Council imposes freeze on non-essentials

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September 7, 2010

By Mark Scheer Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Tue Sep 07, 2010, 10:40 PM EDT

NIAGARA FALLS — City department heads will be expected to keep closer watch on non-essential expenditures in the coming weeks.

Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure imposing a freeze on all discretionary spending through Dec. 31.

It is hoped the move will allow the city to end the year with a larger fund balance, providing council members with more money to work with as they begin putting together the municipal spending plan for 2011.

“It’s using good judgment when you are spending tax dollars,” said Comptroller Maria Brown, who provided the council with an overview of the proposal before Tuesday’s vote.

Under the directive, all city department heads will be expected to cease spending on discretionary items such as clothing, supplies and travel even if their respective budgets show a surplus. Brown recommended the move based on her belief that next year’s city budget could be negatively impacted by an anticipated loss in state aid and other factors. She stressed the city remains in solid financial shape at this time but said prudent steps are needed today to avoid financial problems in the future. Brown also recommended the council and administration consider cuts in overtime spending and the elimination of temporary workers and unfilled positions in the weeks ahead.

Mayor Paul Dyster told lawmakers his administration has already taken steps of its own to curtail spending, noting that on Aug. 26 Director of Public Works David Kinney informed his staff that, as of Sept. 1, all non-contractual purchases had to be reviewed and approved by him before any department funds could be spent.

Under the council’s directive, department heads are allowed to request permission from the mayor and the city administrator to purchase non-essential items. Brown stressed that the measure does not cover any spending on casino revenues pursuant to future council actions and therefore would not impact any ongoing road repair projects tied to casino revenues.

In other matters, the council:

• Received an update on the ongoing search for a replacement for former Fire Chief William MacKay. City Administrator Donna Owens said the administration is in the final stages of the interview process and hoped to be able to name a preferred candidate in the next week or so.

• Renewed the city’s lease at 496 19th St., a storefront used by the police department as a substation. The new lease agreement runs through June 30 and includes a monthly rent of $425, plus utilities — a $25 increase over the previous lease.

• Agreed to honor a request from the Buffalo Arts Studio for a $14,000 grant to help pay Didier Paquette’s “Wire Walk” in Niagara Falls. The wire walk is part of a collaborative art exhibit called Beyond/In Western New York 2010 and involves partnerships with organizations in the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Paquette is a French performance artist who performs tightrope walks. He is scheduled to perform a walk at a location mutually agreed upon by the project partners within the City of Niagara Falls between Sept. 24 and Jan. 16. Funding for the grant will come from the city’s tourism fund. In approving the measure, lawmakers amended the agreement to include a provision that Dyster would approach the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. about the possibility of reimbursing the city for at least part of its cost.

• Contributed $10,000 in casino interest money to the Oakwood Cemetery Association to assist in the organization’s ongoing bid to improve and maintain the mausoleum at the historic city cemetery.

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