Out on Route 5 this morning, kind of in the Bushville area, crews were harvesting potatoes.
The smell of natural gas at Byron-Bergen Central School prompted the principal to pull the fire alarm in order to evacuate students. The natural gas alert came to dispatch through RG&E. Bergen Fire Department is on scene. Mutual aid from Le Roy fire is also requested. The school is located at 6917 W. Bergen Road.
UPDATE 9:29 a.m.: "We do have an odor at the high school in the kitchen area and they are checking out the elementary school as well," says Bergen Command's firefighter Michael Crosier.
Le Roy Fire Chief Tom Wood is in charge of operations at the elementary school
RG&E workers just arrived. The superintendent had the elementary school evacuated as a precaution but no odor is of natural gas is reported and the odor of natural gas was found in the mechanical room.
UPDATE 9:33 a.m.: One engine from Churchville is requested to stand by in its hall to provide coverage for Le Roy. Bergen. Bergen command says the smell of natural gas at the high school is coming from a couple of different areas.
UPDATE 9:49 a.m.: Responders are doing a second walk-thru of the high school. There was the odor of natural gas coming from the pool area. When the walk-thru is completed, Le Roy can go back in service.
UPDATE 10:14 a.m.: Stafford also was put on standby for Le Roy and is back in service, along with Le Roy and Churchville.
UPDATE 10:39 a.m.: Bergen command says RG&E has identified a few leaks and crews are working to repair them. The school will be closed for rest of the day and the children are being dismissed.
UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: Bergen command asks dispatch to have a deputy respond to the Byron-Bergen Central School because there are a lot of parents showing up to get their children and "some aren't too happy about things." A deputy is responding.
UPDATE 10:57 a.m.: A Le Roy fire official sent us the following corrections to this post (which have also been noted above):
1) Churchville was put on standby for Bergen, not Le Roy;
2) Stafford was on standby for Le Roy;
3) No odor of natural gas was reported at the pool;
4) In addition to leaks at the high school, the odor of natural gas was found in the mechanical room of the Elementary School.
UPDATE 11:25 a.m.: This message has been sent to parents at Byron-Bergen.
Dear Byron-Bergen Parents and Guardians,
This is Byron-Bergen Superintendent, Casey Kosiorek. I want to inform that students of the district will not be returning to school today as a result of a gas leak in both buildings. Elementary students may be signed out at the Bergen Fire Hall. Jr./Sr. High School students may be signed out at the track. Students that can't be picked up will remain at these locations until they can be bussed at their regular time. Lunch will be provided. This evening's Elementary Open House has been cancelled. We will keep you updated as we continue to work through the situation.
UPDATE 11:36 a.m.: The students are evacuated and the schools are closed, according to the superintendent.
UPDATE 11:56 a.m.: The Bergen assignment is back in service. RG&E remains on scene.
After Jerry Greenfield's talk at Genesee Community College yesterday, I stopped to take a picture of the GCC clock framed by autumn color. Greenfield is co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc.
Batavia resident Donald R. Carroll dedicated himself to his community and spent most of his life helping youth in Genesee County: He lived by his motto, “Pay it forward.” He is well known in Western New York for his charity work, which has raised thousands of dollars for many young residents of Genesee County over the last 30-plus years.
Carroll was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last March and succumbed to the disease Wednesday morning. He was 58.
A former employee at Angelica Healthcare, he stopped working after his diagnosis, but he continued to devote his life to raising money to buy toys for his yearly Christmastime party for children in need.
“Don was a very humble man who truly believed in paying it forward,” said Jerry Foster, his sixth-grade teacher, lifelong friend and helper with Don's various charity efforts, including the annual 5K run and Toys for Kids.
“His personal life experience and the lessons he learned from his aunt who raised him, made him the man we all knew. Right up to the end he was concerned about missing this year's Toys for Kids toy distribution party. It was always an emotional time for him, a person who definitely knew the meaning of the words poverty, compassion and caring.”
