Common Council - workshop

They're all over there. What do you want?

Well, I was wondering about, I was just told that. Okay.

All the works.

The better the better little arts. Yes. The funding for the sculptures this year.

The grant that we were using to run out. We are looking at other options right now. We actually, CV Tech came to us and CV Tech was going to, I actually want to put some displays themselves down there. So there are, I mean, we've got a lot of interest. I mean, it's not going to be hard. We're going to rotate, actually, we'd like to keep some of the more and put them maybe down on the walkway as well, instead of rotating them out.

Okay.

So no, we're looking currently at a bunch of different things. Funding's been, funding with everything is tough. So...

So what's the the $4,500 on Sunday?

I think that's a poll, please.

That's police. Yeah, it's uh, we're just asking if we can put the region in 2026. You know, one subject to recognize additional funding for the Va.

It's not, it's an existing thing. So we're talking about 7.1 practitioner. So this is a catch up from last year's academy that we've been working on. It was missed by the academy director. And we had been constantly working on this on after that it's kind of just gone. As we host an academy, we are the recipient of those funds. So when the VA, I believe it's called the Yellow Ribbon Institute, The VA awards this to their banker and the member of the VA. So when they request this through the VA, it applies to their schooling. The money has to be provided to the academy and the academy reimburses the money that was paid via that whole equation. So if you didn't reimburse them?

Okay, yeah, that's it. Okay, thank you. We added it to revenue and expense.

Okay.

So it increases the budget by a certain amount, but there's no deficit. Makes sense.

It does make sense. That's the end of the question right now. There was another one, sorry.

He's got a couple of plans for the North.

That was the first one. I did the one I got on. Yes, one by three. Is this the same? So, yeah. I mean, it's like the same sort of deal where it's just.

So reimbursement. So that adjustment was requested for your reimbursement for travel with the VA's office. We had an extradition, I believe it was North Carolina in May that we fought with the VA's office. Just turned out this. Is it refunding that as it is the reimbursement service?

Yes.

Every year? It does, of course, every year. We have this year, in some of the education that I pulled from last year, we've submitted seven. We have not been awarded yet. I'm hoping we're going to get that affirmative. And a lot of those technologies would come from that, the most recent up-to-date technologies that would pull from that, as well as training. I attended, I think, approximately, I think it's, I don't know if I said something to a child last fall, approximately 18 hours of in-service training while I was there. It was, I dare to say, It allowed me to open the eyes outside of our regional area, sit with other fellow leaders, agency leaders, a lot throughout the nation, and learn what some of the problems are that we all share and some of the solutions that have already been created and are working.

I think we had a really productive meeting with the Department of Labor last week too. I mean, we can share that with the council as well. I mean, I mean, we had talking about our academy in October and department, have we, we, Still waiting on a follow-up.

Oh, it's beginning next week.

Okay. Yeah, so it was really positive. They want to be involved with us, and so moving forward to October, it looks like we're going to have probably 10 to 12 folks in an academy.

And if labor is going to pay money for that?

They don't pay for that. SUNY pays for that, and that's what we're working on right now with the SUNY colleges, local colleges, to provide the fund for it.

The DOL provides the apprenticeship model, right? So they have the, they're the pass-through, what is the trade and what isn't the trade. So that apprenticeship trade, I'm sure, that assignment model.

Yeah. Will this be the only one in the area, or is this, is this this one, is this the same one or the different one?

This would be a separate one this year, and hopefully it would be the same this next year. This year it's too late. We gotta have, we have six or seven people right now. We're ready to move.

That's what's expressed. We have needs and those are not things.

Yep. Unfortunately, but that doesn't matter. We don't go backwards. We're going forward. And this is our best option.

That was really good meeting.

So anything else that we haven't heard?

That's what I thought of the meeting we had today.

Yeah, I mean, give them an update on that too. I mean, that was actually a really good meeting too, so.

It's some of the people who are meeting today, the general meeting today, regarding some of the unhoused population that we have. We're all, whether we see it or don't see it, we are all addressing the needs. It's a high-level service. It's not just law enforcement that is addressing it. Many of these agencies are working together to try to find solutions. And systems of care is a term that we all hear, providing people outlets and access to those systems of care. And it's all about the approach. And the more people involved, the stronger that approach is. And we're working very diligently on that.

