GARBAGE IN…GARBAGE OUT… COST TAXPAYERS $32 MILLION

Auerbach Trashes Lack of Legislative Oversight

KINGSTON, NY (August 30, 2010)… Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach released the first of several reports on the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) claiming that the “Ulster County Legislature has practiced a laissez faire approach and this hands-off governance style has cost the taxpayers nearly $32 million with no end in sight.” This report analyzes the fees paid to the agency by Ulster County. These fees are known as Net Service Fees (NSF) and they are paid as a result of a 1992 Agreement between the County and the UCRRA.

“In talking with some county legislators about the UCRRA, I noticed a lot of hand-wringing and shoulder-shrugging followed by admissions that ‘we have no choice’,” said Auerbach, “so I took a look and pulled back the curtain.”

What Auerbach found is that since 1992 the County has had significant opportunity to closely monitor the finances of the UCRRA and the fees paid to it.

• Since 1998 Ulster County has covered between 10% and 50% of UCRRA’s annual operating expenses, totaling nearly $32 million.

• The County has not employed its contractual powers to monitor and control factors contributing to the NSF.

• The County has not practiced due diligence to ensure the UCRRA complies with its contractual obligations, including repayment of NSFs.

• Under the status quo, the UCRRA will not be able to meet its obligations in the future without continued, annual NSF from the County.

“The contract between the UCRRA and the County empowers the County Legislature to request modifications to the UCRRA budget,” said Auerbach, “yet we found no such requests in the official records of the County or the UCRRA.”

The contract also requires the UCRRA to submit monthly written reports to the Legislature which must, at a minimum, include: estimated and projected Net Service Fees and the number of gross tons of Solid Waste or Regulated Recyclable Materials delivered to the system, processed and sold, and its amount and price, yet the Clerk of the Legislature has no record of ever receiving such reports, according to the Comptroller

“I call upon the Legislature to use its power and authority to protect taxpayers in every way related to the UCRRA,” said Auerbach, “simple due diligence is what is needed and this report provides some guidance on how to begin.”

The report, entitled “Net Service Fees: $32 Million and Counting” can be found at www.ulstercountyny.gov/resources/comptroller.

What About Wawarsing

TAKE A "LEAK" NYC
The NYC DEP went on a “buying spree” spending $7.8 million to purchase 1323 acres of land in four counties including 74 acres in our own Ulster County.

Nice to see them try and protect their watershed and insure quality drinking water to City residents.

What happened to the leak ravaged folks in Wawarsing and the millions of gallons of “quality drinking water” that is bubbling up in their basements and yards?

Here's the story courtesy of MID-HUDSON NEWS NETWORK

More land acquired by DEP for watershed protection

CATSKILLS – The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is purchasing another 1,323 acres of land in the Catskills for $7.8 million. It’s a continuing part of the DEP’s efforts to protect the watershed and maintain the quality of New York City drinking water.

Twelve parcels were acquired, ranging in size from a half acre to 266 acres; the properties are in Ulster, Greene, Delaware and Westchester counties.

Since the land acquisition program began, the Big Apple has purchased over 111,000 acres of watershed land in the Catskill/Delaware and Croton reservoir systems. Most of the properties will be open for public access, including hunting, hiking and fishing, as well as hay cropping by local businesses.

The newly acquired parcels include five in Delaware County totaling 815 acres; four in Greene County Totaling 430 acres; two in Ulster County totaling 74 acres; and one four-acre parcel in Westchester.

The Power Grab

Auerbach claims lawmakers want to “undermine” county charter
Tuesday
August 17, 2010

(Copyright © 2010 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc)

KINGSTON – The Ulster County Legislature wants to shift funds from the county comptroller’s budget for accounting and auditing over to its own budget to cover the annual county audit.

County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach calls it a “power grab.” The proposed transfer of funds is contrary to the intent of the new county charter, which designated the comptroller as the chief auditing officer, he said, Monday.

“We are taking a hard line on this. We are really looking to the legislature to understand the reasoning behind it and hopeful they will remain on our side to allow the financial audit to be an independent one,” he said.

Under the old charter, before there was a comptroller or county executive, the legislature took the lead in the annual county audit.

“The legislature sets policy and appropriates funds, the executive manages and administers funds,” said Auerbach. “The comptroller’s role is independent oversight which is why no management, administrative or appropriating functions were delegated to the office.”

