TARGETED ACCESSIBILITY FUND OF NEW YORK, INC.
14 CORPORATE WOODS BLVD, SUITE 215, ALBANY, NEW YORK 12211
TELEPHONE: 518-443-2808 FAX: 518-443-2809
WWW.TAFNY.ORG
Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
May 19, 2015
Board Members Present: Members present were Mary Burgess (Vice-Chairperson) and
Alicia Sullivan. Members present via conference circuit were Ann Kowalczyk
(Secretary/Treasurer), Diane Browning and Jan VanDeCarr. Others Present: Angelo Rella
(TAF Administrator), Mary Goralski (Senior Fund Analyst) and David Cramer (NYPSC).
1. Mary Burgess, Vice-Chairperson, called the meeting to order and took a roll call. A
quorum was present and the meeting proceeded.
2. The Board reviewed the minutes of the February 10, 2015 Board meeting. Hearing no
changes, a motion was made by Alicia Sullivan and seconded by Ann Kowalczyk to adopt
the minutes as presented. The motion was approved by the Board unanimously.
3. Angelo announced the retirement of Robert Wrighter, Sr. from the Board. A letter thanking
Bob for his years of service will be sent from the Board. Shana Macey, President of Crown
Point Telephone Corporation, will be a new Board representative.
4. Mary Burgess will also be leaving the Board. A letter thanking Mary for her years of
service will be sent from the Board.
5. Angelo provided a TAF Administrative Expense Summary Report for the months of
January 2015 through March 2015. He told the Board that the Treasurer (Ann Kowalczyk)
had reviewed the summary prior to the meeting. TAF is less than 1% over budget at this
time, and Angelo believes that this will even out by the end of the year. There were no
questions. A motion was made by Alicia Sullivan and seconded by Ann Kowalczyk to
approve the expense reports as presented. The motion was approved by the Board
unanimously.
6. Angelo provided a TAF Status Report. The January 2015 through March 2015 Monthly
Assessment Summaries were presented. He explained that the number of companies
participating stayed consistent during this time period. He anticipates in the next quarter
we will see a decrease in companies due to the merging and consolidation of companies,
the elimination of companies that no long do business in NY and the elimination of those
companies that are now below the reporting threshold. He also noted that there was a
decrease in the assessment ratio in February and March 2015 due to a large decrease in
Lifeline Costs. There were no questions. A motion was made by Alicia Sullivan and
seconded by Diane Browning to approve the reports as presented. The motion was
approved by the Board unanimously.
7. Angelo gave an update on Captioned Telephone. There were 1,207 Captel phones in use at
the end of March 2015 as compared to 1,277 in use at the end of February 2015. There is
anecdotal evidence that customers are switching to Video, IP Relay and texting instead.
However, Angelo believes that there are a core group of customers who will want to
continue using a landline phone in the future.
8. Mary Goralski discussed Revenues and Cost Trends. Assessable revenues continue to
decrease. However, these were offset by a large decrease in Lifeline Costs in February and
March. This made the Assessment Ratio decrease in February and March. E911 costs are
fairly flat and TRS Costs are decreasing slightly.
9. The Board discussed the current status of the NY State Universal Service Fund. There has
been one billing so far in December 2014 for the first quarter 2015.
10. Dave Cramer gave an update on current issues at the NY Public Service Commission.
11. The next regularly scheduled Board meeting will tentatively be on Tuesday, August 11,
2015 in Albany in the TAF of NY Conference Room with a start time of 11AM.
12. There being no other business, Alicia Sullivan made the motion to adjourn, seconded by
Mary Burgess and approved unanimously by the Board.