| When Dick Dennison and his wife, Diane,
moved into their Golf Avenue home in 1964, they had
no idea how much of their lives would be involved with
"Village business."
April 15 -"Tax Day"- is looming on the horizon
for most of us. Village officials, however, have been
wrestling with their annual budget challenge since January.
The team's job is to anticipate the Village's expenses
for the next fiscal year (and beyond), set priorities
for funding, and ensure there will be enough money on
hand to pay the bills.
That may sound familiar to any householder. But planning
for a municipality is a job of a different magnitude.
"I'm already spending at least 20 hours a week
on budget planning, and that number will double as the
weeks progress," says Deputy Mayor and Budget Officer
Glenn O. Brown.
One of the first steps is determining where the money
is coming from. "I don't think most people realize
that property taxes account for less than a third of
our revenues,"says Brown. Last year, for example,
the village budget was based on total revenues of $822,600,
of which only $246,000 came from property taxes. So
where does the rest come from? More than two-thirds
of the budget is funded through Pittsford's share of
the county sales tax, license and franchise fees (from
service providers who use Village land, such as RG&E
and telephone and cable TV companies), and state revenues
earmarked for highway improvements.
A preliminary budget hearing is scheduled each year
in mid-April. Revisions may then be made that reflect
concerns expressed by residents at that hearing. The
final budget is adopted in May. The 2001-2002 budget
is presently on our web site at www.villageofpittsford.org.
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Glenn Brown
Deputy Mayor and
Budget Officer |
Meet Our "Money Man"
More than many, Glenn Brown
knows his way around a financial spreadsheet.
As the Village's budget officer, Glenn brings
to his role a master's degree in finance from
the UR, 30 years experience at Kodak (some spent
as marketing director managing a $100 million
budget), and entrepreneurial expertise‹as
president of his own Pittsford-based Rand Consulting
Group. |
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Managing money is not the only
thing Glenn is good at. As president of his college
alumni association (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
he reinvigorated alumni participation in RPI activities
and more than doubled the alumni treasury. Currently,
he heads the college's annual fund-raising efforts.
Many of his friends and neighbors
know of his (and wife Lynn's) deep involvement
in America¹s ski scene. For the past 11 years
he has chaired the North American Technical Delegates
Working Group of the International Ski Federation
(FIS), directing the training of the chief officials
and scheduling the officiating of all FIS race
events in North America. He has received the "Outstanding
Alpine Official Award" from the US Ski
Association. |
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Copyright
©2006, Village of Pittsford