Carroll graduated from Oakfield-Alabama Central School in 1974. Instead of following the trend of going off to college after getting his diploma, Carroll decided to join the workforce and focus on his passion for helping less fortunate children.
He was born in Kansas City, Kan., but he and one of his sisters ended up being raised by an aunt in Oakfield after losing both parents at an early age.
“I lost my parents when I was 5 and people were very generous to me and my sister at Christmastime. That’s something I never forgot and that’s why I do it,” Carroll said. “I strongly believe all of us become who we are because of life experiences and the way we react to those experiences. We can pick up the ball and run with it, or we can fumble our way through life. I chose to run.”
For his first organized project, he partnered with the Genesee/Wyoming YMCA to raise money to send kids to camp. The fundraiser was successful for 23 years.
Shortly after the camp fundraiser, Carroll switched his focus to helping students with college expenses. He started a 5k and 10k run in Batavia to support the Genesee Community College Foundation.
Carroll collaborated with the YMCA over the years on many different occasions; most recently they combined efforts for Don’s Secret Santa fundraiser to give gifts to children at Christmastime.
Carroll wanted to ensure that underprivileged children would not be disappointed on Christmas morning. This project has recently been expanded to provide grade-school kids with supplies for school and winter coats.
Despite preferring to achieve results rather than garner recognition, Carroll received numerous awards and certificates for his humanitarian efforts. In 1997 Carroll was named Geneseean of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce and he was inducted into the Oakfield-Alabama Central School Hall of Fame in 2009.
MVP Health Care awarded Carroll the Ultimate Game Changer in 2012. The contest was looking for people who make a significant difference in their communities by making them better, healthier places to live.
“All of the game changer finalists are examples of the kinds of everyday heroes MVP wanted to celebrate,” said Denise Gonick, MVP’s president of Operations. “Don’s story, especially, is wonderfully inspiring. Despite all the hardship in his life and, now, his illness, Don has never stopped giving back and paying it forward. It’s a reminder that wherever you are, whoever you are, you can make a difference.”
Foster now serves as a member of the fund committee, which has a mission to carry out Carroll’s last wish.
“His main thing when I talked to him was, he wanted to make sure the kids’ party goes off in December,” Foster said. “I promised him it would.”
The committee will discuss how to proceed with fundraisers, including the Donald R. Carroll 5K that has been part of Summer in the City each year.
Carroll didn’t want to be the center of attention, so he requested that there be no calling hours and no memorial service, Foster said.
“A Celebration of Don’s Life” will be held instead at 7 p.m. Monday at Grace Baptist Church, 238 Vine St.
He is to be cremated and his ashes spread on his Aunt Ruth Anderson’s grave at Hillside Cemetery in East Pembroke.
Memorials may be made to the Donald R. Carroll Toys for Kids Fund, care of Grace Baptist Church, 238 Vine St., Batavia, NY 14020.
It is possible, Jerry Greenfield told the assembled audience in GCC's Stuart Steiner Theater this afternoon, to run a business that is both socially conscious and profitable.
Ben & Jerry's did it, and it's a culture that remains in place even 12 years after Greenfield and his partner Ben Cohen sold Ben & Jerry's to Unilever for $326 million.
From early on in the company's history, Greenfield said, he and Cohen shared a vision that the company would buy raw materials locally, invest in the communities where Ben & Jerry's operated and donate to charitable causes.
They also did things like find suppliers such as a bakery in New York that employs disadvantaged workers (the bakery makes brownies for Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream).
"The way we approached it was to think how can we find ways to bring social and environmental concerns right into the day-to-day business activities so it's not central to what we do but just a part of what we do," Greenfield said
Greenfield's appearance was part of Wolcott J. Humphrey III Symposium on Leadership and Community Life.
Several times during his talk, Greenfield referenced "community" -- like where Ben & Jerry's buys product or where Ben & Jerry's donates money or how it supports its employees. He encouraged the audience to support local businesses and businesses that share the customer's values.
