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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Special Work Session Budget Meeting - October 7, 2026

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, October 7, 2026

BodyPeekskill, New York

SessionMeeting Portal

DateWednesday, October 7, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:21:16

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:01

I'll

Speaker 1

0:01

ask that we dispense with liaison reports, concerns and issues for this evening, as we just did them on Monday.

0:08

And then executive session for discussion of matters concerning the medical financial credit or employment history of a particular person, persons, or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person, persons, or corporation.

0:25

So at this time I will turn it over to our city manager.

Speaker 2

0:28

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

0:30

Good evening.

0:31

Tonight we continue on with budget presentations and the special committee of the whole.

0:36

And we're gonna start off the night with Joanna Duncan, our human resources director.

0:50

You have your pages.

Speaker 3

0:51

Yes.

Speaker 1

2:05

I don't see that page.

Unassigned speaker

2:07

Oh,

Speaker 1

2:07

are you looking?

Speaker 4

2:09

I'm

Speaker 1

2:10

like, no, I'm looking for page 135.

2:12

Okay, you're looking for the lines.

Speaker 3

2:14

Okay.

Unassigned speaker

2:16

Good

Speaker 3

2:17

evening, everyone.

2:18

Good evening, good evening.

2:19

So my task this evening is to uh provide you some insight into um the focus the HR department has had uh for this year as well as uh planning for uh 2027.

2:32

So in reviewing our critical uh risk areas in terms of workforce planning, we found that our services highly depend on a workforce that is about to turn over.

2:45

So um not to make it sound like this is too like the the house is on fire, but we're only looking at risk in terms of if people who are currently eligible to receive an unreduced pension right now, if they were to leave the city, we would have to um basically hire several critical roles as well as other positions that are needed to provide uh services that are needed by uh the residents and and visitors and others

Unassigned speaker

3:14

uh

Speaker 3

3:15

for the city of Peakskill.

3:16

So from now to about uh 2030, we are seeing based on our retirement forecasting about 49 positions that would need to be filled, which is approximately 25% of our full-time workforce.

3:28

Outside of civil service rules, so for example, police and fire, they have special rules related uh to recruitment.

3:35

Outside of those unique rules, we we are on average taking about 90 days uh to fill positions, and that is counted from vacancy to acceptance of an offer.

3:44

In terms of the uh city managers um tentative budget, six of the critical positions we've identified are funded for 2027, and the work that will be performed in um 2027 for the HR budget.

3:58

There's a basis for the recommended three percent change from 2026 to 2027.

Unassigned speaker

4:06

So,

Speaker 3

4:06

what exactly does the workforce challenge look like?

4:09

This is related to um who who can hire when and which roles are hardest to replace.

4:15

So um one in ten full-time employees uh can retire today.

4:21

On average, we have employees who are eligible now, staying about 3.4 years past um their eligibility to receive their pension.

4:31

And um the number the 1970 refers to those who are mandated to be part of the retirement system.

4:36

So seasonal employees uh they have a choice, but uh this isn't essentially the workforce that is uh currently represented on a retirement bill.

Unassigned speaker

4:46

So we have uh 21 employees who are eligible for a full pension, which is about 10.7 uh seven percent of our workforce, and we will have by 2031 57 employees who are eligible, which accounts for about 6.5 um uh million dollars in uh budget.

Speaker 3

5:07

So where the eligibility is in the fire department, that's the most critical, where we have the most employees who are currently eligible.

5:17

There's certainly a succession plan in place for the fire department.

5:24

I had spoken to him about this as well.

5:26

He does have a mechanism in place for us to address if people were to, in fact, retire as soon as they're eligible.

5:33

Also, we see that the next department would be police and other positions.

5:39

Civilian here means those who have titles within the employees' retirement system.

5:43

So police and fire, they have their own retirement system.

5:48

So from 2027 through uh 2031, approximately seven to ten positions per year become eligible to retire.

5:56

So we have to uh think about what the impact in services would be should those employees decide to retire.

6:03

And then we start to see it start to taper off in 2032, as tier four staff uh become eligible at 62 to receive um an unreduced pension.

6:16

So the worst case scenario, um this is just simply to prepare for it, not to predict that this will happen.

6:25

Um the worst case scenario again would be 49 positions that would have to be filled if people are eligible

Unassigned speaker

6:32

uh

Speaker 3

6:32

to retire did, and we need to do that by uh 2030.

6:38

So um succession.

6:40

That uh process requires us to identify not just the leaders, but those who would backfill the positions when people succeed to a leadership position.

