence County. Figure 2 - Population Trends 1 1 Population, income, and household statistics are from US Census Bureau. 3 P a g e

9 The Towns of Clifton and Fine are two of thirty-two Towns in St. Lawrence County. Clifton is the third smallest Town in terms of population, and Fine is the thirteenth smallest. Table 1 provides the population information for all Towns in St. Lawrence County, and Table 2 provides the population information for St. Lawrence County Hamlets and other Census Designated Places in St. Lawrence County. Wanakena, Cranberry Lake, and Newton Falls are the smallest hamlets in the County and they are located in Clifton and Fine. Table 1 - St. Lawrence County Town Populations 4 P a g e

10 Table 2 - St. Lawrence County Hamlet and Census Designated Places Populations 2.1 DEMOGRAPHICS Data for the Town demographics come from the 2010 US Census. Census data primarily includes year round residents, and given that the Clifton-Fine area has a higher percentage of seasonal residents, the data may not be as accurate as in other communities with a smaller seasonal population. Demographic data is included in this report for the Towns of Clifton and Fine and the surrounding areas for reference purposes only. The data provides context to the population that lives in the Towns and compares the project area with surrounding Towns. The Towns of Clifton and Fine are very similar when comparing population characteristics such as gender and age. They both have the same percentage of males and females, which are similar to the surrounding communities and St. Lawrence County. The Towns of Clifton and Fine have a median age of 44.5 and 46, respectively. This is higher than the average age in St. Lawrence County and higher than most of the surrounding Towns. The Towns average median age also appears to have increased by more than 10 years in the last 20 years that this information has 5 P a g e

11 Average Age been tracked in the Census. Tables 3, 4, and Figure 3 2 below illustrate some key demographics of Clifton and Fine, and provide comparisons to nearby communities. Table 3 - Population by Gender (US Census 2010) Table 4 - Population by Age Clifton Fine St. Lawrence County Figure 3 - Median Age Trend Census Data for Median Age only collects towns whose population is 1,000 or greater. Clifton s population was below 1,000 in 1990 so data is not available. 6 P a g e

12 Percentage The Town of Clifton s median household income (MHI) of $42,805 is slightly above St. Lawrence County s MHI of $42,303; while the Town of Fine s MHI is below at $35,524. It is interesting to note that the Town of Clifton has a higher MHI than Fine, but also a higher percentage of people whose household income is below the poverty level. This may indicate that there is a larger divide between higher and lower household incomes in Clifton than in Fine. Between the 2000 and the 2010, Clifton s percentage of individuals below the poverty line increased, while Fine s decreased. Figure 4 illustrates the trend in poverty rate over the last 20 years and Table 5 compares Clifton and Fine to surrounding Towns. 21% 19% 17% 15% 13% 11% 9% 20.70% 17.20% 17.40% 16.80% 16.90% 15.80% 17.30% 16.90% 10.00% Clifton Fine St. Lawrence County Figure 4 - Percentage of Individuals Below Poverty Line Median Household Income Percentage Below Poverty Level Town of Clifton $42, % Town of Fine $35, % St. Lawrence County $42, % Town of Clare $30, % Town of Pitcairn $40, % Town of Russell $41, % Town of Edwards $47, % Town of Colton $51, % Table 5 - Median Household Income and Percentage Below Poverty Level 7 P a g e

13 There are 881 housing units in the Town of Clifton and 1,205 housing units in Fine. In comparison to the surrounding Towns, the Town of Russell is most comparable to the Town of Clifton, with its 990 housing units a similar MHI ($41,618) and poverty level (18.5%). The Town of Colton, which has 1,371 housing units, is most comparable to the Town of Fine. However, Colton s MHI of $51,786 is the highest among surrounding communities and they have the lowest poverty rate at 7.3%. See Table 6 below. Table 6 - Population Demographics: Housing 8 P a g e

14 2.2 SCHOOL DISTRICTS County Governments and school districts in New York State are separate taxing entities. The Efficiency/Consolidation study will have no impact on either school or County taxes, since these are separate from Town taxes. Figure 5 illustrates the school districts that serve the Towns of Clifton and Fine. The Clifton-Fine School District serves all of Clifton and most of Fine. There is a small section of Fine that is served by the Edwards-Knox Central School District. Figure 5 - School Districts 9 P a g e

15 3.0 ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY LAND CLASSIFICATION The Towns of Clifton and Fine are entirely within the Adirondack Park. The land in the Towns is subject to land use classifications defined by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). The Efficiency/Consolidation study will not affect or change these land use classifications, but the information is included as reference to illustrate current land classifications in the two Towns. The 2014 land use classification statistics for the entire Adirondack Park are presented in Figure 6. Fifty percent (50%) of the acres of land in the park are classified as Private Use; forty-four percent (44%) are Public Use; and six percent (6%) is open water. Figure 6 - Land Classification of Entire Adirondack Park - Percentage of Acres 10 P a g e

16 By comparison, the Town of Clifton has 58% of its land classified as private, 32% classified as public and 10% classified as open water. In Fine, more land is classified as Public Use (51%) and there is less open water. See Figure 7 and Table 7 below. Figure Clifton and Fine Land Use Classification - Percentage of Acres Table Land Classification Statistics - Percentage of Acres 11 P a g e

17 Public and Private Use land classifications are further defined by specific categories. Private use includes hamlets, industrial use, low intensity, moderate intensity, resource management, and rural use. Public use includes intensive use, primitive, state administrative, wild forest, wilderness, and water. As a whole, the Adirondack Park land use categories by percentage of acres are represented in Figure 8. Figure 8 - Land Use Classifications Adirondack Park 2014 The Towns of Clifton and Fine are represented by land use classification in Figure 9. Interestingly, twenty-six percent of the Adirondack Park acres that are classified as Industrial Use are in the Town of Clifton. These sites are the now closed Jones and Laughlin Site, Benson Mines and Newton Falls Paper Mill. 12 P a g e

18 Figure 9 - Town of Clifton and Town of Fine APA Land Classification 13 P a g e

19 4.0 LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAX RATES This section addresses property taxes that are applied town-wide to all taxable properties, which includes Town and Highway taxes. County and School taxes are not affected by consolidation or efficiencies, and therefore are not included as part of this study. Taxes on special districts, including water, sewer, and fire protection, are not included in this section because they are applied only to properties within each special district (at different rates) and are not Town-wide. Consolidation would not affect special districts or the tax rates applied to those districts. Special Districts are addressed in Section 5.2 (Fire Protection) and Section 5.3 (Water and Sewer). Table 8 details Town and Highway tax rates in Clifton and Fine. Table Property Tax Rates per $1,000 of Assessed Value Town and Highway tax rates combined are $2.52/$1,000 of assessed value higher in Fine than in Clifton. 4.1 REAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS Property in the Towns of Clifton and Fine are assessed at less than market value. In order to distribute school district or county taxes among multiple municipalities, the level of assessment of each municipality must be equalized to full market value. Therefore, the Towns have an equalization rate. See Table 9. The difference in the average assessment is a function of the characteristics of Town property that contribute to the higher assessment (i.e., larger lot size, newer homes, etc.) Equalization Rate Clifton 92% Fine 83% Table 9 Equalization Rates for Clifton and Fine Assessments The Town of Clifton s Residential Assessment Ratio (RAR) is 82.51% and the Town of Fine s RAR is 81.00% (from 2015). The RAR is an indication of the level of assessment of residential real property in a municipality. 3 It is a measurement of the overall ratio of the total assessed value 3 For reference, more information about St. Lawrence County s RAR can be found here: 14 P a g e

