WESTERLO — The town board here was in disarray at its Nov. 5 meeting as it belatedly considered next year’s $2.96 million budget.

After the longtime Democratic supervisor, Richard Rapp, swore at the planning board chairwoman, saying she was accusing him of stealing, Democratic Councilman Joseph Boone assured Rapp no one was accusing him of “doing anything criminal.”

A year ago, after William Bichteman had been voted out of his town-board post, residents in the gallery at the next Westerlo board meeting had asked if anyone else knew how to build a budget.

When The Enterprise then asked Bichteman about his role on the board, he said he had taken on “extra responsibility” since Rapp had less time to commit due to “personal issues.”

Months later, after Republican Richard Filkins assumed his seat on the board, he suggested the town form a committee to draft Westerlo’s budget. By state law, the supervisor is required to prepare the town’s preliminary budget and submit it to the town board.

When The Enterprise had asked Rapp a year ago about the “personal issues” Bichteman mentioned, Rapp said he intends to finish the last two years of his term after serving as supervisor for 45 years.

“I did nothing wrong except I had a heart attack,” Rapp said then, adding that there was nothing wrong whatsoever with himself. Rapp did say that his wife is not doing well.

“My wife is very, very sick,” he said. His wife of almost 60 years has dementia, he said, and he must “take care of her night and day.” Both will be turning 80 soon, he said.

Rapp said his wife is also deaf, and he is up most days and nights caring for her. Although he goes to work at the town hall, he must ensure she has something to eat because he can’t trust her in the kitchen.

At the Nov. 5 town board meeting, budget talks became heated, first with Councilman Filkins questioning the costs for the fire district and asking why fundraisers throughout the year don’t mitigate the costs as well as why the phone bill for the fire department was so high.

Taken aback, members of the fire department explained from the gallery that the phone bill covered multiple phone lines and an internet connection to ensure there is a line of communication with 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Filkins also started debating with a town worker about the merits of having a time clock in the town hall, with the worker indicating that Filkins’s own absences from meetings should be scrutinized. Eventually, Bichteman objected that Filkins was “just grandstanding.”

Planning board Chairwoman Dorothy Verch asked about whether there was going to be a raise for the planning board members, as the salaries item under the planning board’s line in the budget shows a $865 increase. Despite this, Supervisor Rapp said there was no raise in salaries for the planning board members, leading Verch to question what the money would be for, and to repeat herself when Rapp didn’t answer her question.

“I just don’t have everything in front of me,” said the supervisor. “I’m not hiding anything and I’m not stealing anything.”

“I didn’t say you were stealing anything,” said Verch.

“Don’t you ever goddamn accuse me of stealing,” Rapp continued angrily in response.

“I didn’t say that; you did,” replied Verch.

Shortly afterwards, Boone pressed upon the board to speak of anything that would be of concern before voting on the budget.

“I have no thoughts after what just happened right now … ,” said Councilwoman Amie Burnside.

“What did I do wrong?” asked Rapp.

“No, just this entire atmosphere right now,” said Burnside.

“I think it’s important for us to work this out,” said Boone.

Boone later went on to address the supervisor.

“Mr. Rapp’s been doing this a very long time and, as he has said in the past, he has kept taxes low; and I don’t think anybody here, Dick, not to belabor the point, I don’t think there’s anyone here who’d ever consider you doing anything criminal or anything like that. So, I would kindly ask you to just get that set in your mind here … . ”

With the debate opened up, the board decided to review any last questions before voting on moving the budget from the tentative to the preliminary stage. Burnside questioned appropriating $9,000 for the senior bus shared between the towns of Rensselaerville and Westerlo when it had gotten little use this past year since its main driver, Robert Bolte of Rensselaerville, died in 2017. The item was ultimately left unchanged.

At the budget hearing that followed on Nov. 14, Rapp stated that he didn’t want to lower the appropriations despite spending less this year. Bichteman noted from the gallery it would be cutting back on a town service.

In the gallery at the Nov. 5 meeting, Westerlo resident Diane Sefcik was critical about how late budget discussions were coming about, as the board prepared to choose a date for a public hearing on the budget before the final budget is due on Nov. 20. Members of the fire department noted that they had had to submit their budget at the end of August while town board members are still discussing theirs now.

On Nov. 5, the board voted, 4 to 1, in favor of the budget, with Filkins — one of the two Republicans on the board — voting against it. Fellow Republican Burnside justified her “yes” vote by stating the board needed to keep on schedule in the budget process. Boone said that the budget will still need some work but felt assured the town board would see it through.

The board also agreed to hold a budget hearing Wednesday night, as well as a meeting to vote on the final budget on Nov. 19, the day before the final budget is due to be submitted.

The Wednesday night meeting included further discussion between residents of the town and the town board, with criticisms of the organization or transparency of the budget being brought up several times by members of the gallery, including noting misplacements of line items and questioning the hiring of the town’s auditors.

Budget overview

The town of Westerlo, after hiring a grant writer last year, has been seeking funding for a number of town projects. A required new filtration system, increased costs for disposing of refuse, added ambulance costs, and raises all play a part in Westerlo’s proposed $2.96 million budget for next year.

The 2019 preliminary budget totals $2,955,377, including special districts — an increase from last year of about $150,000 based. The spending plan stays under the state-set levy limit y just $2,000.

