001E2 Gowanda HS Library: God, Yeah. The number of views. Yeah, we can find out. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'm curious whether it's kind of a waste… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Call and meet in the order. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Shit. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Except again on the curve. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And moving forward to the agenda? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Do the money? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Any discussion? E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'll vote. All in favor? All in favor? Aye. There we go. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Bye. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Discussion, sure. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Turning it over to Barb Poole. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Alright, thank you. I'm gonna jump right into it, we're a little behind here, so… E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'll skip over the memo. I
002think most of you, I think maybe Brittany, this is your first budget season, I know you're excited. So this is typically what I try to do, is I kind of have a high-level overview for both revenues and expenditures, and then I have the detailed reports that have all the accounts. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then I try to put notes in, at least on the expenditures, the revenue that we're looking at. But I try to kind of note if there's significant changes, or kind of what's in those things. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Tonight, I would like to discuss, kind of the real property taxes and the levy, and what the tax cap is. We'll do that after the revenues. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I always kind of start the process
003by taking out the reserves and the fund balance. Reserves, I'm still working on to see what next year's expenditures match up with our reserves and what ones I would budget for. The unappropriated fund balance, that's really kind of the filler between total revenues and total expenditures, once we have a total budget. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Erie County sales tax, it has continued to increase. I was worried about this year because of the tariffs, and they said that Canadians weren't coming over. However, it really has not impacted our sales tax at all, so I am recommending that we increase that. It does impact E2 Gowanda HS Library: how the tax levy shifts, but so does everything else. So, I'm not really sure that it'll make a big difference, or not. E2 Gowanda HS Library: The Native
004American tuition, I was still keeping flat, because the rates tend to change, and then we… once they… they give us money one year, sometimes if the rate goes down the next year, once the real rate comes in, they take money back. So it's kind of a moving target there as well. E2 Gowanda HS Library: The state aid, it's really based on what we got from the governor's budget. I did make two changes, E2 Gowanda HS Library: at the time they take, they pull the data, to give us our projections, it's based on last year's expenditures, or for excess costs, it's kind of based on some of the student counts. So, to me, the excess cost, A, looks low, so I added $200,000, or I added $300,000. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Transportation aid, to me, looks
005too high, because it's based on what we budgeted, and our contracted, expenditures for transportation E2 Gowanda HS Library: were actually lower than we anticipate, so I decreased that. So in that $200,000, I added to what the governor had proposed, because that's what really I expected. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Our foundation aid increased by $386,000, I think it was 1.93%, so that's definitely less, but… E2 Gowanda HS Library: We're still… we're still a better… do it better than other districts. So it's not our… certainly our highest amount. The federal aid is another one I kind of struggle with. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You know, Impact Aid, if we were, if we were fully funded, in the same fiscal year that we were owed the money, we're due a little over $2 million. E2 Gowanda HS Library:
006But that's another one that… We only get paid when they release the money to the Impact Aid Office. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, if you remember, I think it was last year, we got all of our money all at once, so we had an extra money, so we had almost $3 million, but the year before, it was closer to $2. E2 Gowanda HS Library: We could budget more, but I'd get a little concerned about, A, timing, and if the federal government shuts down. E2 Gowanda HS Library: that we weren't receiving any monies at the time that they had their last shutdown. So that's kind of the risk with budgeting more for that aid. So right now, I've left it flat. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I did increase the, for $150,000, I did increase the interest,
007because we have continued, to see increases in interest. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You know, it is funny, because in 22-23, we only received $289,000 in interest. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Last year we had $987,000 of interest. So, it has a swing. I mean, as we continue to have reserves and fund balances, we'll continue to get interest. At some point, I anticipate the interest rates will drop. E2 Gowanda HS Library: But I think that it's safe to increase the interest for next year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So that's kind of our… our building aid is going down a little bit. Our actual percentage of building aid itself is down because our, our WADA is down, which is our resident average weighted… our average daily attendance. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So that impacts, that. E2 Gowanda HS
