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Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy delivers State of the City address

Mayor Gary McCarthy of Schenectady
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC

Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy gave his annual State of the City address Friday afternoon.

McCarthy's address was a positive one. He kicked it off saying the city ended 2021 with a balanced budget.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve cut taxes five years in a row," said McCarthy. "And even with the pandemic-driven adjustments over the past two years, our property tax rate is more than 6% lower than it was seven years ago. “

The third-term Democrat added the Electric City's property value increases have continued.

“We’ve received half of our almost $53 million of ARPA allocation," McCarthy said. "As part of that process we've held several neighborhood discussions, and we put in place an online application process to seek community input on using your money. We now are in the process of evaluating and implementing those projects, which we have to do in a manner to be compliant with federal guidance. “

McCarthy says the new infrastructure law provided significant additional federal funding on top of the American Rescue Plan.

McCarthy said "This will provide money to states and local governments through new and expanded programs in the area of transportation, broadband, energy, resiliency and water projects.”

McCarthy noted that the city has continued to roll out public WiFi, expanded telehealth consultation services offered by city paramedics, updated the city website, and completed the conversion of some 4000 utility pole mounted streetlights to smart LED fixtures, in line with the Smart City initiative to improve public safety, transportation, mobility and environmental sustainability.

While the city adds electric vehicle charging stations, McCarthy pointed out that supply chain issues caused by the pandemic have slowed some programs and initiatives. For example, the police department is still waiting for the delivery of hybrid and electric vehicles. He says there has also been some difficulty in filling some city jobs, and he encourages residents in search of a new job to go to the city website and apply.

McCarthy praised progress made in new construction and in rebuilding infrastructure, expanding recreational facilities in city parks, and noted more improvements are coming.

“I appreciate the city council's early support for a new pool in Central Park," McCarthy said. "This will allow us to deal with State Department of Health compliance issues.”

He gave kudos to the city's education partnership with SUNY Schenectady and announced total police calls were down over 11% compared to the five-year average.

There is an area of concern for the mayor and city: trash.

"We're facing two issues," said McCarthy. "One - recycled material, which we used to have it taken away at little or no costs. Today, our cost is just under $62 a ton. And that compares to a little over $44 a ton for our MSW. MSW is municipal solid waste. So it cost us 40% more to dispose of recycled material than just regular garbage.”

McCarthy says the second issue is residents who put out "extraordinary quantities of garbage." He says he'll brainstorm with city councilors to work out the trash problems.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.