And I think we talked about partnering, and I still have to speak to the Fourth Fridays downtown. because we've had, I guess, quite a bit of this downtown. So bringing Narcan training and mental health training to our downtown businesses if they want to attend. You know, we've got a couple of the organizations who are really happy to do that and maybe looking at maybe partnering with the library later on and bringing the same trainings to the downtown business owners. I think it's important to get the business owners because they're dealing with this too, you know, and they deal with it in a different way. But making them aware of the mental health issues and, you know, anyways, if they want to be involved, I think, you know, we can offer that. We have opioid money we can use. I think it's a great use of the opioid money.

So would you be able to walk me through, not just me, but anybody watching? Because I'm getting a lot of people talking about homeless people in the city. So when your officers find someone, what are the steps that are taken? What do they do to help with that situation?

So on the approach of identification, if we don't know them already, understanding what their needs are at the moment, and then where they've already tried to acquire services, because sometimes those services have been discontinued for whatever reason. A little bit of both, a little bit of both. But more so, it's just engaging and understanding what some of those needs are. We've all seen the influx of needles through the past months. As they say, we have seen it stabilize. And I think it's because of these meetings we're having with this group, looking at some of these, the byproducts of the people who are suffering from addiction. We don't have a shelter, but the warming center will be open again As we start getting colder, knowing where some of these at the own home population are is important so we can get assistance to them. We do transport at times. Maybe somebody needs medical assistance, we'll call in our fire department for transport and assessment. Maybe they agree to go to the hospital, maybe they have to go to the hospital under certain criteria, the mental hygiene law. But it's constant engagement. Even if at first there's resistance, we are persistent in a way that we're trying to engage them and give them the help that they need, whatever that might be.

And if they don't want any help, what do you do? You know, that's the other unfortunate part. The Creyson Center is still here, too. We have the Creyson Center. If they want to go to that Creyson Center, I mean, that's a great first step.

But you're right. I mean, if somebody doesn't want

be helped and if they haven't broken the law and you know i mean it's it's it's been listen they've been dealing with this a lot and our team has has done tremendous tremendous at the very least just open dialogue some somebody's listening part of the housing challenge there's a few beds for people to be at do we know if there's been a change

with the warming center and the shelter? What are we seeing?

Huge change this year. It's going to be a lot bigger and it's not in the same place. I don't know if we're going to talk about that yet. I don't think they're ready for that. There's going to be big changes.

There is going to be the Department of Social Services. There will also be the Department of Social Services. They have many shots. That's their job to let that be known. but it'll be positive.

Yeah, it's going to have a little bit longer season two this year. Why? It's going to, tentatively, it's November 1st to May 1st. Six months. I know it's six months and it'll be open this year. And it's going to be a lot bigger. A lot more events. Yeah, a lot more events.

If they have questions, just call us. If they, you know, they see somebody who needs assistance, they really need assistance, just call us. We'll engage. There's a crisis team that will engage as well. They should, the mobile crisis team, who we just sent, they'll engage as well.

We've had the crisis team here in the city a couple of times this year already. I mean, they've been amazing. They come in and, you know, they offer a lot of, they offer what they can and everyone they have diffused and they've walked out, you know, My open-door policy opens the door to a lot of different things, and that's fine. We've had some different things, right, Beth? But anyways, it's all good, and they've all ended well. So thanks a lot to the crisis team.

The team, we're constantly pushing training to them. The inspiration is a bit of a coin phrase, but understanding people, understanding some things that we've seen, Anything to better address and deal with someone who's in crisis. We do, our teams are very well trained. I have a training plan. And I have a lot of everything.

We had some pretty good people in that meeting today. It's pretty impressive to see the folks that do show up and, you know, anyways, it was a good meeting. And I actually started, I kind of asked them to start this because of the issues we've been having in the city. I mean, and they've been amazing. I mean, we've got a lot of things we want to look at. So.

Fresh by the academy piece, because I think I kind of want to understand that apprenticeship program in the Department of Labor. I know that Clinton is doing its own. And from what I understand, it didn't meet the needs of the city. Or the timeline of it or whatever clients, do you foresee that being something that in the future is going to be joined or we just always going to have a separate apprenticeship program like is there.

I think our greatest strength is always dialogue. I mean it's too bad it didn't work out mission. Thank you. Thank you.