6:52

So right now there's seven leadership roles that um carry the highest risk in terms of um possibly retiring by 2030, and four of those positions uh require the common council to consent.

7:05

So we updated the charter in 2022 to add the fire chief, so that um it's the fourth position.

7:12

So it's a city controller, um, the city manager, the police chief, and now uh the fire chief.

7:21

So uh where we stand today in terms of our numbers.

7:24

So we are using um HR metrics that enable us to measure what we're doing now and how we're preparing for later.

7:35

So we for the for 2026, we were essentially at 93% capacity to deliver services of the 20, the 222 funded positions, um, 7.2% were vacant.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters████████████████████████████28%

Capital Planning█████████████████17%

Procedural█████████████13%

Budget Equity Analysis█████████████13%

Debt Management████████8%

Fee Schedule██████6%

Fiscal Sustainability████4%

Parking Management██2%

Insurance██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Special Work Session Budget Meeting

The Peelskill Common Council held a special work session on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, to continue budget presentations for the 2027 fiscal year. Presentations covered workforce planning, the finance department and IT, the fee schedule, the capital plan, debt service, major revenues, and legal expenses. A third-quarter budget review was deferred to the next meeting. The session concluded with a motion to enter executive session.

Discussion Items

Human Resources (Joanna Duncan)

Joanna Duncan, Human Resources Director, presented a workforce risk analysis: 49 positions (approximately 25% of full-time workforce) may need to be filled by 2030 due to retirements. Currently, one in ten full-time employees can retire today; 21 employees (10.7%) are eligible for a full pension now. The fire department faces the highest risk. Succession planning is underway for seven leadership roles, four of which require council consent (city controller, city manager, police chief, fire chief).
The 2027 HR budget reflects a 3% increase (~$11,000) from 2026. Key costs include payroll/HR software (PAYCOM), training system (Biz Library), and a new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Westchester County.
Six metrics will track progress: vacancy rate, civil service bottlenecks, time-to-fill (target 60 days), critical role coverage, voluntary turnover, and supervisor effectiveness.
Priority actions include documenting institutional knowledge (departmental manuals by 2030), identifying successors for the seven critical positions, requesting civil service lists early, and refreshing retirement forecasts quarterly.
Council members praised the report. City Manager Matt noted a project/task tracker has been set up for department heads to ensure continuity. Councilman Chang and others thanked Joanna for the presentation.

Finance/IT (Tony Tracy)

Comp troller Tony Tracy outlined the finance department's six positions, key functions (payroll, accounts payable, debt service, tax collection, etc.), and ongoing projects. The city received its third consecutive Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for 2024.
Parking revenue management: implementing a new parking app and 10 new kiosks by end of October; goals to improve resident and visitor experience. Issues with the app are being addressed with the vendor.
IT goals include enhanced cybersecurity (via an intergovernmental agreement with DHS), server upgrades (18 servers, done in phases), and workstation replacement.
The 2027 budget funds salary increases, training, audits, bond expenses, server updates, and annual software costs.

Fee Schedule

A 3% across-the-board increase proposed, with exceptions (senior parking permits, copy fees, birth/death/marriage certificates, dog licenses, building permit extension fees, some facility rentals).
Councilman Brian noted a typo: fingerprint fee listed as $280 instead of $28; correction ordered.
A suggestion to differentiate residential/non-residential rates for marina boat launch was made; council agreed to consider it.
The downtown gazebo rental fee is no longer applicable; staff will review whether to replace with a civic hub rental fee.
The fee schedule will be revisited next week for final adjustments.

Capital Plan

The capital plan is updated annually. Two new grants added: $3 million NYS EFC green innovation grant and $50,000 EFC engineering planning grant for flood mitigation and stormwater infiltration.
Projects include $300,000 for renovating the council chamber and city hall customer service stations (planned for 2029). Council expressed desire to accelerate carpet and paint replacement.
Council asked for parks and community hub department to be listed separately in the summary; Tony will update.
Electric vehicle charging stations: some already installed; ongoing project through planning.

Debt Service

Outstanding long-term bonds at year-end 2026: $32,285,946. In 2026, a new long-term bond of $7,465,946 was issued to convert short-term debt from Oakwood Drive and vehicles/equipment.
Leases total $4,204,944. Short-term borrowing of $5,138,000 includes $4 million for parking structures (momentum grant) and $1,138,000 for vehicles.
Proposal to use $600,000 per year from the restricted firehouse fund balance (projected $6.6 million at year-end) to pay down the remaining $8,090,000 firehouse debt.
Constitutional debt limit: city is well below the limit. Council requested a specific percentage figure.