"I think everything is essentially local," Greenfield said after his talk. "For Ben & Jerry's, the farmers that we buy milk and cream from are neighbors. We want to support our neighbors."
Students at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia were paid a special visit today by members of the State Police out of the Batavia Barracks, Troop A.
The troopers hosted an ice cream social (ice cream donated by Perry's) and interacted with the students, letting them touch their holsters, pet the K-9, sit in a patrol vehicle and blast the siren themselves.
This past winter Troop A hosted a fundraiser and donated the proceeds to the School for the Blind. They dropped off the donation around Christmas and had so much fun, they decided they wanted to find a reason to come back
"We received a donation and so we thought we would come out and give it to them," Sgt. David Martek said. "It's just something for the kids. We had a good time with them last year and we just thought we'd come back and do something fun for them."
Other uniformed personnel participating today were Trooper Nicole Berostko, Trooper James Jackson, Trooper Michael Swarthout and Sgt. Mike Dembrow.
Martek said, however, it was really the Batavia Barrack's civil staff who put the event together, arranged the donations and were on hand to serve the ice cream.
A $10.8 million upgrade to the county's emergency radio system is expected to greatly improve the reliability and efficiency of emergency communication, but the unintended consequence is that citizens, off-duty first responders and the media could all be in the dark for months or longer once the new system is fully operational.
It's a bit of a surprise to everybody involved, but the new technology being installed by Rochester-based Harris RF is incompatible with even the most advanced consumer scanners currently on the market.
And when new scanners are released -- perhaps as early as the first part of the year -- they are likely to cost as much as $500 to $600 each.
Sheriff Gary Maha is a big believer in the idea that citizens with scanners help solve crimes. Clearly, when he spoke with The Batavian in the spring about the new radio system, he didn't anticipate the new technology would be incompatible with existing digital/trunking scanners.
"We're few and far between out there," Maha said. "We need all the eyes we can possibly have. If we have a bank robbery, we put that information out over the air so some citizen down the road may see the vehicle we want and can call 9-1-1. It's a benefit to us to have the people out there watching. They're our eyes and ears out there."
In recent weeks, we've had discussions with Maha about the situation and he said he's interested in finding a solution.
Getting scanners into the hands of media outlets is one thing. One solution that's been used in other parts of the country is for local law enforcement to lease emergency radios, with the outgoing transmission capability disabled, to news outlets. These radios cost in the neighborhood of $4,000 each, so it's still an expensive solution.
Another solution is putting streaming feeds of emergency transmissions from the P25 system on the county's Web site. But it's unclear at this point if the county has the available bandwidth or necessary technology to make this happen.
A Web-based solution would help both media outlets and make transmissions available to all county residents who care to tune in.
The Sheriff along with Undersheriff William Sheron met yesterday with executives at Harris.
Sheron said that Harris indicated it's a problem beyond the scope of their work, but said they are aware of other jurisdictions doing exactly what the Sheriff is considering.
"We're certainly aware of the issue and are interested in finding a solution," Sheron said.
Genesee County isn't the only jurisdiction facing this issue, as more and more agencies switch to the new technology and RadioReference.com's forums are filled with discussions about the situation.
What The Batavian has been able to piece together from the forum posts as well as interviewing Gerry Oliver, owner of G&G Communications in Le Roy, is that:
Radio Reference is an organization of ham radio operators and scanner enthusiasts. Through RF, volunteers from around the nation make their local emergency communications available on the radioreference.com Web site. Every smartphone app that allows people to listen to police and fire calls on their iPhones and Droids uses RR feeds, so if RR doesn't have working Phase II scanners, then those apps won't work for P25 jurisdictions.
Harris officials would not comment for this story.
The county has until March 1 to stop using one of its current 800 mhz channel so that the bandwidth becomes available for an inter-operable communication channel for federal Homeland Security.
Steven Sharpe, director of emergency communication, said installation begins next month, but current scanners will work on existing emergency channels until the P25 infrastructure is in place and operational.