We've got Assistant Chief D'Angelo in the back. We can't let him go unscathed. We don't see D'Angelo very often, so.

Can I answer for you or try to? We don't have a lot on the agenda at this point.

No, how is this? I mean, we got a new, we got one new person.

One new person is in their fifth week at Watertown Group Academy. I thought this last, I could get him physically ready.

We have a second person getting ready.

you don't okay so we are short in a spot right now but we'll be looking until that for the first academy class of 20.7 i know it isn't very long now we tried to get someone into the watertown class a week late but it just really everything hadn't fallen on perfect

I saw the new to us truck the other day, I think. We actually have it on the road now?

We're going to try for this afternoon, but probably tomorrow morning by 10 o'clock.

Okay.

A lot of work into that to make it. What's the timeline for that?

The repair?

We don't even have a proposal yet.

They haven't even got us a quote back yet.

We've narrowed it down to three people who've actually interacted with us. Two have looked at the truck. One is coming up on the 20-something from Pennsylvania to look at the truck. They're all staying three to four weeks just to develop a loophole. So we want to make sure everybody's apples to apples. We've done multiple bids on the same repairs. I think it's the best benefit based on what they present to us.

Let's try to look from Pennsylvania.

We have a guy traveling from Pennsylvania to work at the truck. Yep.

they're the ones that rebuild the current truck. They'll take the body off and redo the whole thing, the frame, and then basically rebuild it from bottom up and then send us back. I mean, the drivetrain stays the same. It's about half the price of a new truck now. Oh, it's less. Yeah. I mean, those pumpers have went from $500,000 to over a million dollars. An engine?

Yeah. And then it's three or four years to get it.

So even with the rebuild, it's still cheaper?

Considerably cheaper. Oh, way cheaper. $500,000 to $500 a month.

And we expect that this pre-burn will get 10 years out of the truck.

There's only one place in the country that makes these. There's not.

There's one company that has. They're already open. Do you want to get into a Google store? There's a lot of information.

Just the accusation. You've got to go to them to get the parts to fix them.

It's a considerable battle. They are working on making it better. of all we've been using for the last few weeks.

It's a good looking truck. Actually, I like the extra windows. I like the extra windows on it too. It's actually looking really good.

It's going to really serve us well in the time that we can keep it.

That's going to be over station two? That's going to stay in one. Over station two and you see all the equipment sitting there where the truck is.

It's all pretty much on.

It looked kind of sad. They had all the equipment there. You know what I mean?

So then our call line continues to increase. Our medical calls are always busy. When we do have our second ambulance in service, it's running just as much as our first ambulance.

But I see that it's 80-something percent of the whole.

85% of our call line is medical related, yeah.

Why do you feel that is?

I think a lot of it correlates with what she probably was talking about in the use of the system with some of these challenged populations we have.

How does the city reimburse for somebody that can't pay for them?

So we bill for every ambulance call that we go on.

how is that reflected in the in the expense so if there is a line in our budget well for

recouped in ambulance billings, and then we pay a submission based on what they collected back to the third party that collects that money for us. So it will be over $90 that we will collect and filter out.

How is that reflected with the expense?

Does that cover the expense? Is that what you're saying? Well, there's a lot that goes into it if the expenses are It's hard to break down and say if it actually covers it, but it takes a pretty big chunk out of what our expense does.

So the expenses are around $6 million for the department?

No, probably $3 million. $3 million? Yeah. Overall?

Not including the residual. So not including the residual costs of the retirements and everything like that.

No, just including the retirement. Yeah. $3 million, $3.5 million. I haven't done it for a couple years because. The last time I did it, I was told this to our church, but you know it was good cost accounting that was them being nice to you. yeah. that's fine. So yeah we do we do account for the Commission's we have expectations and.

You know what we expect to bring in for an ambulance revenue, but it's really only percentage of what we bill for get so much of our population into the medicare medicaid very little we actually see is private insurance, but for actually taking a full bill. We can't cost everything over the EMS consumables.

they may not get back so but there's a lot of people calling ambulances today that really shouldn't be i mean we can't pick them too we can't pick them too and they call for an ambulance you got to go right yeah sometimes you know if they get a bad test i mean how many times we go to a nursing home that and i'm not picking on anybody but they'll say they got a they got a blood test back that is you need an ambulance to bring but how else do they get them there that's why i said

Right. Right. So emergent versus non emergent. All that would mean is how we're dispatched. So we would be following priority one and priority two. Emergent means we responded lights and sirens and non-emergent means we didn't. That doesn't necessarily reflect whether the call is emergent or non-emergent. Quite often we race through the city lights and sirens for what turned out to be really non-emergency. Other times we go over following traffic. Although we get there when the guns first did not do it, we need to get going. So it's really not a fair assessment of whether severity calls the emergency room.