20 of the residential property in the municipality compared to the full market value of that residential property. These values indicate that while the total Town equalization rates differ by 9% (92% for Clifton and 83% for Fine, see Table 8), there is really very little difference between the Towns assessment practices for residential properties. One reason that Clifton s equalization rate is higher may be because they have more State land that is more closely assessed at 100%, so it is bringing Clifton s overall total assessment up and closer to 100%. The total taxable assessed value of real property in the Towns of Clifton and Fine are detailed in Table 10. Taxable assessed values are used to calculate real property tax bills. The Town total taxable assessed value does not include properties in the Town that are tax-exempt, including Town-owned parcels, fire and police stations, churches, schools and universities, and hospitals. This is important to note, since the Town of Fine has a university, a central school, and a hospital within its boundaries. Clifton has the higher total taxable assessed value when compared with Fine. Table Clifton and Fine Total Town Taxable Assessed Values 4 The Towns also collect taxes from utility companies that own infrastructure within the Towns. This infrastructure is located on land that is not owned by the utility companies, but they have an easement to allow them to operate and maintain the utility. Utility companies are assessed by the value of the infrastructure they own within in the Town. The breakdown of assessed values for the utility companies is listed below in Table 11 and these values are included in the total taxable assessed values for the Towns of Clifton and Fine. 4 Assessment data and parcel breakdown data comes from St. Lawrence County Real Property 2015 records. 15 P a g e

21 Table Town Utility Assessments A review of the breakdown of real property classifications between Clifton and Fine provides some insight into their differences. In Clifton, the top three property classification codes, by total assessed value, are Forest s532a (State-owned Forest Preserve), Seasonal Residence, and One Family Year Round Residence. In Fine, the top three are One Family Year Round Residence, Forest s532a, and Seasonal Residence. See Tables 12 and 13. Town of Clifton Top 3 Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value Property Class Assessed Value % Total AV # of Parcels % Total Parcels Forest s532a $76,047,130 39% 14 1% Seasonal Residence $44,799,200 23% % One Family Year-Round Residence $34,014,252 17% % Table 12 - Town of Clifton Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value Town of Fine Top 3 Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value Property Class Assessed Value % Total AV # of Parcels % Total Parcels One Family Year-Round Residence $38,350,900 25% % Forest s532a $24,301,500 16% 51 3% Seasonal Residence $16,844,100 11% % Table 13 - Town of Fine Real Property Class Codes by Assessed Value 16 P a g e

22 Property values are also impacted by waterfront properties, which are often seasonal homes in the Clifton and Fine area. Seasonal parcels are defined by the New York State Office of Real Property as those parcels that are not designed for year round occupancy and are often used as an indicator of the second home market. In Clifton, 28% of the parcels are classified as seasonal residences. In Fine, 13% of the parcels are classified as seasonal. It is interesting to note the highest, average and median assessed seasonal residence values in the Town of Clifton are more than double the Town of Fine. See Tables 14, 15 and Figure 10. Total Assessed Value of Seasonal Residences in Clifton and Fine (Property Class Code 260) Clifton Fine # of Parcels (% of total) 299 (28%) 254 (13%) Assessed Value (% of total) $44,799,200 (23%) $16,844,100 (11%) Table Total Seasonal Property Assessment Table Seasonal Property Statistics 17 P a g e

23 Figure 10 - Seasonal Residence Locations in Clifton and Fine 4.2 TOWN OWNED REAL PROPERTY As part of this EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, an inventory of the real property owned by the Town of Clifton and the Town of Fine was compiled from the County s Real Property Tax Database. The inventory indicates that the Town of Clifton owns 12 parcels with a total assessed value of $767,000. The Town of Fine owns 19 parcels with a total assessed value of $3,156,800. All of the Town-owned properties are tax exempt. See Tables 16 and 17 for Town owned parcels. 18 P a g e

24 Table 16 - Clifton Town Owned Parcels Table 17 - Fine Town Owned Parcels 19 P a g e

25 5.0 TOWN SERVICES This section provides information on the services that are provided by the Towns of Clifton and Fine to their taxpayers. Each section describes how the services are provided and the cost of the service. 5.1 HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT The Town of Clifton and Town of Fine Highway Departments maintain roads and other related infrastructure, including bridges, culverts, and sidewalks. They are also responsible for roadside mowing and snow plowing, Town-owned gravel pits, and light maintenance of cemeteries and Town-owned property Roads The Town of Fine owns and maintains more road miles than Clifton more than double, in fact. Table 18 summarizes the owners and number of miles of roads in the Towns. Figures show maps of the roads in the Towns. Table 18 Town Roads 20 P a g e

26 Figure 11 - Clifton Roads Map 21 P a g e

27 Figure 12 - Fine Roads Map The Towns share maintenance on small sections where a road originates in one town, but terminates shortly past the Town line. The Town of Fine plows 200 feet of Backus Rd and 191 feet of Inlet Road in the Town of Clifton, and the Town of Edwards plows 265 feet of Finley Rd West in the Town of Fine. 22 P a g e

28 5.1.2 Bridges and Culverts The Town of Clifton owns and maintains one bridge over the Oswegatchie River, just below Cranberry Lake. Clifton accepted the bridge in 1994 as a pedestrian bridge only. The bridge is required to be inspected every two years. Figure 13 - Cranberry Lake Pedestrian Bridge The Town of Fine owns and maintains four major culverts and one pedestrian bridge. The culverts are located throughout the Town. The footbridge in Wanakena was originally built in 1902 and was on the National Register of Historic Places. The footbridge was destroyed by ice in 2014 and Fine plans to rebuild the bridge with donations, grants, and fundraising. Figure 14 - Wanakena Footbridge 23 P a g e