Migration to the new system for emergency users should begin in December.
Beyond that the schedule of the transition depends on other factors -- from FCC licensing to tower crew availability -- though all equipment is scheduled to be installed by Feb. 1, giving the county one month to meet the 800 mhz channel deadline.
What happens at that point largely depends on what the county can make available to citizens and media for monitoring emergency transmissions, and what Whistler and Uniden make commercially available for purchase.
Oliver said there are a lot of people concerned about the issue, and people should be concerned.
"This is a public safety issue and it's a public information issue," Oliver said. "There's the average listener who pays taxes and thinks they have a right to listen in, but there's also the issue of firemen, off-duty police officers and EMTs -- how are they going to listen?
"I hope there's a solution for safety sake," he added. "Let's say I'm an (off duty) EMT and I live down the street from a call, a scanner might tell me, do I respond? What should I do if I hear nobody's responding? Those are the people who need scanners."
The City of Batavia and Vibrant Batavia have partnered with NeighborWorks® Rochester to make the City of Batavia neighborhoods stronger. Vibrant Batavia and NeighborWorks have scheduled five “Coffee Talks” throughout the City so that residents may open dialogue with City leadership about neighborhood issues and opportunities. The forum also sets the stage for NeighborWorks® Rochester to introduce Leanna Di Risio as its Batavia dedicated Community Organizer.
As one of the country’s leaders in community development, NeighborWorks has partnered with the City of Batavia to focus on community development. In turn, NeighborWorks® Rochester hired Batavia native, Leanna Di Risio, to be the dedicated representative to lead these neighborhood improvement discussions.
Over the next few weeks, Di Risio will be knocking door to door inviting neighbors to attend the kick off Coffee Talk series, which will review the proposed neighborhood designations, encourage discussions about neighborhood concerns and start to list projects that will build confidence and pride in their community.
Candidates will be identified in each neighborhood to lead neighborhood functions; such as block parties, neighborhood clean up, holiday house tours, neighborhood garage sales, etc.
A short survey will also be distributed to attending residents with an incentive to comment. Chosen at random, a $25 gift certificate will be awarded at each of the slated Coffee Talk events. Coffee, hot chocolate and donuts will be provided along with kid friendly activities.
Northside
City Centre on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. to noon
West End
Williams Park Pavilion (rain or shine) on Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. to noon
Central Park District & Downtown
Lambert Park Pavilion (rain or shine) on Oct. 12 at 10 a.m. to noon
Southside & East End
Kibbe Park Pavilion (rain or shine) on Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. to noon
West Wedge
Williams Park (rain or shine) on Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. to noon
For more information about Vibrant Batavia or NeighborWorks contact Leanna Di Risio at leanna@vibrantbatavia.com or by phone at (585)738-7388.
Batavia First United Methodist Church volunteers John Fox, Sandy Kramer and Grace West spent time Tuesday setting up the church's new walk-in mission dubbed "Umtoo," on the corner of Ellicott and Liberty streets in Batavia.
"Umtoo," according to church pastor Pam Klotzbach, is a cryptic re-spelling of "UM-two," which stands for "United Methodist two."
Klotzbach said Umtoo will be a place for the unemployed, homeless and underprivileged of Batavia's Southside to come and enjoy free coffee, tea, juice, wrapped food, fellowship, conversation, games such as checkers, and also get help with computer skills, job hunting, homework, laundry and other needs.
For those unsure of how to get the assistance they need in other areas, Umtoo will provide referrals and even, in some cases, make calls on their behalf.
They also hope to start a weekly Bible study in the next couple months, as well as informal worship services.
"Our intention is to show Christ to people in a non-threatening way," Kramer said, adding that they plan on getting to know the people and then tailoring their approach to the needs of the community.
Klotzbach had this in mind when she first introduced the idea.
Previously a pastor in Fillmore, Klotzbach was moved to Batavia by the Upper New York State Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Conference assigned her to the local church at 8221 Lewiston Road after seeing how involved she was during her pastoral tenure in Fillmore. She was not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.
