By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
The North Syracuse Village Board of Trustees voted Nov. 22 to create a separate reserve account for emergency repairs for the North Syracuse Fire Department.
Mayor Gary Butterfield said he met with the chiefs of the North Syracuse Fire Department the morning of Nov. 22 to discuss the village reserve account, which currently holds $100,468.04 accumulated by the fire department.
“I want to make a change, and they wanted to make a change as well,” Butterfield said. “They wanted to set aside some of the monies for fire apparatus emergency repairs and some for the purchase toward the next piece of equipment, which is a heavy rescue [vehicle].”
The NSFD wants to designate $20,000 for emergency repairs. Village Clerk/Treasurer Dianne Kufel said the fire department’s budget contains a line item for routine vehicle maintenance.
“This is for unforeseen emergencies,” Butterfield clarified.
As for the remaining $80,468.04, the board voted to reserve that money toward the purchase of the heavy rescue vehicle.
Village attorney Scott Chatfield said the creation of reserve accounts for specific purchases would be subject to permissive referendum. Residents would have the opportunity to submit a petition within 45 days to force a vote on the local law.
“Going forward, all the departments have the same ability to request, at budget time, [that] monies to go on reserve for purchase of capital items, whether it’s buildings or equipment,” Butterfield said. “It’s not restricted to one department. It’s just a savings account.”
Trustee Chuck Henry voiced his concerns about the village reserve account.
“Come budget time, if all the departments start saying, ‘We want reserve accounts,’ I’m just afraid what they would do to the tax rate,” Henry said.
“We don’t have to grant them. It’s a request,” Butterfield said. “The other thing we could do is if there were monies left at the end of the year, we could designate that for a reserve if there’s a need in a department.”
Henry said such extra money is usually put toward reducing the tax burden on residents, and Butterfield said that is still the plan.
Chatfield said creating reserves is a way to look ahead to future expenses as well.
