2023-2024 Village of Ballston Spa Tentative Budget

FY2024 Tentative Budget Executive Summary

I want to highlight what I believe is a strong Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 (“FY24”). First, I’ll summarize some of the key features:

• It is a fully balanced budget that would raise taxes less than the State’s allowable Tax Cap for FY24
• All salaries and wages for Village staff members, except those for Trustees and the Mayor, reflect increases by at least 2.5%
• Inflation protection in key budget lines continues to be a top priorityFunding for business promotion, continued focus on community events, and revitalization of parks are centerpieces of this FY24 Tentative BudgetA first step ingenerating a water infrastructure capital reserve account is proposed, as the first increase in minimum water rates in five years (5%) is proposed to take effect later this year to help fund $18 million in Board-approved future projects
• Similarly, sewer funding is proposed to be increased through a 5% increase in sewer rates to provide currently nonexistent project funding ability in the Sewer Fund (G-Fund)
• Zoning Code amendments are funded, with more than half of the anticipated cost budgeted in FY24, as it is scheduled to begin around October 1, 2023, after approval of the Comprehensive Plan and an RFP process
• Funding by the Village for both local youth and seniors’ programs continue, with the first increase for Ballston Area Seniors proposed in the FY24 Tentative Budget in several years
• The Ballston Spa Public Library continues to be supported by the Village’s General Fund Balance as plans progress for major renovations and fundraising over the next years

TAX LEVY CHANGES

Because of the assessment growth seen in especially the Town of Milton section of Ballston Spa over the last year, the Ballston Spa FY24 Property Tax Cap tax levy increase was allowed to be as much as about 3.8%. However, the recent proposed settlement of the Ballston Two LLC (Saratoga Nursing) assessment litigation lowered the Town of Ballston’s Village assessment value in a way that, if the Property Tax Cap was maximized, would have allowed a 4% or greater tax rate increase for the Village’s Town of Ballston landowners. After reviewing several options with our accountants, it was determined that the Village could safely limit tax rate increases to about 2.27% for the Town of Ballston’s Village residents and 1.58% for the Town of Milton’s Village residents based on required apportionment. The remainder of the allowed Property Tax Cap levy can be rolled over to future years to ease property tax increases for all Village landowners.

The property tax levy increase may only be seen inside the A-Fund this year, but a $9,000 General Fund balance transfer will be made to help balance the Library’s budget. The Library, which received a 17.15% increase in Property Tax funding in FY23, has a one-time $20,000 spending item budget that is intended to fund architectural and engineering work for their major renovation and building addition capital plan. The General Fund balance transfer reflects the continued dedication the Village has toward the Library and reflects the support the Village’s Board is ready to put forth as the Library’s Master Plan continues to move forward.

OTHER REVENUE NOTES

With Saratoga County’s banner 2023 in Sales Tax revenue, the Village of Ballston Spa has recognized a great gain in its share of receipts. While the growth is expected to continue with the cessation of the County’s Gas Tax Holiday and with inflation creating a growth factor in County Sales Tax, the Budget Officer was careful to continue to predict FY24 Sales Tax revenue conservatively.

Fire Protection revenue from the Towns of Milton and Ballston continues to grow in a much-needed way. After the Village’s Board of Trustees voted to create a capital reserve account for firetruck purchases earlier in March, the Ballston Spa Fire Department is preparing to protect a healthy amount of the Towns’ revenue for the purchase of a needed new ladder truck — a purchase that could be at or near $2 million at the time it is ordered. In the meantime, the Village continues to fund facility repairs for the Eagle-Matt Lee and Union Firehouse locations, with over $60,000 in renovations budgeted (about 17.3 cents per thousand of Village assessed value).

As stated above, the first water rate increase for 60 percent of Village water users in five years is being proposed — a 5% increase — to help fund increased costs and the $18 million in water infrastructure projects approved recently by the Village’s Board of Trustees. Sewer rates, which have only been increased by 3% in the last five years for most users, are also proposed to be raised by the same 5% to fund major infrastructure projects. Water and sewer costs for the Village have escalated precipitously over the past two years while rates remained the same, cutting greatly into the Sewer Fund balance and our needed water income.

State Highway Aid (C.H.I.P.S. and other programs) is expected to continue at FY23 levels, meaning the DPW 11-year street pavement rotation will continue in FY24 with the Village’s share of proposed spending. This means that our routine ADA sidewalk ramp compliance (on streets we pave) will continue next year as a matter of course, and street conditions will continue to improve with this continued State funding.

The net result is that the Village will only be drawing $9,000 this year from General Fund Balance, with that $9,000 specifically being attributable to the Library’s Master Plan engineering and architectural costs highlighted above. This represents a drop from the Village’s $60,000 in General Fund Balance budgeting in FY23. General Fund Balance is projected to reach about $4.5 million after FY23, although that figure will include about $300,000 of unused Federal ARPA money, $800,000 of DPW equipment spending (that will be converted into a USDA grant and loan in late-FY24), and $300,000 of Capital Fund spending that is located in H-Fund after the Village’s FY22 AUD report.

