Ogdensburg may ax jobs, farm some services out

OGDENSBURG — In coming months, the City Council will consider axing its Housing and Rehabilitation Department and cutting a key position in the Economic Development office.

To ensure all of the services tied to these programs continue, City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra is negotiating shared service agreements with the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, the St. Lawrence County Housing Council, the Development Authority of the North Country and the village of Potsdam.

According to Mr. Sciorra, the agreements will allow the city to cut more than $180,000 in expenses without losing services.

"There will be some costs, but I imagine they will be minimal," Mr. Sciorra said.

The agreements are still being discussed, but the City Council will decide whether to stop funding the departments before the budget goes into effect Jan. 1.

Mr. Sciorra is proposing to dismantle the Housing Rehabilitation Department, which is run by Mark E. Jacobs, and pay the St. Lawrence County Housing Council to handle applications, inspections and loans for housing projects. The 14-employee county Housing Council would be paid from the city's community development fund when grant money is not available, Mr. Sciorra said. The community development fund is paid for through loan repayments, not city taxes.

Cutting the department could save about $105,000 in the 2010 budget and would help eliminate administrative problems uncovered at the department in an audit released in August, Mr. Sciorra said.

"With this relationship, the city is going to benefit by more leverage, more deliverables, quicker services, more due diligence," Housing Council Director Joseph D. DeMart said. "The city is going to gain, even though some might view this as a cost savings."

Mr. Jacobs did not return messages or phone calls asking for comment.

Mr. Sciorra also is proposing the city save about $76,000 by having DANC, the Potsdam Empire Zone and the OBPA take over for the city's economic development program manager, Kimberly R. DesChamp.

She declined to comment about the proposed cuts.

According to Mr. Sciorra, DANC would review applications for the Ogdensburg Growth Fund Development Corp. for the approximately $400 application fee. The OBPA would work with Mr. Sciorra and city Planning and Economic Development Director J. Justin Woods to handle marketing for the city and the Joint Economic Development Committee, a local marketing group that focuses on Canadian business.

Mr. Sciorra said the proposal with the OBPA includes increasing the city's contribution to the marketing group, with money to come from the community development fund as well.

"In reality there was a bit of redundancy. We were basically doing what (OBPA Industrial Development Director John A. Rishe) does, but we had somebody else doing it," Mr. Sciorra said.

OBPA officials did not comment on the negotiations.

Discussions with the village of Potsdam about its Empire Zone administration taking over the yearly reports and certifications for businesses in the city's Empire Zone are very preliminary, Potsdam Planning and Development Director Frederick J. Hanss said.

"The village certainly has the capacity to work with Ogdensburg, but that's a decision only the village can make," he said. "There haven't been shared services, but there has been quite a lot of cooperation between the city and village over the years."

City Councilor Michael D. Morley recently suggested the city manager also look into having the St. Lawrence County Planning Department take over the city's Planning Department.

Mr. Sciorra said after talking with officials from the county that a similar shared services agreement would not have financial benefits for the city and many of the services of the city Planning Department are not available through the county's Planning Department.

"It's got to be something that works for them and us at the same time," Mr. Sciorra said. "We can't just make it happen."