29 5.1.3 Sidewalks The Towns of Clifton and Fine each have very short and very old sections of sidewalks existing in their respective Towns. The Highway Departments are only responsible for limited and minimal maintenance on these sidewalks. There is a short section of sidewalk in Newton Falls that the Clifton Highway Department snow plows but does not perform any other maintenance on. The Town of Fine has a few sections of sidewalk in the Hamlet of Fine, and a short section of sidewalk along State Hwy 3 in Star Lake, neither of which is maintained by the Highway Department Gravel Pits Clifton owns one gravel pit located on River Road. The gravel pit is 52.7 acres and will yield an approximate 50 year supply of sand and gravel. Fine owns three gravel pits, totaling 32.7 acres and approximately 10 years supply of sand and gravel. Fine also purchases sand from a fourth pit Cemeteries Cemeteries can be owned by a municipality or privately owned. If a private cemetery association goes bankrupt, the Town acquires the property and is responsible for the maintenance. Clifton owns one cemetery, called the Benson Mines Cemetery, located off of State Route 3 behind the privately owned St. Hubert s Cemetery. The Clifton Highway Department does not maintain Benson Mines Cemetery; the sexton for St. Hubert s Cemetery mows it while mowing St. Hubert s. Clifton pays the St. Hubert s Church $400 annually to contribute to maintenance costs for the cemetery. Fine owns and maintains two cemeteries and provides light maintenance for a third very small cemetery that is not on a town owned parcel (mowing and brush cutting) Assets and Budgets The Highway Departments assets include vehicles, tractors, heavy equipment and the Highway garages. Fine s 9,920 sq. ft. highway garage was built in 2003 and has a current full market value of $855,422. Clifton s 4,800 sq. ft. highway garage was built in 1973 and has a current full market value of $200,435. The Town of Fine Highway Department has more equipment than the Town of Clifton Highway Department, however, the current value of these assets is comparable. Tables 19 and 20 below detail the equipment owned by each Highway Department. 24 P a g e

30 Table 19 - Town of Clifton Highway Department Equipment Inventory Table 20 - Town of Fine Highway Department Equipment Inventory 25 P a g e

31 Town Highway Department expenditures make up a considerable portion of the overall municipal budgets. In the Town of Clifton, Highway expenditures make up 55% of the overall budget. In the Town of Fine, Highway expenditures make up 64% of the overall budget. Clifton Expenditures 2014 Fine Expenditures 2014 General Fund Highway General Fund Highway 45% 55% 36% 64% Figure 15 - Town Highway Expenditures The Towns highway department budgets include various categories to keep track of snow removal, repairs and improvements, bridge/culvert maintenance, equipment purchases. Detailed breakdowns of each town s Highway budgets are included in Appendix A. Figure 16 - Clifton and Fine Highway Department Revenues P a g e

32 Figure 17 Clifton and Fine Highway Department Expenditures 2014 An analysis of the transportation costs per road mile for the surrounding Towns is presented for reference. Transportation costs per mile are higher in Clifton than in Fine. See Table 21 below. Municipality Transportation Road Costs Miles Cost Per Mile Stockholm $1,039, $10,719 Hopkinton $666, $10,981 DeKalb $862, $11,345 Waddington $477, $11,408 Potsdam $1,437, $11,689 Fowler $701, $12,468 Canton $1,230, $12,802 Fine $907, $13,568 Piercefield $299, $14,843 Lawrence $792, $16,951 Clifton $497, $19,901 DePeyster $476, $20,691 Table 21 - Transportation Costs Per Road Mile in St. Lawrence County Towns The Town Highway Departments receive Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement (CHIPS) funds from the State. The amount funding depends on the number miles of road the Town maintains. The Town of Fine maintains more road miles than Clifton, and so receives more CHIPS money from the State. 27 P a g e

33 5.2 FIRE DISTRICTS, FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS, AND RESCUE DISTRICTS This study will not directly affect the Fire and Rescue Special Districts, but the complexity of the current situation within the Towns suggests that there may be options for making fire and rescue service more efficient. More information about the fire and rescue services in the Towns is available in Appendix A. A summary is included below. Fire protection in New York State is complex and can be provided in several ways: directly by a municipality, arranged under contract with a municipality, or independently governed by a fire district. Fire departments may be staffed by all paid members, all volunteers, or a combination of paid and volunteer employees. Firefighters may work for a municipal fire department, be appointed as fire department members by fire district commissioners, or be members of a notfor-profit corporation. State law does not allow Towns to provide their residents with fire protection as a municipal function. Instead, it must be provided either by a fire district or a contract with a fire department. A Fire District is a separate unit of government established to provide fire protection and emergency response. Fire districts do not have to be coterminous with town boundaries and can span multiple towns. Fire districts are overseen by a board of commissioners comprised of 5 members serving 5 year terms. Commissioners are elected by residents within the fire district. A Fire Protection District is a geographic service area within a Town, but outside of a fire district. Town boards can create, consolidate, or dissolve fire protection districts on its own motion or by petition. Fire protection is paid for by revenue from property taxes within the fire protection district; whereas, Fire Districts have the power to incur debt and to levy taxes against the taxable properties within their district. Fire district taxes are collected from the taxpayers within the district with Town and County taxes and are distributed to the fire district by the Town. Funds can be used to purchase buildings, equipment, insurance, and firefighter training. Town boards do not have approval over fire district budgets that are set by the Fire District Board of Commissioners. The fire and ambulance service delivery in the Towns of Clifton and Fine has become very complicated. Each Town has four different special taxing districts related to fire and ambulance protection. The fire protection services are provided by 4 entities, and the emergency management (ambulance service) is provided by 2 entities. See Table 22 and Figure 18 for a summary and map of these service providers. 28 P a g e

34 Table 22 - Town Special Districts: Fire and Ambulance 29 P a g e

35 Figure 18 - Town Fire and Rescue/Ambulance Districts Each special district has a different tax rate that is applied only to the properties within the district. This becomes very complicated for residents who own properties in multiple districts. One resident can end up with several fire special district tax levies applied to their properties. See Table 23 for a summary of the Special District Fire Tax Levies. 30 P a g e

36 Table 23- Special District Fire and Ambulance Tax Levies There are a total of 84 active and trained volunteer firefighters in the two Towns, according to the district rosters. Far fewer volunteers are usually available to readily respond to emergency calls. Generally, the same people respond to any emergency, no matter which Town or special district it occurs in. The Newton Falls Fire District has initiated the process of dissolution, due to the lack of trained volunteers. The Star Lake Fire District currently responds to all emergency calls in the Newton Falls district. Since mutual aid is required and both Towns typically respond to all calls, regardless of the area, residents pay different tax rates for the same service. Additionally, due to the multiple administrative areas of service there are unnecessary costs for administering fire and rescue services that increases the overall cost of services. The combined tax levy of all of the Fire Special Districts in the two Towns is $505,784 per year, a significant portion of the overall tax burden within the two Towns. Many of the services provided by the fire departments are undocumented. The consolidation of fire districts and sharing of equipment could provide lower costs. As part of this Existing Conditions Report, representatives from each of the Fire Districts attended a meeting where the results of fire and rescue service delivery were discussed. All representatives agreed that delivery of services for the two Towns could be simplified. Efforts to consolidate districts will have to be untaken by the respective fire districts since this is outside of the scope and control of the Town Boards. 31 P a g e