VETERANS TO RECEIVE REFUNDS

Comptroller Issues Checks To 177 Rochester Property Owners

KINGSTON, NY (July 27, 2010)… Comptroller Elliott Auerbach completed the final piece of the veterans’ exemption puzzle this week for one hundred seventy-seven (177) Town of Rochester property owners who served in the military. Auerbach authorized refund checks to qualified veterans for overpayment to the County for their 2010 town taxes.

“The increase in the veterans’ exemptions not only prompted these refunds under section 458-a of the Real Property Tax Law, but will continue to be enjoyed by those eligible men and women who are wartime, combat zone or disabled vets,” said Auerbach.
“It’s a small way to show our gratitude to those who have served,” the Comptroller went on to say.

Another way Auerbach will demonstrate that gratitude will be to make arrangements for the veterans to personally pick up their checks at Town of Rochester Town Hall on August 6, 2010. A mailing is going out to the affected veterans on how to obtain their refunds.

Town of Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman is pleased with the results of his town’s Local Law #1-2008 and grateful that the exemptions have been increased to their maximums. Chipman “encourages all eligible veterans to check with the town’s assessor for taxable status applications and filing dates.”

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

ULSTER COUNTY REVENUES GET A FRESH LOOK
Auerbach Releases Revenue Research Report


KINGSTON, NY (July 6, 2010)… Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach today released a report on county revenue trends that will serve as a financial decision making tool for both the county executive and legislature as they begin the budget process for 2011.

“As our economy continues to crawl out of recession government needs to pay as much attention to income as it pays to expenses,” said Auerbach, “and the better we focus on and plan for our revenue stream, the better able we are to control property taxes.”

Noting that Ulster County has recently begun planning for the 2011 budget, Auerbach said that he timed the report to aid in that process. “With a deeper understanding of our successes and failures in projecting revenues we can improve our budgeting in the future,” said Auerbach.

Auerbach commissioned The Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) to prepare Ulster County Revenue Trends 2002 to 2009. The report examines trends in the County’s primary revenue from sales and property taxes and also considers their impact on the unassigned fund balance.

According to the analysis in the report, Ulster County has had a greater likelihood of underestimating revenues over the past decade. “When we under estimate revenue,” said Auerbach, “we bring in more revenue than we spend and that builds a fund balance.” During the study period the county underestimated sales tax revenue five times and overestimated three times. The report gives considerable attention to fund balances.

CRREO director Jerry Benjamin commended the County as careful, systematic and informed by experience in predicting sales tax revenue. “A review of sales tax revenue patterns, however argues for use of a methodology linked not only to historic patterns but also to current regional economic factors,” said Benjamin.

Revenue forecasting is one of the most complex topics in public finance. For this research, CRREO modeled Ulster County’s sales tax using a linear model, a Logarithmic model and a Polynomial model to demonstrate the predictive value of modeling.

Selected conclusions in the report include:

• shortfalls in collection of the property tax, attributed to current economic conditions, suggest a need for caution and a reserve for uncollected taxes at the level required by the County charter.

• sales tax revenue drop-off in Ulster County was 7.5%, the 14th worst in New York State

• there is a widening shortfall of actual money received against that expected in revised budgets

• there is a greater reliance on the property tax with the County seeking to raise 151% more in 2010 than it did in 2002 from the property tax

The report makes five recommendations including multi-year revenue planning, establishment of a policy on fund balance and budgeting a reserve for uncollected taxes in accordance with Charter mandate.

“We need a new approach to budgeting,” said Auerbach, “we need our planning to better anticipate the future.” Auerbach further recommends that Ulster County undertake long-term financial planning and multi-year budgeting. “Through these processes we can also begin to establish financial performance measures to evaluate our progress,” said Auerbach. (http://www.ulstercountyny.gov/comptroller/CRREO.2010%20Revenue%20Report.pdf)

$77K to Ellenville

ELLENVILLE, NY (July 2, 2010)… Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach delivered a property tax check to Ellenville Village Manager Mary Sheeley for $77,170.58 collected from New York State which represents 2010-2011 village taxes on the 3727 acres known as SAM’S POINT

Life's Leaks

WAWARSING WATER WOES

I spent last evening with several dozen residents who have been plagued by the continual leaking NYC tunnel that runs near their homes. My heart goes out to all of them who are faced dealing with “life’s leaks” on top of raising families, running households and making a living.

Here are my thoughts in a “nutshell:

It is nice that the DEP Commissioner finally and publicly admitted the culpability of his agency but that still does not resolve the problems that the home owners are faced with. I feel the frustration of those folks in Wawarsing who return home to deal daily with flooded homes, mold infested basements and swamped properties. Let's put their needs first and address the tunnel repairs once we have helped the homeowners.