"(The church) got bounced out of the City of Batavia during the urban renewal days," Klotzbach said. "It used to be near the YMCA. Without sidewalks near us or buses (for transport), we have to come to where the people are."
She has been amazed at the eagerness and generosity of church members, who have put a lot of time and effort into building up and preparing Umtoo.
Umtoo will host its grand opening for the public on Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided, along with entertainment from Will and Julio. It shares a space with "Amy's Fluffy Friends" pet grooming parlor at 238-240 Ellicott St.
Mission hours will be:
Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Sunday, noon until 5 p.m.
Call 343-4708, ext. 11, for more information.
For the first time since April 2008, Genesee County's unemployment rate dipped below 6 percent, being recorded at 5.8 percent for August.
That's three-tenths lower than July and a percentage point lower than August 2012.
Wyoming County's unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 percent, Orleans to 8.4 percent and Livingston to 6.7 percent.
In WNY, only Ontario County at 5.7 percent has a lower unemployment rate than Genesee County.
Buffalo's rate is 7.3 and Rochester is 6.9.
The state's rate is 7.5 and the U.S. rate is 7.3.
Press release:
Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) has introduced the Government Shutdown Fairness Act (H.R. 3160). This legislation would stop members of Congress from receiving a salary in the event of a government shutdown.
“As members of Congress, it is our job to keep the government running, and if the government shuts down, I don’t believe we should collect a salary during that time,” Congressman Collins said. “It is wrong that members of Congress should continue to get paid while programs for veterans, seniors and many others are adversely impacted.”
This type of legislation has proven effective in the past. Earlier this year, the House passed the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (H.R. 325), which said members of Congress would not be paid unless they passed a budget. Following the passage of No Budget, No Pay, the Senate adopted a budget resolution for the first time in four years.
The Government Shutdown Fairness Act is consistent with the 27th Amendment in holding salaries in escrow until the end of this Congress.
“Salary and job performance should be tied together, and if members of Congress aren’t doing their job, that should be reflected in their salary. The American people deserve more from their Congress and it is time, as members of Congress, that we put ourselves at the back of the line and put our constituents first in a government shutdown,” said Congressman Collins.
Brett William Snyder, 50, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Stafford, is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (assault weapon and magazine). Following a check on Snyder's residence by the Probation Department, a probation officer contacted the Sheriff's Office for assistance in the investigation of an alleged illegal firearm at the residence. Snyder was allegedly found in possession of a assault-style weapon and a large capacity magazine. Snyder was arraigned, posted $250 bail and released.
Tyler Pasquale Schroeder, 21, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant out of Rochester related to a criminal impersonation charge. Schroeder was turned over to RPD.
Stacey Dawn Mancuso, 43, of Seneca Street, Elma, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving left of pavement markings and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle. Mancuso was stopped at 11:32 p.m., Sept. 17, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, after dispatchers received a report of a vehicle on Route 33 in Pembroke that was unable to maintain its lane.
A 16-year-old of East Avenue, Attica, is charged with trespass. The youth is accused of being at a residence on Broadway Road, Alexander, after being told by the homeowner he wasn't allow on the property.
Ashley Marie Kreutz, 25, of Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kreutz is accused of shoplifting at Kmart.
Teresa Marie Stephenson, 24, of Moore Road, West Henrietta, is charged with petit larceny. Stephenson is accused of shoplifting at Kmart.
Taylor Laren Schutt, 20, of Seminole Parkway, Cheektowaga, is charged with trespass. Schutt is accused of being on the roof of the bus garage at Alexander Central School.
A Batavia police officer is searching the area around Tops for two white males on bikes with backpacks who are suspected of shoplifting.
The suspects are believed to be in their 30s or 40s. One is on a pink bike, the other on a mountain bike. They headed east on Main Street.
The officer said the stolen items were recovered, they think, but "the camel backpack was full of something."