37 5.3 WATER AND SEWER SERVICES AND TOWN LIGHTING The results of this study will not affect Water or Sewer Special District boundaries or charges. Residents who are currently within a Water or Sewer District will continue to pay for and receive these services. The debt and fund balances for each district will also remain part of the district, regardless of what the Towns decide in respect to consolidation. Water and sewer operations were evaluated to identify potential opportunities to improve efficiencies and delivery of services. More detailed information regarding these services is included in Appendix A Town of Fine Water and Sewer Districts The Town of Fine has one water district and one sewer district: the Star Lake Water District and the Wanakena Sewer District. The Hamlet of Wanakena also has a small water system that is supplied by a private water company. This system is not under jurisdiction of the Town and so information on the delivery of water services in Wanakena is not included in this study. Star Lake Water District The Star Lake Water District serves 908 EDUs 5 and is operated by three Town employees: one, full time, one part-time, and one part-time on-call. In 2015, Star Lake Water District residential customer rates were $350/year, plus an ad valorem charge of $1.264 per $1,000 of assessed value billed with property taxes. The Star Lake Water District brings in $171,303 in revenue and spends $170,447 in expenses annually. There was a fund balance of $157,035 (2014 financial report). Figure 19 shows the breakdown of revenue and expenses for Star Lake Water District. Star Lake WD Revenue $171,303 Real Property Taxes Water Sales Star Lake WD Expenses $170,447 Water Admin & Operation Employee Beneifts 25% 14% 75% 86% Figure 19- Star Lake Water District Annual Revenue and Expenses 5 It is standard practice to quantify the population served by water or sewer districts as Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDUs). One EDU is equivalent to one single family housing unit. 32 P a g e

38 Wanakena Sewer District The Town of Fine s Wanakena Sewer District serves 43 EDUs and is operated by one part-time Town employee. This employee plans to retire in a few years and the Town currently does not have a back-up employee to take over. All of the revenue is sourced from customer payments: residential customers are billed $770 per year, one commercial business is billed $1,300 per year, and vacant lots are billed $100 per year. Total revenue in 2014 was $30,754. The Wanakena Sewer District reported $30,182 in expenses and the fund balance was $76,581. The debt balance for the sewer district was $186,700 in the beginning of The payment for principal was $6,300; payment for interest was $8,245; and the debt will expire in Figure 20 details the breakdown of revenue and expenses for the Wanakena Sewer District. Wanakena SD Revenue $30,754 Wanakena SD Expenses $30,182 Sewer Rents Interest & Earnings 1.5% 0.1% Salaries and Contractual Employee Beneifts 48% Debt Interest & Penalties 98.5% 45% Sewer Admin 7% 0% Figure 20 - Wanakena Sewer District Revenue and Expenses Town of Clifton Water and Sewer Districts The Town of Clifton has two water districts and one sewer district. A small water system that exists in the Star Lake area of Clifton, formerly known as the Woodhaven Water District, became the Clifton Star Lake Water District as a result of district formation proceedings related to an impending Capital Improvement Project in This system will be connected to the Town of Fine Star Lake Water District system as part of the Project Phase 1. Phase 2 of the project includes the connection of the Newton Falls Water District system to the Star Lake water system, and decommissioning the Newton Falls water plant. Phase 2 is still in the feasibility study phase. The Hamlet of Newton Falls currently has a water district and a new sewer district that was completed in All of the water and sewer districts in the Town of Clifton are operated by the Development Authority of the North Country ( Authority ) through a contract with the Town. 33 P a g e

39 Clifton Star Lake Water District The Clifton Star Lake Water District serves 30 existing EDUs and will serve an additional 25 EDUs once the Capital Improvement Project is complete. Customers pay $550 per year for water service and all of the revenue for the Clifton Star Lake Water District comes from customer billings. There are no water meters presently in this district. The Clifton Star Lake Water District reports $12,650 in expenses, most of which is contractual expenses. The salaries and employee benefits are for the Town Clerk and the Treasurer s time to complete water billing, and the Highway Department s time to assist in addressing water breaks and repairs that are outside the Authority s base scope of contract services. See Figure 21 for a breakdown of Clifton Star Lake Water District financials. Clifton Star Lake WD Revenue $12,650 Customer Billings 100% Admin Salaries Contractual Employee Benefits Interfund Transfer to Highway Dept. Clifton Star Lake WD Expenses $12,650 6% 30% 15% 36% 13% Figure 21 Clifton Star Lake Water District Financials 34 P a g e

40 Newton Falls Water District The Newton Falls Water District serves 125 EDUs and is operated by the Development Authority of the North Country under a contract with the Town of Clifton. Newton Falls Water District customers pay $519 per year for water service. All of the revenue comes from customer billings, and the expenses total $64,875, most of which is contractual expenses. The combined fund balance for the Newton Falls and the Clifton Star Lake Water Districts was $77,471 in See Figure 22 for a breakdown of Newton Falls Water District financials. Newton Falls WD Revenue $64,875 Customer Billings Newton Falls WD Expenses $64,875 Administration Salaries Contracutal 15% 4% 10% 100% Employee Benefits 15% Repair Reserve 3% Interfund Transfer to Highway Dept. 53% Figure 22 - Newton Falls Water District Financials Newton Falls Sewer District The Newton Falls Sewer District serves EDUs and is operated by the Development Authority of the North Country. The new sewer system, completed in 2014, replaces a much smaller system originally installed by the paper mill almost 100 years ago. The old system only had a few connections, and the rest of the hamlet residences had septic systems that often failed. When the paper mill closed permanently in 2012, providing reliable sewer services to the hamlet of Newton Falls was a priority for the Town of Clifton. In 2014 sewer customers paid $ per year on their Town taxes for sewer services. All of the revenue, $70,170, comes from sewer district customer billings, and the sewer district reported $70,170 in expenses, most of which was for contractual expenses. Contractual expenses include electricity, lab fees, and contracted operators. The Interfund Transfer to Highway Department costs are expenses that cover the Highway Department s work on the sewer system, including repairs and other work that is outside the scope of base services provided by the Authority. The fund balance is $6,957 (2014 financials). The debt EFC principal payment is $13,320 annually; the debt will be retired in See Figure 23 for a breakdown of the Newton Falls Sewer District financials. 35 P a g e

