Government

The tentative 2019 budget for the Town of Franklin spends $1.76 million. To partially finance this, the town board plans to raise $1.19 million in property taxes from landowners, an increase of $ 0.03 million (2.4%) over the 2018 budget. This levy is just under the state-imposed soft cap and similar to the increase in 2018.

Increases in appropriations total $45,755, of which increases in salaries (personal services, PS) contribute only $2,100: superintendent of highways $500 (1% increase), assessor $350 (1%), director of finance $750 (6%), and justice $500 (9%). Only the superintendent received an increase in the previous year.

With these increases, salaries for the town officials would be: superintendent of highways Laing, $47,700; assessor Basile, $27,850; supervisor Taggart, $15,900; clerk/collector Ritz, $15,500; CEO Jacobs, $15,000; finance director Warner, $12,750; justice Arndt, $6,000; dog control officer Lockwood, $1,800; and councilmen Bruno, Grant, Sitts, and Smith, $1,200 each. (Taggart’s salary divides as $3,800 (24%) from the town and $12,100 (76%) from the county.) The total of salaries for town officials in budget is $135,200. In addition is $61,000 in benefits for a grand total of $196,200.
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In 2010, the Franklin Town Board stopped their annual internal auditing of the town books and stopped releasing an accounting, both required under NY Town Law. In addition, they did not file an Annual Update Document of this accounting with the Office of the State Comptroller, required under NY Municipal Law.

In 2014, after the OSC audit of town financial operations for 2012 and 2013, our town government agreed with the findings (letter, 4/30), and agreed to restart auditing and filing (Comprehensive Action Plan, 7/16), but they have not.

In 2016, The New Franklin Register learned of this audit, which had never been discussed in town meetings – contrary to the practice of neighboring towns and Delaware County. During late 2016 and early 2017, the newspaper requested these accountings, but without success.

In 2017, to bring this matter before the Franklin community, the NFR published a series of investigations. All that time, repeated requests were stonewalled, with the supervisor Jeffery Taggart stating only that “we’re working on it.” The supervisor served his first two terms without producing a single accounting. Continue reading…

By Brian Brock

For many years now, the Town of Franklin has annually violated New York Town Law by the board not auditing the town books (Section 62) and by the supervisor not releasing the end-of-year accounting (Section 29(10)). How could their malfeasance bring trouble down on our town? Possibilities include ineligibility for state assistance and lowered credit ratings.

Economic stresses on local governments and school districts are estimated by the Office of the State Comptroller. By stress, the OSC means the ability of an organization to raise enough money to pay its budgetary obligations, now or in the future.

Estimates of current fiscal stress are based on numbers in the annual financial reports (Annual Update Documents or AUD), which are used to calculate component factors such as fund balance, operating deficit, cash position, short-term debt, personnel costs, and debt service. Estimates of future susceptibility to stress are based on trends in population, age distribution, poverty rates, property values, employment base, state/federal aid, tax limits, and sales tax. Both rate the stress on a scale from zero to one hundred, with zero being the least stress. Continue reading…

By Brian Brock

After having read in the spring issue of this newspaper about the 2014 audit of the Town of Franklin financial operations by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), you might have wondered how it could be the first time that you learned of this critique. Arguably, this is because the town board did what it could to keep this report from the citizens — legally and then some.

Now Report 2014M-32 can be inspected at the town hall during office hours. (It had been lost in the files.) The OSC is more accommodating. Anytime, this audit can be read at your leisure, printed, or downloaded for free at: https://goo.gl/nYBygL.

This audit of the fiscal year 2012 was extended into 2013 and then published in 2014. After reviewing a draft of this report, the town board responded with a letter to the OSC in April of 2014. After the report was published, the town board placed a copy in the town files and placed the required notice in the back of The Walton Reporter in May. After reviewing the final report, the town board submitted the required Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to the OSC in July. In all this time, there is no written record of this audit being discussed in the public meetings of the town board. Unfortunately, video-recording of the monthly meetings did not begin until later in December 2014. Continue reading…

By Brian Brock

Would you like to know how the town board spent your property taxes last year?

You should be able to.

Under New York Town Law, each town is required to file an annual financial report. This Annual Update Document (AUD) should be available from the Town Clerk, Dawn Ritz, or the Office of the State Comptroller within 60 days of the end of the year. (Nearly ninety-seven percent of towns speed the process by filing their AUDs electronically.) What is more, the town is required to publish notice of the availability of each AUD in the official newspaper.

Then how could you have missed these financial reports year after year? In 2013, an examination by the OSC of Town of Franklin Financial Operations found that our town has not been filing these required AUDs since the one for 2008. Even that one is available only from Albany. Continue reading…