NIAGARA FALLS: Council voting on cuts

Fruscione said staffing is among targets

By Rick Forgione<br><a href="mailto:forgioner@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Rick</a>

Niagara Falls City Council members will spend the next two days trimming Mayor Paul Dyster’s proposed budget by more than $300,000.

Council Chairman Samuel Fruscione said 50 amendments to the $80.2 million spending plan will be up for vote today and Wednesday and will include eliminating some staffing positions. Whatever amount is cut from the budget will be placed into a contingency account instead of reducing taxes, he added.

“We need to save the money for the future for whatever needs the city may have,” Fruscione said. “We’re going to stay at a zero percent tax increase for the third year in a row.”

Dyster presented his 2009 operating budget to the council on Oct. 1. It proposes an increase in spending by more than $3 million, but maintains stable tax rates for home and business owners thanks in large part to a shot of surplus state aid.

The council held budget work sessions with department heads in mid-October to begin drafting amendments.

“(Dyster) put together a nice budget, but it’s the council’s job to cut it up,” Fruscione said Monday. “It’s not really tough to cut once you go through it line by line.”

Fruscione declined to elaborate on the cuts until the council votes, but said the city’s planning department is among the targets. That budget proposes a spending increase from $229,098 to $945,344.

In discussing his department’s budget last month, Senior City Planner Thomas DeSantis explained the increases are mostly due to eight positions being moved into his lines from other departments. Those jobs include the newly created North Star project coordinator and several others relating to economic development and urban renewal, causing the department’s payroll to increase from $138,190 to $613,127.

However, Fruscione believes there’s still some overspending in the department.

“There’s definitely going to be some reductions in those lines,” Fruscione said. “It’s time to stop the spending.”

Another budget amendment will reduce gas cost estimates for next year. The mayor has budgeted $885,150 for all departments, compared to the $480,420 adopted for this year, an 84 percent increase. Councilman Chris Robins said those estimates were made over the summer when gas prices were soaring and don’t reflect the current situation.

Last year, the council passed 53 amendments to former Mayor Vince Anello’s budget, cutting the plan by $235,957. Those savings were placed into a contingency account for Dyster to use at his discretion for filling positions. Dyster has used some of that money to increase salaries for the city administrator and hiring a new corporation counsel, which awaits council approval.

He also created a $100,000 director of economic development position using $60,000 from the contingency. However, the mayor’s plans to create a tourism director position will not be added to the 2009 budget, Fruscione said.

The new contingency account is being set up in preparation of future financial woes and will require council approval to be used, Fruscione added.

Dyster has the opportunity to veto any of the council’s budget amendments, but can be overturned by a super majority council vote.