008Library: So that's the high-level revenues. This is kind of what all of our revenue accounts look like. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I don't know if anybody has any questions on the revenues. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Questions, comments? E2 Gowanda HS Library: We'll finalize the revenues as part of the whole budget when I bring it all. E2 Gowanda HS Library: March. E2 Gowanda HS Library: But this is kind of where it's at right now. E2 Gowanda HS Library: What's that? I did have a question. E2 Gowanda HS Library: We had mentioned in the previous workshop. E2 Gowanda HS Library: or presentation, transportation 8 legs by a year. Yep. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And… Also noted that… Our buses were in… the… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Part of the fund balance, because they hadn't been received. E2
009Gowanda HS Library: Yes. When? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Do we actually report and get the funds for the buses when we receive them, or when we… E2 Gowanda HS Library: After we receive them, we're paid for 5 years. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay, so it's after we receive the buses. Yes. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Because we can't… we can't put them in… we have to put them in the state system with the VIN numbers, the passenger side, what we paid, everything goes in there. So then after we put them in and actually receive them, we'll get capital transportation expenses for 5 years. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay, but it's yearly, I guarantee. Yes, yeah, that's lagged as well. E2 Gowanda HS Library: No. E2 Gowanda HS Library: The next question I have is… E2 Gowanda
010HS Library: And not pertaining to this year, but… Will the zero buses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Looks like we're not gonna be getting out of that. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Not yet. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Will state aid still continue to cover those at roughly 90%? E2 Gowanda HS Library: That is my understanding, yes. But it would be the same concept as they would be… We would have a paying them over so many years. It needs to stretch over more years, but we would have to up front for at least a year. Yes. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah, we're gonna talk about that tonight in the regular meeting as well, too. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Cause we'll have to make a decision at some point of when, when we want to… E2 Gowanda HS Library:
011Put it out for proposition for an electric bus. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay. Now, the other question is, is that… If I'm not mistaken. E2 Gowanda HS Library: One of the presentations earlier in the year, we had roughly… E2 Gowanda HS Library: It's somewhere 6 to 9 million dollars in E2 Gowanda HS Library: improvements needed at the bus garage. Yep. E2 Gowanda HS Library: In order to… before we even… buy a bus. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Before we could be fully fleeted. So we can have a pilot program, so we are intending on having… our intention was to have a pilot program with two buses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: to start. That would be the first part of the whole implementation. And without… with that, we don't need the fire… E2 Gowanda HS Library: suppression
012system, so we're gonna put two chargers at the inside of the end of the bus garage. We're gonna start that way. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That was our intention, of trying to, kind of. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Kind of ease into this, and then use those buses for kind of the in-district routes. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Would we still get the 90% aid? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah, and there's, there's other, E2 Gowanda HS Library: incentives and rebates and stuff, so there's rebates on the chargers, so, like, but if we were gonna do that, let's say, Bob and I would kind of toss this around, so… E2 Gowanda HS Library: We were not really thinking of having it on the proposition during a budget. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And during a boat. So, let's say
013we did it in October, November, December as a separate boat for the buses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: We would budget in that year, so 27-28, budget for the cost of the chargers, less the incentives, because of the E2 Gowanda HS Library: We would net those out, and then I could get building, or I could get transportation aid on the difference. And then we would look to get the buses and try and do the pilot program 27-28. E2 Gowanda HS Library: But still, you've got almost a 2-year lag on buses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yes. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That's when we would order them. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah. I think it was 14 months? Yeah, it was 14 months at the first. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Can we encumber and… Allocate the funds right
014away, as soon as we're reimbursed, though. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Hello, bosses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: No, we can't. That's the question I had earlier. They don't enter into the system until you get the VIN numbers. Right. The incentives do work a little bit differently. I think some of those, they'll take the… some of them will reduce the cost of the bus in total. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then we can do a salvage. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Scrapish? Salvage? Bus? Oh, they scrap them, and they'll give us more in scrap than they will if we've sold them outright, so that also reduces the cost. So some of them are just a general reduction of the cost of the bus. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then some of them… then we'll still get the aid