41 Newton Falls SD Revenue $70,170 Customer Billings 100% Newton Falls SD Expenses $70,170 Administration Debt Contracutal Employee Benefits 1% 16% 4% 2% 19% Repair Reserve Interfund Transfer to Highway Dept. 58% Figure 23 - Newton Falls Sewer District Financials The operation of water and sewer systems is a critical factor when the Towns consider options for delivery of these services to Town residents. Operators are required by New York State to hold certain licenses to be qualified to operate these systems, depending on the system type. The Town of Clifton currently contracts out the operations of its water and sewer systems, while the Town of Fine employs its own operators. As alternatives are explored in the next phase of the study, it is important to note the license requirements for each system. See Table 24 for a list of Operator Licenses required for each system. System Operator NYS Operator License Required Clifton Newton Falls Water DANC contract starting in 2015 Grade IIA NYSDOH requires IIA Assistant Operator Clifton Newton Falls Sewer DANC contract starting in 2014 Grade 1 Clifton Star Lake Water (formerly Woodhaven) Fine Star Lake Water Fine Wanakena Sewer DANC contract starting in 2014 Town employees Town employee; plans to retire in upcoming 1-2 years; no backup Grade C Grade IIA NYSDOH requires IIA Assistant Operator Grade 1 Table 24 - Town Water and Sewer Operations License Requirements 36 P a g e

42 5.3.3 Town Lighting Services The Towns of Clifton and Fine have street lights in certain areas of the Towns. In both Towns, the lighting is paid for through real property taxes from all tax payers in the Town, since the lighting exists in public shared areas and main streets. There are currently no lighting districts defined in the Towns. See tables 25 and 26 for details about lighted areas and actual expense to the Towns. Town Clifton Lighted Area Cranberry Lake Clifton Newton Falls Clifton Star Lake/Benson Mines Fine Fine Fine Oswegatchie Fine Star Lake Fine Wanakena Table 25 - Town Lighted Areas Town Paid for By 2014 Actual Expense Fund Balance Clifton General Fund Real Property Taxes from all Tax Payers in Town $27,409 Part of General Fund; not separated Fine Special Assessment Real Property Taxes from all Tax Payers in Town Table Town Lighting Expenses $29,956 $ TOWN SERVICES GENERAL FUND The Towns provide many other municipal services to their residents that are paid for through the Town s General Fund category. This section will summarize the current delivery and costs of these services. A more detailed breakdown of Town employees will be discussed in Section 9 of this report. All monetary figures in this section are from the Towns 2014 Annual Update Documents (AUD) and 2014 benefit budgets. The AUD is a required annual report of a municipality s financial condition submitted to the New York State Comptroller. Many of these services are duplicated in each Town. During the Alternatives Phase of this study, the committee may evaluate the delivery of these services to determine if there are opportunities to gain efficiencies. More detailed information regarding these services is included in Appendix A. A summary is provided below: 37 P a g e

43 5.4.1 Town Clerk Each Town has a Town Clerk who is a full-time elected official who attends all Town Board meetings and maintains accurate records of actions accomplished during the proceedings. The Town clerk is the custodian of Town records, issues certain licenses and permits, files reports with county and state agencies as required, posts legal notices, and is involved in the oversight of election administration. There is also a Deputy Clerk in each Town that is a part-time positional appointment made by the Town Board. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $28,298, including $25,237 in salaries and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $37,883, including $35,104 in salaries and benefits. The Town of Clifton s Clerk is not in the NYS Retirement System, which accounts for the difference in benefits compared to Fine Tax Collection Tax Collection Services are performed by the Tax Collector; a part-time positional appointment by the Town Board. Currently, the Town Clerk in both Clifton and Fine serves as the Tax Collector. The Tax Collector collects and maintains records for both Town and County taxes based on the tax roll and warrant, water rates, sewer rents, permit and other fees payable to the town. The Tax Collector may also collect school taxes and is compensated appropriately if the Town Board contracts with the school district to perform this service. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $4,847, including $4,011 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $9,225, including $8,030 in salary and benefits. The Fine Tax Collector also collects School Taxes for the Clifton-Fine School District and is compensated for those duties. The school district has a contract for $4,100 (plus actual postage) with Fine to offset those additional costs Registrar Clifton and Fine each have a Registrar, and Fine also has a Deputy Registrar. The Registrar records births and deaths in the Town in accordance with the rules and regulations of the NY State Dept. of Health. This part-time position is a Town Supervisor appointment and is coterminous with the Town Clerk s term of office if the Town Clerk is appointed to this position, as is the case in Fine. The Clifton Registrar receives a fixed stipend for this function. The Fine Registrar is paid $10 per certificate issued, and $10 is paid to the Town of Fine, so revenues offset expenditures for this Fine position. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $416, including $400 as a stipend. The total cost of this service in Fine is $1,079, including $1,070 in salaries and benefits. 38 P a g e

44 5.4.4 Records Management The Records Management Officer (RMO) in both Towns is the Town Clerk and is considered a co-terminus position with the Town Clerk position. The RMO is responsible for the Town s records management program. In the Town of Clifton, the costs associated with these duties are included in the Town Clerk s salary and other budget items, not broken out separately like they are in the Town of Fine. In Fine, the total cost of this service is $3,315, including $1,644 in salary and benefits Real Property Assessment Each Town has an Assessor and Fine also has an Assistant Assessor. These are part-time positional appointments by the Town Board. The Assessor estimates the market value of all real property and annually maintains property assessments at a percentage of market value via comparison with similar property assessments. He/she inspects new construction and major improvements to existing structures. The assessor reviews/approves each transfer of real property and approves property tax exemptions. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $13,438, including $12,080 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $24,800, including $23,308 in salaries and benefits. The Fine Assessor assesses almost twice as many properties annually than the Clifton Assessor, which accounts for difference in salaries. The cost per property assessed in Clifton and Fine is $12 and $13, respectively Board of Assessment Review Each Town has a Board of Assessment Review that consists of three personnel that are paid a flat fee for their service. These are part-time positional appointments by the Town Boards. The Board of Assessment Review administers public hearings on grievance day for taxpayers that disagree with their real property tax assessment. The Board of Assessment Review may order appropriate (if any) changes to the assessment roll before it becomes final. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $750 ($250 each for three personnel), and the total cost of this service is Fine is $978 ($325 each for three personnel and $3 in contractual expenses) Bookkeeping Each Town has a Bookkeeper. This is a full-time positional appointment by the Town Supervisor. This confidential position manages payroll, clerical, and accounting activities for the financial accounts and records of the Town along with oversight of Human Resources (HR) issues. Benefits include medical and dental insurance and a health savings account. Expenditures are taken from the Town s Employee Budget Cost Breakdown 2014 because bookkeeper costs are not broken out under Supervisor costs in the AUD and include salary and benefits only. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $61,130. The total cost of this service in Fine is $28,090. The large difference in cost for this position is partly due to the Fine Bookkeeper not having enrolled in the NYS Retirement System until July The costs of the position in Fine will be higher once the retirement benefit is accounted for. 39 P a g e

