The Village applied to New York State and received a Municipal Innovation Grant in 2018. The grant would help fund the installation of an American with Disabilities (ADA) Lift in the Rhinebeck Village Hall. The grant application estimated the project costs at $93,600. The Municipal Innovation Grant would fund $50,000 of the work with the Village contributing $43,600.
WHAT HAPPENED?
As presented in the Summary below, information was obtained from the Village Treasurer’s Monthly Operating Report and the End of Year Financial Condition of the Village Report.
When the project started in 2019, the Village contribution had increased to $50,000. As the project progressed additional work was required, primarily to remove asbestos from the lift area. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the project cost.
The cost of the project increased to $182,177 3. To fund the shortfall, the Village allocated $45,000 from the General Fund 4 with additional funds of $37,177 5 needed to complete the project.
COST & FUNDING SUMMARY
EVALUATION
While one may argue that construction projects usually go over budget, the increases seen above far exceed what you would consider “normal”. This would lead you to ask:
- Did the current Village administration hire the correct engineer to fully evaluate the project and estimate the potential cost?
- What due diligence was performed by the current Village administration before moving forward with the work?
- How has the current Village administration used tax dollars on other projects?