015over… for what we actually paid over the 5 year… er, 15 years. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You were thinking, I could see, I could see. I just had a question. Did you say 15 years of the only one? Yeah, they extended it to… for the new buses, it's not 5. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I got the drug at the 8. 8. 8, yeah. They started out at… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah, they started it out at 12, like 12. 12, yeah, they started it out at 12. For our bus, for our diesel buses, it's fine. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That's part of the question, on improvements to the bus garage, if it goes under the transportation aid, when do we actually… Right. There's a lot of that stuff. Yeah, so if it's an… if it's
016an actual… so if it's not, I'm not… it depends on, again. E2 Gowanda HS Library: If I'm… if I charge an expense in general fund to transportation, I get the aid next year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, for, like, the chargers, I get the 8 next year. When we're buying the buses, it's over a longer time. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay, any more questions on revenue that are transportation related? Alright, so I do want to talk about the tax cap. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And we did do this in the workshop, but… so I… I would like a sense, if we can tonight, I know Max isn't here, I know, Crystal, you're not here the next workshop, right? So by March 1st, I have to file, the tax cap. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Form with
017the state. So, I am supposed to tell them at that point what we anticipate, as our levy, so, E2 Gowanda HS Library: Like I said, this year it was the 1.2. E2 Gowanda HS Library: This is, you know, the total amount you can raise. Again, this is the formula, based on New York State. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So the total that we could raise is $5.638, and add the $214,000 to $3.96. Obviously, that's not where we're going. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, I don't know, you know, as a board, if you're comfortable making that discussion. I have a discussion tonight about, you know, is it 1.2, is it 1, is it 1.5, is it somewhere in between? E2 Gowanda HS Library: The 1.2, I just used the 1.2 because we had it this year, it's
018$11.25 per year on a home assessed at $100,000. E2 Gowanda HS Library: If we put it at 1.2, We have a chance with… E2 Gowanda HS Library: In some years, we have actually reduced it in August. August. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You can't go any higher. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Than what you're sending. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I mean, myself, 1.2 is perfectly fine. If everything else falls in line, you can always back it… back it down. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I have only one vote. I agree with Mark, but I think that E2 Gowanda HS Library: I mean, I think we should wait till the next one. I know I won't be here, but I think that it gives everybody else a little bit of time to discuss, and gives Max an opportunity to
019weigh in on it as well. Are you okay with 1.2? I'm okay with 1.2. Okay. Yeah. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Well, to go with… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Mark's logic, though, like, if we wanted to, we could potentially float out 1.5 or higher, or, like, higher than the 1.2, and then always back it down. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Right? You get it public out there. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah. E2 Gowanda HS Library: 3.96, but what I'm saying is, like, you could always It's the same logic. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You can always just back it down. But, yeah. E2 Gowanda HS Library: But GFG, but I guess both. Yeah. Yeah. Otherwise. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Well, what I'm trying to do is throw it out there, and then, like, if they… I don't know,
020if they come at me with… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Which works. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay. Well, at that point, it could go up to 1.5, then. At least now, it would only go up to 1.2, if you agree… if it's only at 1.2. It can't go higher, right? That's what you're saying. Right. So, I mean, it could be less, but it won't go higher than 1.2, at least. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Which is what was last year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I think that's why I kind of like the 1.2, because then we're… Yeah, you know what the max is going to be. You can tell… show the public, you know, we're not increasing any more than we did in the past. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And let's hope that it's less than 1.2.
021Well, I guess my only reservation to that would be is that we do have the electric bus, not to bring it back to that, but we do have that. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That's right. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And, like, that's a longer stint payout, like with this custom path. Well, you have your reserves to pay for the buses. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Great. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You realize that the buses don't actually impact this calculation because it's separate. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I like that one point too, but again, I think let's have some discussion on it. He's the president, so… Yeah. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'll bring it back, yep, that's fine. E2 Gowanda HS Library: If there's nothing else on this, I'll go to expenditures. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yep, okay.