SPENDING HIGHLIGHTS

There were several challenges that needed to be met in the FY24 Tentative Budget with respect to spending that are related to strong inflation, the continued policy of wage and salary growth, and the increased minimum wage effects created by State law. Overall, all salaries and hourly wages were increased by at least 2.5%, with the exception of the Board of Trustees and the Mayor. The Court staff — whose raises have taken place over a number of years, the Pool staff — who needed larger raises due to minimum wage issues, the Police — who the Budget Officer predicts will complete contract negotiations before or near the time of the beginning of FY24 (their increases include three years of raises), and the Fire Department administrative staff — whose minor wages are set by the Fire Department, were the other exceptions. While some members of the Board of Trustees were passionate about receiving their 2.5% pay increase — or $109.59 for the year — the Budget Officer determined that for symbolic reasons, it is not appropriate. The Budget Officer did provide access to Mayor’s discretionary funds for additional training opportunities that could far exceed $109.59 per Trustee if they choose to attend classes, seminars, and symposia during FY24.

Special care was taken during Department Head meetings to flag and discuss the following issues in each line item: 1) over-spending or under-spending as of 1/31/2023; 2) extra funding needed to cover issues like inflation causing premature exhaustion of budget funds; and 3) potential one-time spending needs either still to come at the end of FY23 or planned for FY24. This is why projections do not always reflect just 50 percent more than the 1/31/2023 actual numbers; the Budget Officer and Treasurer worked to ensure the shortfalls already being experienced in some fund lines in FY23 are resolved now and moving forward.

Treasurer and Clerk PS lines experienced changes that should be highlighted here. In the Treasurer section, the FY23 creation of a Deputy Treasurer (part-time) position is added to the Treasurer PS line, but the Deputy Clerk/Receptionist/Water Assistant role was removed from Treasurer PS and added to Clerk PS. This is the beginning of a process to attribute staffing to the correct lines and to reflect their duties inside the correct budget lines (for instance, for work related to water by the Deputy Clerk, we should be placing that part of their salary expense inside the appropriate water budget lines). This process will take time over the next year to fully implement for the FY25 budget process.

Contingency is proposed to rebound back to $115,000 after a mid-year FY23 cut to fund other projects. This reflects just over 2% of all A-Fund appropriations. Should a Woods Hollow sale to the Town of Milton provide more than $120,000 to the Village of Ballston Spa, that sale value in excess of $120,000 (the estimated minimum expected forest management revenue) will be placed in the Contingency budget line, as well.

Sidewalk reimbursement funding is increased for FY24 with anticipation of a new, higher reimbursement rate pending approval by the Board. Only $10,000 has been reimbursed in FY23 (although, more could be paid out between today and May 31st). The increase to $40,000 reflects the higher reimbursement rate and the likely increase in sidewalk work performed by landowners at this new rate.

The Village’s Culture & Recreation budget section reflects a robust amount of growth as momentum continues for community and outdoor activities for youth, seniors, and everyone in between. Expenditures toward programs and new projects by the Village’s Committee for the Arts and community not-for-profit organization Arts & Sciences Creating Community (“ASK”) total nearly $30,000, some of which may be offset by Saratoga Arts grants. These programs focus on local concerts, street pole banners, the Birdhouse Program, and much more. Similarly, Family Fun Day’s success and the demand for additional Village events are reflected by the increase in Celebrations funding to $32,000. Inside this budget section is also a reaffirmation of the Village’s support for youth programs and activities, with funding being provided for Kelley Park enhancements, Victory Circle Park improvements, BACC support, additional BARC support, and continued repairs and operations of the Village Swimming Pool. This section also reflects the first proposed increase for Ballston Area Seniors funding since the Village began funding the group several years ago ($12,000). Finally, funding for a Master Plan for Wiswall Park and temporary enhancements to the Park during that process are highlighted in the Parks EQ - Iron Spring & Wiswall budget line ($25,050).

Similar to the demand for activities, a strong demand for our resurgent businesses to continue their growth is reflected in continued support for the Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association (“BSBPA”). The $11,000 of proposed funding represents an increase to help the BSBPA get their local video series off the ground to help continue their exciting momentum from the past year from their new digital marketing campaign. While some may suggest the benefits of business strength do not directly benefit the Village, it is clear that the draw our Village’s businesses have bringing distant customers to BSpa and the overall strength the businesses provide to our Village’s character and charm are priceless benefits that directly have improved our Village’s reputation and the property values inside it. This is something that needs to continue now and into the future for the sake of a strong Village.

Finally, beautification of the Village continues to be an important piece of our FY24 Budget. The Tentative Budget continues support for the Village Garden Club ($1,000) and for the BSBPA Adopt-a-Plot program ($7,000). In addition, Friends of the Kayaderosseras is proposed to receive $1,000 again for their wonderful work in and around the Ballston Spa community.

CONCLUSION

While it was a challenging Tentative Budget to complete in some ways, the end result accomplishes a balance between conservative revenue forecasting and respectful expense budgeting that embraces the current and future demands of our community. From embracing events and businesses, to supporting our youth and aging populations, to improving our wonderful parks, to ensuring planning for water, sewer, and sidewalk infrastructure improvements, this Tentative Budget embraces all of these important aspects of our current and future needs. If implemented, it will seize on the momentum the Village of Ballston Spa is experiencing economically, socially, and culturally while ensuring the Village’s government can properly provide the services our residents and landowners expect and rely on each year.

      - Mayor Frank S. Rossi, II