Municipalities in our region are considering budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
Thursday night, the Troy city council approved Democratic Mayor Patrick Madden’s2019 budget along party lines.
The 4 to 3 vote cleared the $73.5 million spending plan, which Mayor Madden called responsible.
“It is balanced. It was reviewed by the New York state comptroller. The way we do it, it’s based on facts and trends that are verifiable. It is under the tax cap,” said Madden.
Under the budget, property taxes go up 1.4 percent.
A sticking point among the Republican minority was the inclusion of a $164 per unit trash fee.
Republican City Council President Carmella Mantello has called the fee double-taxation.
“It’s a permanent tax. A service that the people of Troy were receiving prior,” said Mantello.
The final budget also includes funding for the city’s two shuttered swimming pools.
Mantello calls bonding to reconstruct the city’s Lansingburgh pool a “huge win by the minority.”
Madden says the city was told the current pool in Knickerbacker Park is beyond repair and would need to be replaced.
“We’re trying to work with trustees of the park to locate that pool in a better section of the park so that it is more open, more family-friendly, and in closer proximity to other features within the park,” said Madden.
The mayor said the process to make repairs on the South Troy pool could begin soon. Bonding is also included to repair the Knickerbacker Park ice rink.
Mantello also cheered the inclusion of bonding for police body cameras.
“Myself, Councilmember McGrath, we’ve been pushing that for the last couple years. It’s a win-win for the public, the community, and police officers. The policies will be put in place. And top of it, we’re confident we’ll receive a grant from the AG’s office – New York State AG – for those monies,” said Mantello.
In Saratoga Springs, the city council unanimously passed a $47.1 million amended operating budget Wednesday night.
The budget calls for an average tax increase of about .38 percent.
The largest financial hurdle facing the city was the August lightning strike that sparked a fire on the third floor of City Hall, causing smoke and water damage and requiring extensive renovation work. That’s reflected in the $10 million capital budget, says Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan.
“$11.2 [million] is actually the total capital budget, but some of those costs have already either been bonded or we’ll use city reserves and insurance proceeds to handle that total $11.2 million. $10 million is attributed directly to city hall renovations,” said Madigan.
Madigan said despite the lightning strike requiring employees to vacate the building, the incident allowed the city to take a closer look at how it will use the space.
“All the way from the third floor down to the basement floor. And we think we’ve made some good concessions to bring our court area up to what the Office of Court Administration is looking to see throughout communities in the area,” said Madigan.
A state mandate is requiring the city to provide a second courtroom. There’s also the chance to take a look at the building’s heating and cooling system.
“We are gonna do more energy, heating, and cooling compliance for the building, which we think will give us National Grid rebates. We’ve been in touch with National Grid and saved taxpayers on the back end in terms of lower utility costs,” said Madigan.
Madigan said savings were found in employee healthcare costs. And despite the challenges, the 2019 budget meets the priorities of each city department.
“From even in the hiring of new people, to ensuring equipment, police vehicles, some DPW heavy equipment, a new fire truck that was 20 years old, and a new ambulance for the Department of Public Safety. We’re even embarking on a large assessment review of some of the new construction that’s taken place in the city over the last few years, and we were able to put some funds aside to ensure that we get those assessments on the books, which in the end leads to additional revenue for the city,” said Madigan.
Also this week, the City of Gloversville approved an $18.91 million 2019 budget, touted by officials as the carrying the lowest tax rate the Fulton County city has seen since the 1990s.
