Recent Suffern Village Board meeting with yellow shirts in support of DPW workers looking for overtime pay. Suffern’s cash on hand problem made it necessary for the village to seek a bridge loan through the end of its fiscal year.
The Suffern Village Hall parking lot was filled to capacity Wednesday night, with the village auditorium itself populated by yellow shirts showing support for the Department of Public Work. What followed at Suffern Village Board meeting was a study in local politics, civic history and a lesson in how to skate across the old municipal bankruptcy pond, whistling all the while and hoping that the ice will hold.
During the heart of the meeting, Suffern Treasurer Mike Genito stood at the microphone giving a swift, complex accounting of the village books, which sounded so scrambled that even Mr. Genito, an experienced municipal accountant, appeared exasperated. But Genito remained calm and outlined the current fiscal condition of the village and general comprehensive plan that he hoped would help set Suffern on the path to financial recovery.
CSEA Unit 8369 President Scott Brown addresses the Suffern Board of Trustees as representative Suffern employees, with the exception of the Suffern Police.
The plan is similar to the one Rockland County embraced — roll current short term debt into long term debt and reduce spending. Gentino pinpointed 2010 as the year that Suffern began its downward fiscal spiral by borrowing heavily from its water and sewer funds to shore up the village general fund. According to Gentino, the village is approximately $2.5 million in the hole due to its short term borrowing — and exacerbated by shoddy village accounting practices.
But the immediate crisis at hand during Wednesday’s meeting concerned the matter of an approximately $50,000 cash shortfall needed to pay village DPW and Suffern Police overtime — much of it due to the recent snowfall and wintry conditions. Suffern Mayor Trish Abato called an emergency board meeting that took place Tuesday morning that might have activated the plan comprehensive plan — which included issuing three short-term bank notes totaling $1.5 million: a $600,000 budget note, a $600,000 revenue deficiency note and a $340,000 sewer revenue anticipation note.
Members of the board balked at approving the Tuesday morning borrowing plan. Trustee Bob Morris had apparently flown back from vacationing in Florida for the meeting, and was scheduled to fly back out again Thursday.
The proposed borrowed funds would presumably keep the village going through May 31, 2015, the end of the village budget year, and also included coverage of the overtime payroll owed emplyees as well as buyout funds for retiring Suffern police officers. Sloatsburg Village Trustee and former Suffern Police Lieutenant John Bonkoski was one of the officers who took early retirement, a move that helped Mayor Abato and Police Chief Clarke Osborn reorient police department salaries which is expected to help the village long term. To date, Suffern has failed to make good on the buyout package, to the vexation of the Suffern PBA and Bonkoski.
Plenty of time was allotted by Mayor Abato Wednesday for all parties to discuss the complex matters before the community, and, much like a big group therapy session, there were confessions and accusations and eye-opening revelations.
Part of Wednesday’s meeting included a Public Hearing and resubmission by Josh Goldstein and Orange Avenue Associates for the village to reconsider the Orange Avenue proposal to develop the Lafayette Hotel site, which includes 92 apartment rental units and 121 on-site parking spaces. The Suffern Board continued the Orange Ave hearing until its first meeting in March.
Trustees Ed Markunas, Bob Morris and Frank Hagen voted to table the bond proposal until Wednesday’s board meeting. The delay set into motion a possible lawsuits as both Suffern Police Benevolent Association President Detective Sgt. John Mallon and Scott Brown, president of CSEA Unit 8369, which represents Suffern employees, took to the podium to let the board know in no uncertain terms what it faced should the village fail to make full payroll with overtime.
Trustee Morris probed Genito whether the borrowing would/could/should take place in time to meet Friday’s payroll. But Genito said that was beside the point, asserting that with the bonding process underway the village could easily move around current funds to meet immediate expenses.
When pressed further, Genito said that he could not give an answer on when the bond process would’ve been completed because no local banks wanted to purchase Suffern paper at this time. He indicated that Trustee Morris might be missing the larger fiscal picture.
Trustee Morris said that the whole short term borrowing plan sounded like more of the same fiscal practices of borrowing short term and owing long term. Finally, the majority on the board appeared to realize that the necessity of obtaining an immediate bridge loan outweighed campaign slogans and policy disagreements. A motion was made on each of the short-term notes and all carried with a unanimous board vote.
Treasurer Gentino announced that the treasurer’s office would make sure all village employees received their full pay Friday, including overtime. The erupted into applause.
Then, just when it appeared the board would adjourn the emotional meeting, Trustee Ed Markunas brought up a resolution not on the evening’s agenda, and, apparently, not discussed in workshop with the board. A motion was made and seconded to hire West Nyack Attorney Amy Miele as additional counsel to the board, at $200 per hr up to $4000 per month. Markunas didn’t elaborate on what Miele would be working on, or why additional council was needed.
The motion passed 3-2 and that was that for the night.