Do you always have paramedics with you when you go? Like, are you ready for that? Or depending on the call, if it comes in as an emergency, do you send paramedics automatically?

So the only time we would send us more people to help automatically would be if it comes in as a cardiac arrest. Versus non-conscious, non-breathing, we send the available ambulance as well with an additional fire, which may or may not contain a paramedic, depending on the type of staffing.

Why does the paramedic have to go on the truck and do it?

Well, it's all based on the CBA and staffing as to who rides what positions that day. So if that firefighter was also a paramedic, their seniority and their job is to take them off of the ambulance right? Ladder truck, whatever it may be. So we would just send the next available unit to assist that. Even if there were paramedics on the ambulance, we're still sending a second unit to assist them. You just cannot.

So if you have a, you have to send a truck as well, what does the cost increase for having to send that the entire truck out for one person that's on it?

Both. Well, the cost to us, again, is just absorb in our day-to-day operation, whether they go on that call or not. It's a matter that we're still paying that person. The bill to the patient could potentially increase if there was a higher level of care that was provided by the official. So the cost of the ambulance ride is based on the level of care provided. So if we have, say, a basic EMT or a Okay, so it's not like you're paying, you sent two trucks out, you're paying at the paramedic level, not because you sent out another truck with two or three other people on it.

Okay.

So at the end of the day, is the cost of the ambulance service exceeding what we earn? I mean, just financially, not the moral question of whether or not a municipality should provide that service. At the end of the day, it's costing as much as we earn.

Well, again, I can't answer that question because it's a complex question. The cost to run the ambulance also leads over to that going on okay so just because you have a paramedic on the ambulance today well the house fire comes in that paramedic who's on the entrance is going to jump on the fire truck right okay so because we're able to do that both the costs are blended and so it's hard to break that down but like richard said almost a third of our operating costs are reversed because of the all right and that is all of our operating costs not just our ambulance operating costs i see

There's a way to look at the angles separately if you assume some Right. What would it be if it was separate in another bill? Right. We do have a way to cost them. There's a few assumptions you put together.

I mean, some days we run two, some days we run one. There's so many variables, you know.

It doesn't matter. It's how much revenue you've got coming in, which is the cost.

That's what I'm saying. But if you've got two running, it's going to cost us more. I mean.

It's important to remember, though, if you determine 10 or 12, you're going to number to run the ambulance. Those 10 or 12 are still fighting fire. But if they have a non-ambulance call. So they do provide their civil service title as firefighter. And then we are a fire department who provides again a service. So it is, you're getting, everyone is firefighter first. There's nobody who adjusted them. You get your initial firefighter training. And now when it's due to a CAT, you're standing in front of your base in EMT during basic firefighter training. So when our new firefighter comes out, he'll go right down the ambulance. He's taking patient care at the basic level. And then he'll turn the work up to the level that's open the next year or two.

And the new apprenticeship program is probably going to help us with that too.

Yes.

That's going to reimburse us a lot. As far as the paramedic is going to be offered as an apprentice program. That's true. So we would be able to send folks and get reimbursed for it.

$11,000, I think, or something like that, per person.

Per person, just for the cops, just for the tuition.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, then you've got to, yeah, then there's further costs, too.

I would say that all of our people who are parents, and that's especially information. I believe it's about 15 right now. About 15, I don't know, but a good majority.

Do they train with you guys, or girls?

Well, they mentor us. Right.

They're on the ambulance together and they're like going out.

Yeah, absolutely. And when you have someone going through the paramedic program, there are a lot of field time required and our experience in paramedics providing that mentorship and that precepting.

That was more questions than that. I know. I just volunteered your welcome.

I didn't think they were going to put you on a burner. Okay. All right. Thanks. So I got to request a really brief executive session about ongoing legal action. Currently in engagement. And I get a motion. Councillor Colleen, Councillor Arts, roll call.

Councillor Arts?

Yes.