022E2 Gowanda HS Library: Again, I went over a little behind here. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Summary, so I just have general support, so the general support is basically everything that's in the thousands for your function. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So it's your 1010, which is the Board of Education. I really didn't change anything there. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Everything, I mean, primarily for most of this stuff at the top here, it's, increases just for salaries, some BOCES services. E2 Gowanda HS Library: there are some additional trainings, particularly in the finance office, so we have a new, Carrie's doing payroll, and we have Tiffany as treasurer, both are doing fantastic, and a great addition. E2 Gowanda HS Library: To the office, for sure. We have been setting them on a little bit more trainings, because they're
023new, so they, they go to, like, the ASTHO stuff. So I included those in there. E2 Gowanda HS Library: For riches, again, most of this stuff outside of equipment requests, is really just inflationary costs. He does have that he wants to… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Do the… some sidewalk repairs? E2 Gowanda HS Library: For next year, he has that are not in the capital project. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That was my other thing here that we had. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Oh yeah, the sidewalk repairs, maintenance costs quits… oh, the building condition survey, that was the other odd thing. E2 Gowanda HS Library: the equipment I'll get into on the detailed part. Usually, we do try to, if there's money available at the end of this year, I do try to use this year's funds,
024as long as the board's okay with that again, because then we can encumber that, and then even if they don't come in this year, we've got it encumbered and locked up. E2 Gowanda HS Library: But I'll go kind of over these detailed pages, this is a little bit… E2 Gowanda HS Library: I have more information in here. So here again, these are, like, inflation and new staff trainings. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So we're losing off some items… And then Rich's stuff was… E2 Gowanda HS Library: He asked for it. Oh, yes, so his equipment was to replace two 20-inch floor scrubbers. E2 Gowanda HS Library: One 28 inch. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then he would like a wood… exterior window cleaning system. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So that was up there. We're also budgeting.
025We've been trying to, in our building aid, we do get building aid on when we replace… we've been changing out the locks on the doors, the keys locked. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And putting in the swipe cards. So we've been trying to do some every year, in all the classrooms, because we do get, aid on that the following year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, that's, budgeted for, again, this year. I had them budgeted in two different accounts. I was trying to split out the cost of the contract versus the actual equipment, and I decided that was not necessary, so I just lumped them all into this big… this $80,000 up here, all in one. E2 Gowanda HS Library: We are seeing, so the natural gas rates are actually going down, and we are spending less
026this year than when anticipated. However, the electric rates, the supply is going up 9%. So, I'm sure everybody can identify with that if you have an electric bill, especially this winter. It's not very pleasant. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Again, his costs are more cleaning supplies. E2 Gowanda HS Library: repairs that he has budgeted. Rich is really good with his budget, he takes very close… he does pay very close attention and knows what he's got in each line. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, it's always good. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Building congestive Survey, we talked about that in the previous presentation. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That's a 5-year, once every 5 years. Again, we'll get Building 8 on it the next year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: $120,000 for the sidewalk repairs, E2 Gowanda HS Library: The fire
027alarm panels at Hillis and the bus garage were the things that he had in there for building improvements. E2 Gowanda HS Library: For this one, so this is the BOCES Central Data Processing. We don't have our meeting with, Belene for BOCES services until Friday this week. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, as you can tell by tonight's presentation, we're having some technical difficulties with BOCES, so I know we need some new equipment, so I basically took what we had spent in… E2 Gowanda HS Library: last year, and increased it 5%, assuming that we are going to need some additional things. I know that we definitely need something. We've had some… a lot of technical issues lately, so I know that Matt's working on kind of the priority list of what needs to be replaced and updated,
028but I'll be able to update this better after our meeting. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Insurance, I need to double-check this, because I did get an email that it was going up, I think, like, 8-10%. E2 Gowanda HS Library: We did add a cybersecurity policy this year. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I think that was probably well money, well invested. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So… Again, these are really just… and then here's our… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Bonds, material bonds, for example, projects. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then I did… because last year we had increased, E2 Gowanda HS Library: Transfer to the school lunch in the budget. E2 Gowanda HS Library: because I wasn't really sure at the time what was going on with, you know, whether the state beds were gonna pay for the lunches.