45 5.4.8 Code Enforcement Each Town has its own Code Enforcement Officer. These are part-time positional appointments by the Town Boards. The Code Enforcement Officer administers and enforces the NY State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. They provide coordination of all activities to ensure compliance with the appropriate laws, codes, rules and regulations. Issues, denies or revokes building permits and certificates of occupancy. They also inspect building and structures for compliance and maintain accurate records of all transactions and activities. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $10,615, including $9,588 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $9,648, including $8,755 in salary and benefits. In 2014, there was $483 in offsetting revenue from the building permit fees in Clifton. Fine did not charge for building permits in 2014, but in 2015 the Town did implement fees, so there will be offsetting revenue for this position in Fine for 2015 onward Town Justice Each Town has a Town Justice. This position is a part-time elected official of the Town. The Town Justice has jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters in special proceedings within the Town. He/she adjudicates legal matters within the court s jurisdiction and properly accounts for all monies collected and disbursed by the court. The Town of Fine also has a part-time Court Clerk that is accounted for with this position. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $12,237, including $11,252 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $16,701, including $14,612 in salaries and benefits Legal Services An attorney performs legal services in support of the Town and renders legal counsel to the Supervisor, Town Board, and other Town officials. A Town Attorney must reside in the Town and is an official of the Town. An Attorney for the Town is a contracted professional service. The Towns differ when it comes to legal services. Clifton utilizes an Attorney for the Town and contracts for these services. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $5,860, all of which is contractual expenses and there are no benefits associated with this position. Fine utilizes a Town Attorney, which is a part-time positional appointment by the Town Board. The total cost of this service is $7,554, including $7,312 in salary and benefits Historian Each Town has a Historian. This is a part-time positional appointment by the Town Board. The Historian promotes and encourages the preservation of historic documents/artifacts that constitute the Town s culture and develops an accurate and attractive presentation of the Town s history. They gather and evaluate evidence, interpret Town history, teach through public presentations, and write well-organized narratives. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $400, all of which is a stipend. The total cost of this service in Fine is $508, of which $500 is a stipend. There are no benefits with this position in Clifton or Fine. 40 P a g e

46 Buildings Clifton has one part-time Buildings position and Fine has two part-time Buildings positions. These are positional appointments by the Town Board. The Buildings personnel perform various manual cleaning tasks in assigned buildings. They use proper methods and materials in cleaning and care for building areas plus occasional minor repairs. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $47,612, including $6,370 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $57,396, including $2,338 in salaries and benefits. The majority of the cost of this service is in equipment, capital outlay, and contractual expenses. Contractual expenses in both towns include building costs associated with fuel oil, electric, water/sewer fees, repairs, and insurance on all Town buildings. Additionally, Fine bills Clifton for a portion of their personnel s salary to cover the Clifton-Fine Community Center, and a portion of Fine s contractual expenses are also billed to Clifton Community Action The Community Action position provides services for Clifton and Fine and is a combined position within the two Towns, but the salary and benefits are paid by Fine. Clifton and Fine both contribute $2,100 toward the contractual expenses for this position. The Community Action position works closely with the community and partners in implementing community revitalization strategies. They act as the Waterfront Revitalization Program Coordinator, assist with J&L Revitalization efforts, and facilitate local efforts to expand the technology infrastructure of the area. They promote the local area, seek grants and provide assistance to businesses. The specific projects related to the waterfront revitalization strategy are funded through DEC Smart Growth and DOS Waterfront Revitalization grant funds. The total cost of this service is $37,465, including $23,925 in salary and benefits Dog Control Each Town provides Dog Control services as a part-time positional appointment through the Town Boards. The same Dog Control Officer works in both Towns. The Dog Control Officer impounds stray or unlicensed dogs and enforces quarantine laws applicable to dogs. They assist in the public health and police work involved in preparing the Dog Census. The Dog Census occurs every 2 years in Fine and every 3 years in Clifton. In 2014, there were 88 dog licenses issued in Clifton and 273 licenses issued in Fine. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $6,440, including $4,427 in salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $7,673, including $4,576 in salary and benefits. The difference in costs is due to the different contracts the Towns have with the animal shelters that accept unclaimed stray dogs. The Town of Clifton has a contract with the Potsdam Humane Society for $1,775/year. The Town of Fine has a contract with the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA for $2,500/year. During the Alternatives Phase of this study, the committee may evaluate the opportunity to make this service more efficient through one contract with a shelter that includes both Towns. 41 P a g e

47 Insect Control Both Towns provide Insect Control services as two seasonal positional appointments by the Town Boards. The same personnel, two Technicians, work in both Towns. Insect Control manages the Black Fly Control Program in accordance with the established procedures/regulations of the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). They biologically treat streams and swamps for the purpose of controlling black fly larvae. This position requires a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certification. Insect Control works 20 hours a week in each Town from March through July. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $14,399, including $11,004 in salaries and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $12,748, including $11,607 in salaries and benefits. The committee may want to evaluate the opportunity to make this position more efficient by merging these services into one position that covers both Towns. The Insect Control Technician reported that he must complete separate but duplicate paperwork because everything must be separated by Town. He thinks the work would be easier and less expensive if the two Towns combined Safety Officer Each Town has a Safety Officer that is a part-time positional appointment by the Town Boards. The Safety Officer plans and implements a comprehensive safety program for the protection of employees and the public use of municipal properties and facilities. They Identify and eliminate hazardous conditions in and around municipal facilities and sites that may pose a risk to employees or the general public. They perform monthly inspections of fire extinguishers and prepare and maintain a variety of records and reports. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $1,634, all of which is salary and benefits. The total cost of this service in Fine is $3,551, including $2,023 in salary and benefits. 5.5 RECREATION SERVICES AND LIBRARY The Towns of Clifton and Fine have a history of sharing services related to recreation. The Towns have intermunicipal agreements (IMA) to share the costs, maintenance, and operations of the Clifton-Fine Golf Course, the Clifton-Fine Arena, and Joint Youth Commission. Copies of these agreements are included in Appendix C. A summary is provided below. Golf Course The Towns operate the Clifton Fine Golf Course under the terms of the IMA and by a committee. It is intended to be self-sustaining through charge rates, and any shortfall in revenue is to be provided by equal share contributions from the Towns. The Fine Town Supervisor is the Chief Fiscal Officer and the Fine Town Board audits the claims. The Golf Course employs 9 part-time employees, owns $346,890 in building assets, and $219,000 in equipment assets. In 2014, the Clifton-Fine Golf Course revenue was $105,300, and expenditures totaled $94, P a g e