Councillor Bennett?

Yes.

Councillor Colleen? Yes.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

No, he's cheating.

You know what? There's hardly anybody there. It's pouring rain, so hardly anybody's there.

Are you serious? It's pouring rain? I didn't even look outside.

I haven't been outside in an hour.

It was very...

Or my food call. That's okay.

No, that's fine. That's fine.

We're not.

Come back from executive session. I'll take that motion to come out of executive session where no action was taken. Yes, sir. Arts vocal.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Any other questions. For the work before we move on. Okay, all hands and works effort. Do we have to do that first? After that, announcing that? No, we're gonna do that in their new business. Okay, nevermind. All right, I'm gonna call the regular meeting of the common council to order. Please rise if you're in need. Excuse me. Ms. Carlin, could you do the roll, please?

Thank you.

Here.

Councilor Vaughn? Here. Councilor Evans? Here. Councilor Talon? Here. Resolved with the minutes of the regular meeting of the Common Council held on September 3rd, 2026, on five-month public record to the city clerk's office.

Move by it. Excuse me. Councilor Manette? Second. Councilor Bond? Roll call.

Yes. Councilor Arts?

Yes.

Councilor Pan? Yes.

Any public comment this evening on agenda items only? With no public comment, we'll move on. Any special committee reports this evening? No committee reports. Okay.

Council approved the payrolls of the various departments of the City of Plattsburgh for the weekend of September 16th, 2026, in the amount of $696,131.37. The Council approved the bills audited by the Common Council for the week ending September 11th, 2026, in the amount of $1,884,532.20, and September 18th, 2026, in the amount of $471,817.73.

Okay, there's no liaison reports to see.

Item 7.152, Authorized Budget Adjustment, General Department of the Department of Police Academy.

Moved by. Councilor Vaughn, seconded by Councilor Burnett. Any discussion? Roll call.

Councilor Vaughn. Yes. Councilor Arts. Yes. Councilor Burnett. Yes. Councilor Colleen. Yes. Gary. Item 7.15 to be authorized budget adjustment general fund police department additional funding from Clinton County DA.

Move by. Councillor Bonds. Councillor Colleen. Any discussion? Roll call.

Bonds. Yes. Councillor Arks. Yes. Councillor Burnett. Yes. Councillor Colleen. Yes. Period. Item 7.15 for travel request police department.

Move by. Councillor Bonds. Second. Councillor Arks. Any discussion? Roll call.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

MOVED BY COUNSELOR BONN. SECOND, COUNSELOR MANNETT. ANY DISCUSSION? I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE COMPANIES THAT DID BID. WE DID GET, YOU KNOW, WE HAD FOUR DIFFERENT COMPANIES THAT BID, AND WE WENT WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE FAIREST AND I GUESS MOST ECONOMICALLY RESPONSIBLE ONE WE COULD FOR THE CITY OF LYNDSBURG. FAIR? PB, Harmon Zuckerman, No other discussion roll call.

Yes, yes. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Yes, yes.

PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Any new business come for this Council this evening. Oh, I got the, I'm sorry. I got new business. Yes, there is. Yes, I have. Jeez. I'm going to introduce a local law P3 of 2026, a local law amending chapter 321 of the code of the city of Plattsburgh to prohibit the use of smoking and vaping products on city property. I'm going to set a public hearing for Thursday, October 1st of 2026 at 530 p.m.

Yeah, councilors will be sent in the local law. I like talking to them.

Perfect. Any other new business come before this council, let's see.

There's something and I don't remember what it was.

I have no reason for an executive session if nobody else does. Any public comment on any comment Any topic this evening with no further public comment. I'd like to make sure everybody knows we do have Parks Come Alive this afternoon over at South Acres. We're going to have Julie cut a ribbon.

I'll chase them.

Well, anyway, Julie's Park is going to get a brand new, is brand new this evening. So South Acres is pretty exciting.

Who?

I think two people can. There's two handles.

Is there?

Yes. How's that?

So, and it's also very wet.

Yeah, it's Julie's Park. But Billy Jones did, former Assemblyman Jones did leave us $250,000 to buy the equipment. So a great thing to have. So. Councillor John Gallo, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Councillor John Gallo, Council on council arts.

Councillor John Gallo, Yes, yes, yes. Councillor John Gallo, Thank you.

Councillor John Gallo, How's that