NORWICH – Though it represents one of the smallest budgets in Chenango County, local taxpayers will be hit with a 58 percent increase for code enforcement next year.
Revenues in the department were down this year and cut in half since 2007, no doubt a reflection of the nation’s economic recession. There have been simply fewer new building projects, much less any new big box retailers like Walmart and Lowe’s to add to the bottom line. Chenango County saw a $30,000 decrease of the $80,000 anticipated this year from the collection of building fees.
The results were still a far cry from the $174,000 taken in just three years ago when many bricks and mortar projects and new homes were started. Next year will be the first time any local tax dollars will be needed to afford the department.
Moreover, when the Town of Norwich opted to break away and hire its own code enforcement officer last year, the county codes enforcement department was forced to cut staff. Other towns like New Berlin and Greene were already conducting their own permitting and enforcing. Fewer officers in the field resulted in fewer revenues for fire code inspections and maintenance calls.
Still, the department had high hopes for a maintenance fee chargeback system for the towns that rely on the county for service. When a property maintenance complaint was received at the county level, individuals were asked to fill out a form and send it to their town supervisor for approval. Codes would then charge $40 per hour to work with the property owner to either clean up the mess or issue them an appearance ticket.
The amount of charge-backs received were only half the amount budgeted, however. The towns refused to contract for services. No revenues from this activity are expected next year at all.
Chenango County Public Health Director Marcas Flindt said there were about a dozen complaints on a working list at this time. “I’m not saying we won’t handle a complaint. We’ll take them and put them on the list, and we’ll get to them when we get to it,” he said.
Both he and County Treasurer William E. Evans said they were surprised that supervisors from towns with their own services didn’t complain during the budgeting season about having to ask their constituents to pay even more taxes for county services that they don’t use.
Flindt said he didn’t know how the department would avoid another loss next year. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard D. Decker, R-N. Norwich, wouldn’t say whether codes would be one of those departments that would be scrutinized next year in order to cut spending.
“There are going to be some real hard decisions that have to be made this coming year, I can tell you that,” Decker said, adding that he wasn’t ready to talk “the specifics.”
“Every committee needs to take a good hard look of what’s reporting to them and what needs to be taken care of at that time,” he said.
Codes will see the second highest percentage increase for a government unit after DSS, which saw its administration costs alone rise a whopping 208 percent.
Taxpayers will also be asked to afford a $30,000 increase for economic development and tourism this year. The amount reflects state cuts to the ‘I Love New York’ and New York State Empire Zone Development programs.
The public is invited to comment on the 2010 proposed budget at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 in the County Office Building on Court Street in Norwich. In a discussion of the budget last week, Finance Committee Chairman Lawrence Wilcox, R-Oxford, said the committee’s budgeting task was “the most difficult in 12 years.”