Major Revenues

Total proposed expenditures: $58,966,965. Property tax levy: $21,535,643 (37% of total revenue, low compared to Westchester County average of 45–55%).
Other major revenues: sales tax (14%), PILOTs (14%), departmental income (19%). Sales tax has steadily increased over 10 years.
Revenue projections for 2027 based on history: meter parking and parking fines expected to increase due to new app/enforcement officer; building permits fluctuate; mortgage tax projected slightly higher.
Cannabis tax: actual $92,000; projected $325,000 for 2027, but later revised downward after county overpayment notification.
Council discussed appropriated fund balance: recommended $1,215,000 includes $660,000 for firehouse loan payments and transfers to capital from impact fee fund balance.

Legal Expenses

2027 budget: $510,000 for contract legal (firm) and $350,000 for outside counsel. Based on review of 2025 and 2026 expenses by case; resolved cases removed.

Common Council Budget

A minor stipend increase for election board clerks was noted; fully offset by revenue. Council will finalize early next week.

Key Outcomes

The fee schedule will be corrected (fingerprint fee) and revised to include residential/non-residential boat launch rates and removal of downtown gazebo rental fee; final approval next week.
Capital plan will be updated to list parks and community hub department separately.
Third-quarter budget review will be presented at the next meeting.
Council agreed to consider using $600,000 annually from the restricted firehouse fund for debt service.
The meeting closed with a motion to enter executive session for discussion of personnel and medical/financial matters; motion carried unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

I'll ask that we dispense with liaison reports, concerns and issues for this evening, as we just did them on Monday. And then executive session for discussion of matters concerning the medical financial credit or employment history of a particular person, persons, or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person, persons, or corporation. So at this time I will turn it over to our city manager. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Good evening. Tonight we continue on with budget presentations and the special committee of the whole. And we're gonna start off the night with Joanna Duncan, our human resources director. You have your pages. Yes. I don't see that page. Oh, are you looking? I'm like, no, I'm looking for page 135. Okay, you're looking for the lines. Okay. Good evening, everyone. Good evening, good evening. So my task this evening is to uh provide you some insight into um the focus the HR department has had uh for this year as well as uh planning for uh 2027. So in reviewing our critical uh risk areas in terms of workforce planning, we found that our services highly depend on a workforce that is about to turn over. So um not to make it sound like this is too like the the house is on fire, but we're only looking at risk in terms of if people who are currently eligible to receive an unreduced pension right now, if they were to leave the city, we would have to um basically hire several critical roles as well as other positions that are needed to provide uh services that are needed by uh the residents and and visitors and others uh for the city of Peakskill. So from now to about uh 2030, we are seeing based on our retirement forecasting about 49 positions that would need to be filled, which is approximately 25% of our full-time workforce. Outside of civil service rules, so for example, police and fire, they have special rules related uh to recruitment. Outside of those unique rules, we we are on average taking about 90 days uh to fill positions, and that is counted from vacancy to acceptance of an offer. In terms of the uh city managers um tentative budget, six of the critical positions we've identified are funded for 2027, and the work that will be performed in um 2027 for the HR budget. There's a basis for the recommended three percent change from 2026 to 2027. So, what exactly does the workforce challenge look like? This is related to um who who can hire when and which roles are hardest to replace. So um one in ten full-time employees uh can retire today. On average, we have employees who are eligible now, staying about 3.4 years past um their eligibility to receive their pension. And um the number the 1970 refers to those who are mandated to be part of the retirement system. So seasonal employees uh they have a choice, but uh this isn't essentially the workforce that is uh currently represented on a retirement bill. So we have uh 21 employees who are eligible for a full pension, which is about 10.7 uh seven percent of our workforce, and we will have by 2031 57 employees who are eligible, which accounts for about 6.5 um uh million dollars in uh budget. So where the eligibility is in the fire department, that's the most critical, where we have the most employees who are currently eligible. There's certainly a succession plan in place for the fire department. I had spoken to him about this as well. He does have a mechanism in place for us to address if people were to, in fact, retire as soon as they're eligible. Also, we see that the next department would be police and other positions. Civilian here means those who have titles within the employees' retirement system. So police and fire, they have their own retirement system. So from 2027 through uh 2031, approximately seven to ten positions per year become eligible to retire. So we have to uh think about what the impact in services would be should those employees decide to retire. And then we start to see it start to taper off in 2032, as tier four staff uh become eligible at 62 to receive um an unreduced pension. So the worst case scenario, um this is just simply to prepare for it, not to predict that this will happen. Um the worst case scenario again would be 49 positions that would have to be filled if people are eligible

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