Press release:
Work is slated to begin Monday, Sept. 30 to add a center left-turn lane on Route 5 (East Main Street) from the city of Batavia line to Fargo Road in the towns of Batavia and Stafford, Genesee County. Temporary lane closures will be in effect during the daytime hours for approximately one week weather permitting.
The center turn lane will be created by restriping the roadway without widening the pavement. One of the two existing westbound travel lanes will be converted to a center turn lane with associated left-turn lanes striped at the side street intersections. The remaining westbound lane will serve the westbound thru traffic. Both eastbound lanes will remain the same.
The addition of a dedicated left-turn lane will provide a refuge area, reducing the risk of rear-end collisions for stopped or slow-moving vehicles waiting to turn into the Batavia Agri-Park and adjacent side streets. The restriping will also benefit left-turning traffic at other intersections along the corridor, including Fargo Road, Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Seven Springs Road, Broadlawn Avenue and the numerous residential and commercial driveways. Signs and other lane markings will alert motorists of the change.
This work is being administered by the Town of Batavia with concurrence from the New York State Department of Transportation.
Motorists should drive with caution through the highway work zone and avoid driving distracted or under the influence of drugs and alcohol. For real-time travel information, call 511 or visit www.511NY.org. 511NY is New York State’s official traffic and travel information source.
Amanda Rose, Renza, 25, of Brendel Street, Hamburg, is charged with bail jumping, 2nd. Renza is currently an inmate at the Erie County Jail. She was arrested on a Batavia City Court warrant and arraigned on the bail jumping charge and returned to Erie County without bail. She is also accused of failing to appear on charges of grand larceny, 4th, and conspiracy, 3rd.
Tyanna Desiree Green, 18, of Lewis Place, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant related to a petit larceny charge. Green was in City Court on an unrelated matter and arrested on the Town of Batavia warrant for alleged failure to abide by release under supervision terms and conditions. Green was jailed without bail.
Anthony M. Mannara, 22, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mannara is accused of shoplifting at Target. He was arrested by State Police.
Amanda Dryden, 29, of Alexander, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Dryden was arrested by State Police in Elma following an investigation into unauthorized use of a credit card. Dryden is accused of using a credit card six times that belonged to a woman she was working for as a house cleaner. She allegedly took the card from the woman's purse. Investigators used surveillance video from stores where the card was allegedly used to identify Dryden as the subject. Dryden allegedly admitted to using the card when questioned.
The building, once a stately mansion, was not designed to house a city police department, and at the age of 160 years old, it's hardly a modern facility.
The aging structure also needs multiple repairs and upgrades and has space that is too inaccessible to be functional.
At Monday's City Council meeting, city staff discussed with council members a plan to do a facilities analysis for the Police Department.
The current budget includes $45,000 for the study this year and it's part of the city's strategic plan. A request for proposals was issued July 22 and 10 proposals were received from qualified consultants by the Sept. 6 deadline.
The proposals will be reviewed by a committee that includes city manager, police chief, director of public works and assistant police chief.
“The purpose of a police facility analysis is to develop a clear understanding of the services and functional criteria provided by the Police Department and how to best accommodate the needs of the department in a facility,” City Manager Jason Molino said.
Originally built in 1853 by George Brisbane -- the son of James Brisbane, who was Batavia's first merchant, postmaster and deputy county clerk -- it also served as City Hall starting in 1918. It's part of the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
According to the staff report prepared for Monday's meeting, there are several unused and underutilized areas within the building. They are simply inaccessibility because of the design and layout, which has been repeatedly modified over the years.
There are also several health and safety issues, as well as public accessibility issues.
Due to the structure’s age, there are considerable interior and exterior improvements that are necessary to continue to maintain the facility as a safe working environment.
The committee reviewing the 10 RFPs will conduct interviews in the next few weeks and select a recommended consultant to do the facilities analysis by Oct. 15. The council will vote on the proposal at it's business meeting that evening.
The City expects to receive a study that will adequately analyze the department’s operational needs and examine potential facility options. These include improving the current facility, new construction, building an addition to the existing Genesee County Sheriff’s Facility on Park Road, or retrofitting another existing building.
