NORWICH – Although two city of Norwich officials were on hand during Monday’s Chenango County Board of Supervisors meeting, neither were on the agenda and, therefore, were not asked to speak.
Following the meeting, Mayor Joseph P. Maiurano said he had intended to address the extension of a special, 1 percent sales tax collection. The tax - which was unanimously prolonged for another two-year period - was imposed in 2002 to afford the county’s year-old $26.5 million Public Safety Facility. Town supervisors agreed this week to re-word the legislation and extend the tax in order to pay for the facility’s new communications system.
The mayor said he had written a letter to the chairman of the county board regarding the matter and carbon copied the two supervisors who represent the county seat. “I was surprised they didn’t ask me to speak,” he said after the meeting. “And I was surprised the two who represent the city didn’t bring up our concerns.”
County Clerk of the Board R.C. Woodford said he had not received any request for the mayor to be placed on the agenda.
Maiurano said he would have asked for a provision in the legislation for the City of Norwich to receive any extra collections of city-generated sales tax.
“When you need the money, you have to keep asking for it,” he said yesterday. “I think they do a great job over there at the county, it’s just sometimes you get discouraged.”
City of Norwich Supervisors James J. McNeil and Linda E. Natoli said they thought an agreement had been reached at a prior meeting with the mayor that the county should go ahead and extend the tax. “We agreed that we would address the city’s request in 2009,” Natoli said.
During a discussion of the resolution, Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan asked for a tally of the construction costs for the Public Safety Facility as well as the amount left over for communications.
“Initially, a certain amount of the $26.5 million was for communications. Now I know it was adjusted down, but I’ve never seen a tally. Absent the communications project, have we paid all our bills?” he asked.
Chairman Richard B. Decker, R-North Norwich, said he didn’t know the amount left over for communications. “I can’t remember,” he said, “but, yes, the bills have been paid and the remainder is being applied to communications.”
Flanagan requested the figures to date, saying the county treasurer had referred him to the county’s auditor for the report.
“The treasurer should have that,” Decker said.
Later in the week, Flanagan said he learned from Clerk of the Board and County Auditor R.C. Woodford that the New York State Dormitory Authority (the project’s contractors) had $500,000 left over from the first phase of the project. In addition, the county has a balance of between $600,000 and $700,000 in the capital project account. The board has appropriated both amounts to the communications phase.
Flanagan said he was still unsure whether the construction project came in under budget, as officials have said. “I want to know the jail costs, very simply,” he said referring to a breakdown of balances “and any varied and assorted interests earned over the life of the project” as well as all direct costs associated with clearing the land, etc.
“What did the jail cost us, all in?” he asked.
Also during the resolution discussion, McNeil asked the amount paid out for operations and maintenance at the facility during its first year of operation. Decker said he didn’t have the amount with him at the meeting.
Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello asked the amount of and when the last bond bill was paid. None of the figures that the three town supervisors requested were made public during the meeting.