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Cold Spring's Fiscal Belt Tightening Results in Good Report From Auditors
07-08 spending plan comes in on target
by Kevin Foley
After months of bad fiscal news and sour arguments over everything from accounting procedures to appropriate gasoline usage, the Cold Spring Board of Trustees received a welcome breath of fresh air at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday June 10, 2008.
Susan Tucker, a member of the Sedore and Company outside auditor team that has been sharply critical of Cold Spring's accounting systems and procedures announced her preliminary assessment that the fiscal year just ended on May 31 was likely to finish in balance in the aftermath of the trustees' efforts to stem the red ink tide.
Tucker cautioned that only ten days had passed since the closing of the books and that some bills were still outstanding. Nevertheless, she voiced confidence that when an official audit of the ledger was conducted the expense and revenue sides of the approximately $1.5 million budget would more or less match up.
"The most important thing is that we broke even despite all the doom and gloom we heard around here," said a curmudgeonly Mayor Anthony Phillips. The Mayor credited the village government department heads with responding quickly to the fiscal problems with operational savings. "And then we beat the bushes for what we were owed," added Phillips.
Whatever budgetary acrimony had bubbled up in the past months among the trustees and especially between Phillips and Trustee Seth Gallagher seemed to get buried beneath the soothing judgment of the auditor.
Evidence of the new way of conducting business came next in an awkward introduction of Ellen Mageean, the new certified public accountant hired to bring the village books up to date. Village Attorney Stephen Gaba explain that her introduction had to officially be part of the Village Clerk/Treasurer Mary Saari's report. In addition, Gaba challenged the idea that the part time accountant could be a signatory on bank checks, opining that Saari would have to do that until a further legal review was conducted.
Fire and Assistant Building Inspector Ralph Faloon next reported that he and Building Inspector George Tompkins would present a new scheme for application fees and fines for violations of the building code at a village workshop on June 24.
The Water and Sewer Department report urged water conservation as summer approaches asking residents to water their grass and plants in the early morning and evening to reduce evaporation.
The Trustees approved a number of individual requests, recommended by the Recreation Department, to use village facilities including the ball fields and Mayor's Park. Mary Saari drew some amused commentary when she said she had warned a couple seeking to be married in Mayor's park that a baseball game would be in progress on the next field over.
The trustees also continued their discussion of how best to assist the Tots Park supporters who have asked the village government to officially receive and then distribute back funds they raise at an upcoming fundraiser on July 26 and other events. The trustees appeared disposed to approving the request pending the outcome of further review of the legal issues.
Earlier in the meeting Comprehensive Plan Special Board Chair Carol Casparian had reported progress in choosing a consultant firm to help with her group's work in developing a new master plan for the village. She also indicated she was looking forward to further discussion of how the Special Board and the Village Board could better work together, a subject of some wrangling for the last several weeks.
Under the new business phase of the meeting, attorney Stephen Gaba reported his research had revealed that although the members of the Special Board had been appointed and the Special Board had been operating for 18 months, the Village Board had never formally authorized its organizational and operating procedures. He then presented a seven-page document intended to "retrofit" the Special Board.
While the trustees and Casparian seemed copasetic with approving the document, which had been previously circulated among them, some Special Board members in the audience expressed consternation over not having seen the document beforehand. Nevertheless, the trustees voted unanimously to approve the resolution, suggesting they would be open to amendment later on if necessary.
The trustees also formally adopted a village government fuel policy, which has largely been in effect for the past few weeks. It centers on having one key per vehicle for the gas pump and the requirement that drivers fill in a log registering fuel consumption and mileage.
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