“Each option will include a conceptual estimate of design costs, construction costs, review of operational effectiveness and appropriateness, as well as concept drawings,” Molino said.
The City intends to have the study completed within three to four months of selecting a consultant.
Photo: File photo.
Press release:
In a presentation to City Council on Monday Sept. 23, Freed Maxick auditor Laura Landers, praised the City’s sixth straight year of strategic financial management and continued progress. Landers addressed City Council as part of the City’s year-end review
Highlights from Lander’s presentation included the continual progress the City has been making in becoming more financially stable. The City completed its sixth consecutive year of the general fund revenues exceeding expenditures and both water and sewer funds continue to maintain healthy cash balances. Landers also mentioned the City’s commitment to building reserves for future capital improvements.
“Another year of successful operations is a significant win with the City of Batavia,” said Jason Molino, city manager. “After facing six years of tough decisions and thorough planning, City Council’s due diligence and conservative budgeting has helped create a stable foundation for the City to complete the important capital improvements, like the Richmond Avenue/North Street paving project that was completed this year.”
Third Ward City Councilmember John Canale, a member of the City’s Audit Advisory Committee, shared his thoughts on the City’s financial improvement, “Once again this year, we receive confirmation that the city is headed in the right direction financially. This year's financial audit reinforces the actions that city management and City Council have taken, and continue to take, to create not only a positive cash flow, but the ability to accomplish major infrastructure improvements, and much needed capital equipment purchases, while at the same time building our reserve funds for future city-wide improvements and emergency needs. The financial future of this City is looking very bright.”
Fourth Ward City Councilmember Pier Cipollone, also a member of the City’s Audit Advisory Committee, supported the City’s efforts with the following comments, “The audit report continues to show the progress we have made over the past six years. The financial health of the City forms the foundation for everything we need to do as we move forward, from infrastructure improvements to providing needed services. I look forward to working with Jason and City Council to continue this trend.”
In 2006, Freed Maxick’s presentation of the City’s financial position was significantly different than it is today. At the time, the City ran a general fund deficit of almost $1.2 million and had a negative fund balance of $2.2 million. Furthermore, the City’s water, sewer and ambulance funds continued to experience operating deficits for years prior.
The City’s financial position began to show signs of improvement when in June 2011, Moody’s Investor Services affirmed the City’s “A2” bond rating and assigned the City a “positive outlook.” Moody’s assignment of the positive outlook acknowledged a modest financial position by specifically identifying City management’s ability to restore financial health, establishment of specific reserve funds, negotiated manageable settlements with three of its unions, which included wage freezes and healthcare concessions and the adoption for the City’s Strategic Plan.
The City’s reassurance that they were on the path to financial recovery was seconded in July 2012 when Moody’s upgraded the City’s bond rating from “A2” to “A1.” The upgrade reflected the City’s improved financial position marked by five consecutive years of operating surpluses as well as the City’s practice of conservative budgeting of both revenues and expenditures.
“What makes this past year’s accomplishments so unique is the fact that we identified Financial Health as goal in the City’s Strategic Plan three years ago, and improving the bond rating was a major objective,” Molino continued. “Achieving that particular goal will now lay the ground work for the City to achieve future successes in other priorities such as economic development and neighborhood revitalization.”
The City of Batavia’s Strategic Planning process is the foundation from which the City’s Business Plan for services and annual budget are based. The intent of the Strategic Plan is to allocate City resources to best meet the needs of our residents, while balancing the environmental factors that may affect the City in the future.
The City’s Strategic Plan identifies seven Strategic Priorities: Financial Health; Governmental Efficiency; Economic Development and Job Creation; Neighborhood Revitalization; Environmental Sustainability; Public Safety and Health; and Involved Community Members. The Strategic Plan has developed a performance measurement system, by identifying 24 Key Intended Outcomes (KIOs), to measure annual results of City initiatives against the Plan.
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