48 Arena The Towns jointly own and operate the Clifton Fine Arena under the terms of an IMA and by a committee. The Clifton Town Supervisor is the Chief Fiscal Officer and the Clifton Town Board audits the claims. The Arena offers ice skating on natural ice in the winter and the building is available for rental during the rest of the year for $200/full day and $100/half day. The Arena employs 2 seasonal part-time employees, owns $1,970,400 in building assets, and shares a tractor with the Clifton-Fine Golf Course. In 2014, the Arena reported $18,125 in revenue and $23,756 in expenditures. Expenditures were higher due to floor repairs completed in 2014 and salary increases and NYS retirement benefits provided to employees. Youth Commission The Clifton-Fine Joint Youth Commission provides summer recreation opportunities at the Clifton-Fine School for local youth aged 5-17, including arts & crafts, golf, baseball, t-ball, softball, and soccer. The Towns operate the Joint Youth Commission under the terms of an IMA and equally share the cost. The Fine Town Supervisor is the Chief Fiscal Officer and the Fine Town Board audits the claims. The Youth Commission employs 5 part-time employees (4 teens and 1 adult). In 2014, the Towns only contributed their portion of the State Aid: Clifton $418, Fine $477. This program no longer receives state aid. In 2014, the Youth Commission reported $900 in revenue and $5,222 in expenditures. A portion of the $12,798 fund balance was used to cover the costs to reduce the fund balance. Beach The Town of Clifton owns and operates Cranberry Lake Beach, a public recreation area that employs 3 seasonal part-time employees appointed by the Clifton Town Board. The total cost of this service in Clifton is $12,560, including $11,251 in salaries and benefits. The Town of Fine does not contribute to the Clifton public beach, however, the beach is a community resource and available to all who want to use it, including seasonal visitors. Library The Town of Clifton has the Clifton Community Library, which is a member of the North Country Library System. The library is chartered to serve the Town of Clifton and it is funded with money from Town of Clifton real property taxes. The Clifton Town Board appoints the Library Trustees and the three part-time positional employees. The Town of Fine does not contribute to the library budget, however, the library is a community resource and available to all who want to use it, including seasonal visitors. The library reports that it has 379 patrons in Clifton; 127 patrons in Fine, and 58 patrons that are Out of Area. There are 10,716 catalogued items in the Clifton Community Library, and patrons have access to 422,678 items in the entire North Country library system. A new book drop-off and pick-up program has started in Star Lake with funding from the Damoth Fund. The Damoth Fund is a restricted fund administered by the Adirondack Foundation. This fund must be used to enhance library services and not used for day to day operations of the library. The total cost of the Library services to Clifton is $37,451, including $29,451 in salaries and benefits. 43 P a g e

49 6.0 BUDGETARY & FINANCIAL SUMMARY The Towns budget line items that will be affected by this study include the General Fund and the Highway Departments. Special Districts, including fire and ambulance, water, and sewer, are not impacted directly by consolidation, because only the properties within those districts pay for those services. Residents in Special Districts are receiving different services at different tax rates. They are not town-wide services. County taxes and school taxes are also not affected by efficiencies or consolidation. If the Towns decided to consolidate, Special Districts, County taxes, and School taxes would not change. The Town tax and the Highway tax are charged at the same rate to all taxable property owners within the Towns and provide the funds for the General Fund Town services and Highway services. Therefore, the following section will focus on General and Highway Funds. Data for this section was sourced from the Towns Annual Update Documents for fiscal year end The Annual Update Document (AUD) is a required annual report of a Municipality s financial condition submitted to the NYS Comptroller. The Towns 2014 AUDs are included in this report in Appendix B. 6.1 BREAKDOWN OF TOWN REVENUES 2014 ACTUALS Clifton Fine Total General Fund $567,403 $529,190 $1,096,593 Highway $721,564 $874,196 $1,595,760 Total $1,288,967 $1,403,386 $2,692,353 Figure 24 - Town Revenues for General Fund and Highway Figure 24 above demonstrates the Towns revenues are comparable. When combined, Clifton makes up 52% of the General Fund and Fine is 48%. Clifton makes up 45% of the Highway Fund and Fine is 55%. In total, revenues from the Towns are very comparable with Clifton contributing $1.3M and Fine contributing $1.4M to the combined total Town revenue. 44 P a g e

50 6.2 BREAKDOWN OF TOWN EXPENDITURES 2014 ACTUALS Clifton Fine Total General Fund $518,182 $570,835 $1,089,017 Highway $622,708 $1,008,696 $1,631,404 Total $1,140,890 $1,579,534 $2,720,421 Figure 25 - Town Expenditures for General Fund and Highway Figure 25 above demonstrates that the Towns expenditures are comparable as well. When combined, Clifton expenses account for 48% of the combined General Fund expenses, and Fine accounts for 52%. Clifton accounts for 38% of the combined Highway Fund expenditures and Fine accounts for 62%. It is important to note that Fine s Highway expenditures exceeded its revenue in When this happens, the Towns have to use fund balances to offset the gap. See Figure 26 below for a trend chart of Highway Expenditures. The Town of Fine receives more revenue for the Highway Department through the CHIPS funds than Clifton does, because Fine has almost double the number of road miles it maintains. 45 P a g e

51 Figure 26 - Trend Chart for Highway Department Expenses 6.3 TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUES The 2015 Town tax rolls report the total taxable assessed values. See Figure 27 below. Taxable Assessed Value of the Two Towns Combined Total = $314,178,560 Clifton Fine 60% $188,177,623 40% $126,000,937 Figure 27 - Taxable Assessed Values for Clifton and Fine 46 P a g e

52 Clifton s total taxable real property assessed value is $62M higher than Fine s taxable assessed value. This is largely driven by the valuation of the property that is within 200 feet of Cranberry Lake 6. $76M of the taxable value in Clifton comes from State Forest Preserve properties (property class code 931), compared to $24M of taxable assessed value from State Forest Preserve properties in Fine. The median private property assessed value is $47,000 in Clifton, versus $32,000 in Fine. 6.4 TOTAL TAX LEVY 2015 The Town tax levy is the amount raised by property taxes annually. Total Combined Tax Levy Total = $2,355,318 Clifton Fine 52% $1,220,423 48% $1,134,895 Figure 28 above demonstrates that the Towns have comparable tax levies. Clifton accounts for a slightly higher percentage of the total at 52%; in-part because Clifton has a higher total taxable assessed value than Fine (see Figure 27). 6.5 TAX RATES Figure 28 - Tax Levies for Clifton and Fine Table 27 shows the Town (i.e., General Fund) and Town Highway Tax rates for A tax payer in the Town of Clifton pays $6.49 per $1,000 of assessed value for Town and Highway taxes, while a tax payer in the Town of Fine pays $9.01 per $1,000 of assessed value. Tax rates are computed using the following formula. 6 The Town of Clifton contains 31,150 acres of State Forest Preserve properties which are assessed at $76,047,130, or $2,441 per acre. The Town of Fine contains 53,429 acres of State Forest Preserve properties assessed at $24,301,500, or $455 per acre. Methodology for assessing in State Forest Preserve property is described in the following manual: 47 P a g e

53 TAX LEVY TAX RATE = TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUE/$1,000 The way tax rates are computed means that if two Towns are raising the same amount of taxes and one town has a higher taxable assessed value, then its tax rate will be lower. This is in fact the case for the Towns of Clifton and Fine. Since Clifton has a higher taxable assessed value, its tax rate is significantly lower than that of the Town of Fine Property Tax Clifton Fine Town $ $ Highway $ $ Total $6.49 $9.01 Table 27- Town-wide Tax Rates 7.0 FUND BALANCE A municipality s fund balance is the money that is unspent at the end of any fiscal year, provided that revenue received in a given year exceeded the expenditures. These surpluses are reported as the fund balance. The fund balances are tracked separately for General Fund and Highway Funds. If expenditures exceed revenues then there will be negative account balances in a given year and the overall fund balance will decrease to cover the shortfall. 48 P a g e