Outside of the special districts, the proposed budget totals $2.6 million. Of this, the entire budget would use $257,818 from the town’s fund balance; $1.4 million from revenues outside of property taxes, most of it coming from county sales tax; and $1.3 million from property taxes — an increase of $22,814 or 1.75 percent.

Payroll

Salaries for the town board increase in the proposed budget by $1,900 — from $3,625 for each of the four board members to $4,100. Contractual services also go up by $100, making it a $2,000 increase in total for the town board, from $15,000 to $17,000.

“I refused the raise,” Burnside told The Enterprise on Wednesday afternoon. “And I believe the rest of the town board have as well.”

At the Wednesday night meeting, town board members confirmed this.

Under personnel for the supervisor, there is a 3.4-percent increase of $2,500 — from $57,800 to $60,300. An additional $15,000 for contractual services remains the same but makes the line item for supervisor total $75,300, over twice as much as any of the other Hilltowns.

Supervisor Rapp told The Enterprise that the funds in these lines are for multiple salaries; his own salary is around $15,000, he said, with the rest going to Patricia Boice, his administrative aid.

The town clerk and justices’ line items are similarly higher than their counterparts, but saw minimal or no increases from last year’s budget. Town Clerk Kathleen Spinnato said that the line item for the town clerk is split between herself and her two deputy town clerks, Gertrude Smith and Karla Weaver.

At the Nov. 14 meeting, zoning board member John Sefcik, Diane’s husband, asked from the gallery what the “strategy” was behind certain salary increases that didn’t seem to have any pattern or reason for them. Councilman Anthony Sherman later told him that there seemed to be more training and courses taken by the planning and zoning board than usual, and the increases to their line items could potentially cover that. Smith added that the cost of clerical work had to be accounted for as well when considering the increases.

“A lot of this is uncharted territory for us … and people are being tasked with more duties and obligations,” said Boone.

Ambulance costs up

Costs for the ambulance increase from $124,000 to $150,365 — an over 20-percent increase of $26,365.

Burnside confirmed that this is due to the Albany County Sheriff’s Emergency Medical Services division stationing a full-time ambulance in the Hilltowns last year and billing the towns of Berne, Rensselaerville, and Westerlo incrementally over four years in addition to the costs of a paramedic service from the county.

Westerlo was due to pay $20,000 in 2018 for the new service, then $40,000 in 2019, and finally will be paying $80,000 by 2022.

Garbage, recycling costs increase

Contractual costs for garbage and refuse increase from $121,000 to $139,000 — a 15-percent hike, or about $18,000. Burnside confirmed that the increased costs are due to both the increase from free disposal of commingled recyclables, costing $60 a ton, as well as increased tipping fees for garbage.

Income from refuse and garbage sales and fees also decreased by about $1,200, likely due to the changing nature of garbage and recycling disposal.

Highway budget

Jody Ostrander, the town’s highway superintendent, asked at the Nov. 14 budget hearing to have his workers receive a raise, saying that he had asked the supervisor to withhold giving him a raise in order to offer one to all the workers. Rapp later said it would be arranged that the workers all receive a dollar-an-hour increase. This is not yet reflected in the preliminary budget, which shows salaries and retirement benefits decreasing.

The flat figures were criticized by some members of the gallery later on; they were concerned that increasing insurance costs for the workers would outpace the wage increase and result in a net loss for the workers. The budget shows medical insurance costs increasing by about $20,000.

Interest and installment payments for bonds decrease for the highway department, with a net gain of $7,480.

Other districts and funds

There is a slight increase in the budget for the town library and a small decrease for the town museum.

At the budget hearing on Nov. 14, Kelley Keefe, the president of the Westerlo Volunteer Fire Company, said that the fire department had “budgeted for the worst-case scenario” in order to prepare for a law that would take effect in 2019 and require new health insurance for eligible interior firefighters.

However, not as many firefighters as expected met the criteria for coverage and so the costs of the new insurance were much less than anticipated, she said. The fire department reduced its budget by $11,000; so, while the preliminary budget shows the fire district appropriations at $230,303, only $219,303 needs to be appropriated.

Sherman said at the hearing that last year the town board had asked the fire department to reduce its budget by $11,000, and the extra money that had been budgeted by the fire department was placed in an interest-bearing account by the town board. Rapp said that the money would be returned with interest to the fire department.

The amount budgeted for the volunteer Westerlo Rescue Squad also saw a decrease from $100,000 to $88,000. Ostrander, who is a driver for the ambulance squad, said at the hearing on Nov. 14 that the decrease in the budget is due to a mortgage being paid off.

Members of the gallery at the Nov. 14 meeting asked why the rescue squad did not bill patients’ insurance in order to raise money. Ostrander noted that he has met some people who are happy that the rescue squad doesn’t bill, but did say that reports done on patients could be modernized by switching to a new program.

Expenses for the lighting district do not change from the $7,268 paid for entirely by property taxes.

The budget for the town’s water district increases by $1,000 due to an increase for a bond payment — the added cost is to be covered by a $1,000 increase in property tax revenues. Bichteman, who recently returned to a position on the water district board, said that, despite projecting increases in coming years, including possibly spending $200,000 for a filter, the only expense in 2019 will be to repair fire hydrants. (See related story.)

The town board agreed to close the budget hearing Wednesday night, with the intention of adding the discussed changes to the budget before a final hearing on Nov. 19, the day before a final budget is due.