The town of Cicero has released the preliminary draft of the 2015 town budget, it was announced at the town board’s Sept. 24 meeting.
Town Supervisor Jessica Zambrano said the budget was “hot off the press” — Town Clerk Tracy Cosilmon had just delivered it at 6:25 p.m. and had not yet had a chance to post the budget online.
The first draft estimates next year’s budget at $12,305,256. This is a 5.08 percent increase of $594,468 over last year’s budget of $11,710,788.
Zambrano said taxpayers can expect a 16.53 cent per thousand increase on their tax bill. The total tax rate is expected to be about $3.74 per $1,000 of assessed value. A homeowner whose house is assessed at $100,000 would pay $373.58. The same homeowner currently pays $357.05 on this year’s rate of about $3.57 per thousand.
The town is looking to pass a local law to exceed New York state’s 2 percent tax cap for the budget. A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at the Cicero Town Hall, located at 8236 Brewerton Road.
The preliminary budget is available for public viewing from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the town clerk’s office and online at ciceronewyork.net. Go to “Public Information” and click on “Town Budget and Annual Financial Report.”
Ethics committee appointed
The Cicero Town Board also appointed three people to the Board of Ethics at the Sept. 24 meeting.
Bill Bradley will serve as the chair of this board until Dec. 31 of this year. Robert Tomeny will serve until the end of 2015; Robert DiFlorio’s four-year term expires at the end of 2018; and Kenn Peters will serve a five-year term until the end of 2019.
None of the ethics board appointees were present at the town board meeting.
Former Supervisor Judy Boyke, who applied to become a member of the ethics board and was not selected, accused the town board of making their decision during an executive session Sept. 22 and not recording minutes.
“We have notes about the time we convened and the time we adjourned and who made the motion to adjourn,” Zambrano said.
“In an executive session, when a decision is made, it is correct that minutes must be taken,” Boyke said.
“We certainly can amend the minutes to include the decision of which candidates we selected for appointment, so we will do that,” Zambrano said.
The minutes of the Sept. 22 executive session state the “the express purpose of [the meeting was] conducting individual interviews of candidates for the Board of Ethics.”
Town Attorney Robert Germain researched Boyke’s claim during the meeting and reported later that detailed minutes during an executive session are only required if the town board takes formal action.
“I believe the town acted properly,” Germain said. He said the board’s resolution to appoint the ethics board members on the Sept. 24 agenda was the formal action, not the interviews and discussion of the Sept. 22 meeting.
The ethics board was re-formed after Brewerton resident Robert George filed an 87-page complaint in May with the state comptroller and attorney general, as well as the town of Cicero, about Zambrano and other current and former town leaders.