54 General Highway $85,440 $2,053 $46,062 Clifton $112,596 Fine Figure 29 - Fund Balances as of December 31, 2014 Figure 29 above and Table 28 below show fund balances for Clifton and Fine. The 2014 actual fund balance for Clifton was $48,115; $46,062 was the General Fund balance and $2,053 was the Highway fund balance. This is considerably less than the Fund balances for the Town of Fine. Fine s total fund balance in 2014 was $198,036; with $112,596 in the General Fund balance and $85,440 in the Highway Fund balance. Clifton Fine General Fund $46,062 (96%) $112,596 (57%) Highway $2,053 (4%) $85,440 (43%) Total $48,115 (100%) $198,036 (100%) Table 28 - Town Fund Balances as of December 31, 2014 If the Towns were to consolidate, excess fund balances could be used toward capital improvements related to general and highway fund expenditures, or to pay down general or highway fund debt within the respective towns. In that way, the fund balances would be used to benefit the tax payers that contributed those funds through prior year tax collections. If fund balances are used to pay down debt, the Towns should consider the interest rate on their loans as some subsidized state financing may be 0% interest. 49 P a g e

55 8.0 DEBT LEVELS The two Towns have very little debt on their General Fund or Highway. By 12/31/15, Fine will owe $180,000 for their Highway barn and the debt will be paid off in 2018 (the debt shows up in the General Fund, not Highway). Clifton owes $305,562 for Highway that will be paid off in Both Towns also have debt related to sewer, but these debts are paid for by the customers in those special districts, not out of real property taxes. Clifton Fine General Fund $0 $180,000 Highway $305,562 $0 Water $0 $0 Sewer $710,000 $182,300 Total $1,015,562 $362,300 Table 29 - Town Debts 9.0 EMPLOYEE SUMMARY 9.1 TOWN STAFFING Table 30 provides a breakdown of the Town employee staffing at the time this report was prepared. In total, Clifton has 9 full-time (Ft) employees and 30 part-time (Pt) employees, including Town Board Members. Fine has 10 Ft employees and 44 Pt employees, including Town Board Members. Clifton Fine Supervisor 1 Pt 1 Pt Town Board Member 4 Pt 4 Pt Town Clerk 1 Ft, 1 Pt 1 Ft, 1 Pt Bookkeeper 1 Ft, 1 Pt 1 Ft Highway Superintendent 1 Ft 1 Ft Highway 6 Ft 6 Ft Justice 1 Pt 2 Pt Tax Collector 2 Pt 1 Pt 50 P a g e

56 Assessor 1 Pt 2 Pt Board of Assessment Review 3 Pt 3 Pt Historian 1 Pt 1 Pt Attorney 0 Contractual Position 1 Pt Records Management 0 1 Pt Buildings 1 Pt 2 Pt Public Safety 1 Pt 1 Pt Dog Control 1 Pt same employee as Fine 1 Pt Code Enforcement 1 Pt 1 Pt Insect Control 2 Pt same employees as Fine 2 Pt Community Action 0 Shared Service with Fine 1 Pt Library 3 Pt - Cranberry Lake Beach 3 Pt 0 same employee as Clifton same employees as Clifton Shared Service with Clifton Clifton-Fine Arena 2 Pt 0 Water Operators (2015) 0 Contractual Service 1 Ft, 1Pt, 1 On-call Wanakena Sewer Operator 0 Contractual Service 1 Pt Youth Commission 0 Shared Service with Fine 7 Pt Clifton-Fine Golf Course 0 Shared Service with Fine 9 Pt Table 30 - Town Employee Staffing 9.2 BENEFITS There are 8 employees in Clifton that receive medical and dental benefits, and 9 employees in Fine who receive medical and dental benefits. Medical and dental benefits differ in the two Towns. Clifton Town employees who receive medical and dental benefits do not contribute to the cost of this benefit; the Town of Clifton covers the entire premium cost, including co-pays. Fine Town employees who receive medical benefits contribute 10% to the cost of their medical policy and are responsible for co-pays; the Town of Fine covers 90% of the premium costs. Employees hired after January 1, 2012 contribute 15% to the cost of their policy. Starting January 2013, the Town of Fine also contributes to a High Deductible Health Savings Account (HSA) medical insurance plan for covered employees. The Town will cover all but $500 of the employees deductible cost through a contribution to the employees HSA. The Town of Fine covers 100% of the premium for life insurance and dental insurance. 51 P a g e

57 The Town of Fine offers disability insurance at the same rate as stated above: 90% or 85%, depending on date of hire, for a term of 1 year after the employee becomes disabled. After 1 year, the employee must pay 100% of the premium. The Town of Clifton does not offer disability insurance to its employees because it is not required to obtain this coverage, since it is a political subdivision that is legally exempt. All permanent, full-time employees of the Towns must either enroll in the NYS Retirement System or sign a waiver opting out. The current Town of Fine Highway Superintendent is not enrolled in the NYS Retirement System, but the position is entitled to those benefits. The Clifton Town Highway Department employees are represented by the Teamsters Union. None of the Fine Town employees are represented by a Union. Employee benefits are shown in Table 31 by position. 52 P a g e

58 Table 31 Town Employee Benefits Breakdown (* indicates only 1 employee in the position receives benefit) 53 P a g e

59 Other Town employee benefits include paid leave and holidays for full-time employees. Table 32 compares the paid leave and holidays offered by the Towns per year. Clifton Fine Holidays 11 days 10 days Vacation 1-6 weeks 1-6 weeks (depending on # of years of service) Personal None 24 hours Sick 7 days 48 hours Bereavement (depending on relationship) 1-3 days 3-5 days Table 32 - Paid Leave Comparison The total costs associated with employee salaries and benefits for General Fund and Highway positions are similar in the two Towns, according to the Towns 2014 AUDs. See Tables 33 and 34 below. Table 33 - Town of Clifton Expenses for Town Employee Salaries and Benefits Table 34 - Town of Fine Expenses for Town Employee Salaries and Benefits Clifton reported $252,524 in General Fund (includes Arena) and Highway employee benefits in This accounts for 34% of the total for Clifton salaries and benefits. Fine reported $229,741 in General Fund (includes Golf Course and Youth Commission) and Highway employee benefits. This accounts for 30% of the total for Fine salaries and benefits. Clifton has two retirees that both receive medical benefits and one also receives a health savings account benefit for a total cost per year of $16,842. Fine has one retiree with medical and health savings account benefits for a total cost of $6, P a g e