029E2 Gowanda HS Library: She's still having… she's generating, profit right now, so I took that back down to the $40,000. We haven't had to support the school lunch fund in a couple years, but they were getting a lot of extra money when it was COVID. The rates were a lot higher, so she's been doing okay. E2 Gowanda HS Library: The special aid, fund, the transfer for that, there is a 20%… E2 Gowanda HS Library: contribution that the district has to pay for the summer handicap program, and it's another one that the monies tend to come whenever they come, right? So I could get $20,000 one year and $180,000 the next year, based on just whenever they want to send it. So that's kind of another E2 Gowanda HS Library: If you want. E2 Gowanda HS
030Library: And then the $100,000 is basically for, our capital outlay project, which is in the elementary school. Pretty sure we're doing flooring. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Pretty sure that's what we decided. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I think that's where we landed. E2 Gowanda HS Library: make the change on that? E2 Gowanda HS Library: In the state budget proposed? E2 Gowanda HS Library: there was talk that they were going to be increasing… I haven't heard anything about that. I haven't heard anything about that yet. No, I think that the Senate… I think the Assembly, or… E2 Gowanda HS Library: the Senate, usually, somebody always proposes $2.50, E2 Gowanda HS Library: And then the governor just won't sign it, so… I mean, $100,000 doesn't go anywhere anymore. I mean, of $100,000, E2 Gowanda HS Library: 20% of
031it's for architects and other E2 Gowanda HS Library: things, so… we're getting $80,000 worth of work, which isn't anything anymore. I mean, it just really isn't. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Is that something that… The board has the opinion that we want to advocate for to increase that? E2 Gowanda HS Library: I had mentioned that before, that was something that I… I had… And, like, this is… E2 Gowanda HS Library: going through the legislative-type stuff, actually lobby for that, to increase that. It's a resolution, probably a proposed resolution. It's a proposed resolution, excuse me. Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know, but that's… does the board feel like… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Have the opinion that they would want to push forward with that. E2 Gowanda HS Library: And actually propose that. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Does
032that we want to… Remember, both are simply people, and… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Our senators are in the minority. E2 Gowanda HS Library: In Albany. E2 Gowanda HS Library: They don't have a huge amount of clout. E2 Gowanda HS Library: In terms of impacting the budget. E2 Gowanda HS Library: You're doing it through NSBA, right? Through NSBA, right? So, like, I guess… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Is that something we'd want to propose to NSBA to… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Advocate for, and then they advocate to all of them. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I thought they understood it. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Yeah, I think NSBA… I think NSBA, ASBA, I think all of the school organizations advocate every year to increase it. Increase it. But is there a proposal that we would want to put?
033E2 Gowanda HS Library: Any sort of language you'd want to put to it? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Or have any interest in putting language to it? E2 Gowanda HS Library: I guess my opinion is that I do have interest in exploring that further. E2 Gowanda HS Library: In the policy committee discussion. E2 Gowanda HS Library: future committee discussion, but… If it's not the will of the board. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Waste. E2 Gowanda HS Library: It wouldn't hurt. Take more money and don't bend my arm! But at the same time, would… I guess, would the… E2 Gowanda HS Library: Do any of the board feel comfortable putting Wanda's name on it? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Posing it to them. E2 Gowanda HS Library: I don't know that you have to propose it to NISQA, because
034it's already… they're proposing it. I think that when you ask the group if they want to support it, I think they have, right? I don't know that you have to do anything additional. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Unless you want to write your own letter. That's what I guess, that's what I'm at, like, would we want to put it… put forth our own letter? E2 Gowanda HS Library: Everybody. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, just, sorry, I didn't mean to sidetrack. No, that's okay. If the opportunity presented itself, I guess, if they were… was collecting letters, or, I mean, I don't know, I'm not sure what I'm talking about either, but… Sure! You know, sure. E2 Gowanda HS Library: So, I guess… Maybe it's a conversation for a later time, then maybe we put that on the
035E2 Gowanda HS Library: Our policy committee to come up with some… Healthcare. Sure. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Thanks. Yeah, because Park's not on it. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Okay, okay. Any other questions? Weird. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Again, this is kind of preliminary based on what I've gotten from the department, so, E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'll have you a full budget by March 11th, I think? E2 Gowanda HS Library: That's it. I think that's it. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. E2 Gowanda HS Library: That would move us to… impairment, considering… E2 Gowanda HS Library: A motion to adjourn the workshop. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Talk to you. E2 Gowanda HS Library: It will be. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Aye. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Good. E2 Gowanda HS Library: Did we ever hear what
036the problem was with the nature? E2 Gowanda HS Library: I'm from Ralph Cablets. E2 Gowanda HS Library: earlier?