This year residents can watch the department heads making their case for capital budget funding before a final budget is presented to the Town Board for consideration
LIBRARY, POLICE, MIS DEPARTMENTS CAPITAL BUDGET WISH LIST -PRESENTATION MADE TO TOWN BOARD ON MAY 14 (WATCH VIDEO LINK)
On Tuesday May 14th the Greenburgh Town Board met with a few department heads to discuss their capital budget wish lists for 2024. This meeting was the second pre budget capital budget discussion with the Town Board and department heads. A week earlier we met with the Commissioner of Parks.
After we conclude the pre budget meetings (we will be meeting with the Commissioner of Public Works again on Tuesday) I will review the requests and will prepare a proposed capital budget which will be presented to the Town Board for consideration. Some of the requests made may not be included in this years budget and could be deferred. This is a link to the 2nd discussion of the budget:
LINK TO MAY 14th DISCUSSION: https://greenburghny.new.swagit.com/videos/305132.
LIBRARY, SECURITY UPGRADES, ROOFING, POLICE RENOVATIONS:
Public Works Commissioner Richard Fon discussed upgrades at the library, police and some roofing concerns.
Highest priority items include:
- Electrical and HVAC upgrades to the public library, as recommended from the engineering study commissioned by the board to review and prioritize HVAC/Electrical across all town structures. Estimated total $900K
- Security upgrades and improvements to all town-owned buildings for $800K, includes: cameras, door swipe access, notification systems, blue light system, and other protections.
- Roofing replacements/repairs for Town Hall, library, court, DPW yard, and TDYCC. These are all roofs that are actively leaking. Cost $2M.
- Greenburgh Police Department building improvements for $2M include bathroom renovations, HVAC replacements, accessibility work, and facility repair to replace end-of-life equipment, improve ADA issues, and address safety concerns.
LED LIGHTING REQUESTS:
- LED lighting upgrades across various buildings to continue, including the library, to a total of $50K.
POLICE DEPARTMENT REQUESTS RADIO SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, VEHICLES
Police Chief Kobe Powell requests total $1,571,900 for a new radio system, vehicles and related equipment..
Highest priority items include:
- MPLS Radio Network Enhancement for $328K, entails the acquisition and installation of a multiprotocol label switching network to be used with existing microwave (MW) radio backbone for the police department’s two-way radio system, as well as the town-wide interoperability system currently being installed. The equipment is necessary to serve as a seamless redundant network in the event of an instantaneous or longer microwave system outage.
Vehicles:
- Crisis negotiation response vehicle upgrade for $51K is to retrofit a 2010 International truck for the Crisis Negotiation Team. The current vehicle in use for this is a 20-year old former ambulance which is frequently out of service due to mechanical and electrical problems. Upgrading a truck formerly used by Civil Defense would increase the team’s ability to rapidly respond and de-escalate high risk situations such as involving hostages or mental health crises. The CNT works with the Greenburgh branch of the county’s
Mobile Crisis Response Team.
- Other vehicle requests and equipment to outfit them come to $528K, and include: 4 marked and 3 unmarked cars and their equipment, striping and decals, WatchGuard camera systems, and Patrol PC systems. Two of the marked cars are needed to replace two paramedic units with moderately high mileage. The other two marked cars will replace two sector patrol cars, often in need of repair. The three unmarked cars will replace three aging Staff Services vehicles.
- A Transport Van and its equipment is requested for $65K to replace the 2008 van currently in use. The van is used to transport youth campers, police explorers, officers, and town employees.
- Two animal control vans with associated equipment $140K.
Other requests include:
- 17 portable radios for full-time EMS personnel, necessary due to increased staffing levels in the department, for $50K
- Purchase of a new WatchGuard Server for all vehicles including new additions, plus access points and networking components for $30K. These are necessary for increased vehicles with cameras and end-of-the life for the original server.
- An ALS Ambulance, $350K, is needed to replace an aging unit in 2026. Due to the delayed build time of ambulances and other related delays in the industry, the vehicle needs to be ordered now to be available when needed, and avoid sizable price increases.
- Two light tower/generator units to provide illumination for town events such as National Night Out, TDYCC Halloween Carnival, Kiwanis Carnival and more. They are also used during motor vehicle accident investigations. The town currently has one working light and finds it insufficient. Cost $30K.
IT/MIS REQUESTS FOR 2024
Top priorities include:
- PC and Laptop refresh, $186,600, to replace all PCs and laptops that will be older than 5 years old by the end of 2024. As PCs and laptops age, they lose performance and are prone to a higher rate of failure. Replacing devices proactively ensures less work interruptions and employees being able to focus and complete the work at hand rather than focusing on resolving computer issues. Older PCs and laptops also put a strain on support resources.
- Fiber Interconnection switches and hardware, $220K, to replace the network switches and hardware that connects the various fiber optic connections between Town facilities and villages. This equipment is at the end of its useful life (>5 years old) and proactively replacing will prevent the possibility of catastrophic failure and extended downtime.
- Time and Attendance, $100K. The Kronos product is reaching end-of-life in 2025. Its replacement will cost approximately $60,000 per year after a $20,000 installation and setup fee. Incorporating time and attendance into MUNIS would relieve some integration issues and would cost $30,000 per year after a $45,000 setup fee. Both systems would have employee self-service for paycheck review, tax forms, time off balances, and time off requests. Additionally, Time Clocks would need to be replaced at a cost of about $25,000.
DIGITAL SIGNS TO KEEP RESIDENTS INFORMED:
- Roadway digital signage, $43K, for the installation of a permanent digital sign posted outside of Town Hall with the ability to inform residents of important dates, events and emergency information. Also a secondary display in the Town Hall Lobby.
- Small switch replacement, $12K, to replace 6 small network switches located at remote sites. Current switches are end-of-life and new devices will provide greater visibility and management capabilities.
Your thoughts are always welcome. Please e mail townboard@greenburghny.com. I’m trying to make the capital budget process more open than it has been in the past. This year each department head has the opportunity to make their case to the Town Board in a public session. All budget requests are being publicized even before a formal budget is presented to the Town Board.
Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
