Last night the Town of Milton met briefly to conduct a Budget Workshop on the Tentative 2025 Budget. Next up, and still to be scheduled, will be a public hearing. Keep your ears perked at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Town Board for word on that.

The bottom line regarding the 2025 budget is that it is good news for taxpayers. The budget proposes no new tax increases, which is always welcome news. Reasonable taxes are one of the things we all love about our community. The devil is in the details, however. So, using my 10 years of experience managing large budgets and allocating expenses across various cost centers as part of my work in the nonprofit sector, here are my thoughts.

Designed to Deliver Good News?

The Town is touting a decrease in costs associated with the Highway Garage relocation project. However, we should note that when the spending resolution was initially passed for $13,500,000 (yes, millions) Councilman Frolish, who serves as Chair of the Facilities Committee, commented that this was a “not to exceed cost” and the actual spending could likely be lower. There were still some design decisions being made and the agreements with contractors included allowances for price fluctuations and unanticipated construction challenges. Now, it is always impressive when government spending comes in under budget – and kudos to the entire team for that -- but some of this was baked into the process and the result of good fortune. Almost designed to deliver good news you might say.

How Much Did You Say?

And why shouldn’t we expect EXCELLENT project management? Especially when Resolution 94-2023, passed the same evening as the spending resolution for the Highway Garage, provided a $900,000 contract to Delaware Engineering for project design, bidding and award support, and construction administration and observation. This is not the actual construction of the project – there were other awards to other contractors for that – this was $900,000 related to design and management of construction. $900,000 represents just over 10% of the entire proposed 2025 budget. And since 2022, the Town has passed resolutions authorizing up to $1,644,800 in contract awards to Delaware Engineering.

Cutting Funds to Our Seniors?

All of which makes it even more surprising to see that the budget for the Ballston Area Seniors appears to have been cut by $12,250, a 46% decrease from last year’s budget award and a substantial hit to an organization of their size. My understanding is they have been told the cut was necessary to offset costs of maintaining the Community Center, which serves as the program’s home. But really? In a budget with millions of dollars going out the door elsewhere the Town could not find $12,250 to at least keep level funding for the seniors?

No Board Approval = Increased Fiscal Transparency?

It is not at all unusual for fiscal policies to allow management to have limited flexibility in the oversight of their department budgets, to include moving money up to a fixed dollar amount between expense lines. But I will be asking more questions about this statement from Supervisor Ostrander’s budget cover letter at the public hearing: “For 2025, the Town is committing to further enhancing financial transparency by expanding the legal level of control or the level at which management can reassign appropriations without board approval.” If recollection serves me correctly, the Town Board rarely takes up motions to approve budget transfers, so it is possible that management has too much control of their budgets. But this statement says “expanding…control,” not restricting the level of control. I need more information. This statement is not at all clear.

All Too Often Unsung Hero

In celebrating this good news, praise is being heaped upon the Facilities Committee, the Town Designated Engineer, and the Board themselves for years of “adherence to prudent financial management practices.”  There is a glaring omission in all of this – the exemplary work of the Town Comptroller, David Braymer who, in my opinion, is single-handedly responsible for righting the financial ship. The Supervisor did give him a well-deserved nod at the Budget Workshop and, I must admit, after the way his campaign treated Mr. Braymer in the 2021 election it always irks me that the Supervisor would be able to take credit or benefit in any way from Mr. Braymer’s good work. Mr. Braymer has transformed the budget and fiscal management processes in the Town of Milton, making it all tremendously more accessible, understandable, transparent, compliant, and fiscally sound. After YEARS of the public calling for details and a budget that makes sense, Mr. Braymer is finally the one to deliver, eliminating all the “contractual” money pots, making clear how that money is to be spent, ensuring that costs are allocated across departments, projects, and purpose. A superb hire by Supervisor Benny Zlotnick.

Looking Forward

Fiscal management works best with solid checks and balances. Based on my observation of the Board’s ability to publicly interact with budget details, this appears to be an area we could strengthen. Remember, it was not that many years ago that we were cleaning up accounting errors that led to significant overstatements of our financial position. While it is great that Mr. Braymer has been able to address these issues and ensure good accounting practices to avoid them in the future, we cannot rely on the talent and goodwill of one person in this regard. If elected, I very much look forward to working with Mr. Braymer and doing my part to ensure the Town Board fully carries out its fiscal oversight responsibilities. And, of course, I will continue to share what I learn and observe with the public so all can be involved.