The Saratoga Springs City Council held a special meeting last night to pass an amended Fiscal Year 2021 city budget. As WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports, city leaders are feeling a bit more optimistic about next year after recent national developments.
City Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan opened her presentation on an amended comprehensive budget Monday night striking a different tone than her initial budget presentation in October.
“With the election behind us, and not one but three – perhaps really only two – viable vaccines in the works, the future is looking very different…dare I say, optimistic about next summer. Because I’m feeling optimistic about next summer, potentially,” said Madigan.
In October, Madigan proposed what she described as an “austerity budget.” The $42 million comprehensive budget – down from the previous year’s $49 million budget – asked departments to cut wages to minimize layoffs in the city’s two largest departments, Public Safety and Public Works. Eliminating programming in the city’s recreation department and halving of support to non-profits drew community outcry.
Over the last several weeks, city council members brought forward their concerns and their own budget amendments. A new budget proposal came together in the past few days.
As Madigan described Monday, the amended $46 million budget takes into account an estimated $5 million in federal aid as part of a future COVID-19 relief bill. Madigan, a Democrat, is more confident a relief package with state and municipal will be passed in Congress with President-elect Joe Biden in the White House.
Madigan said she took the advice of New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who in recent weeks has been asking local governments to wait for federal stimulus before raising taxes. The amended budget calls for $5 million to be used as a balancing item for the city’s contribution to the New York State retirement fund.
“However, if we don’t receive the aid – let’s say we don’t get any federal fiscal stimulus – this payment, this retirement payment is actually not due until February of every year. So we will push that payment until 2022. But we have to budget the expense for 2021,” said Madigan.
Along with federal aid, Madigan is also betting on the return of a summer tourism season, including the reopening of Saratoga Race Course. The city, which receives a share of NYRA admissions, is anticipating payments at 50 percent of the 2019 season. This year’s meet was held without fans.
The amended budget calls for a similar average property tax increase as the previous plan, about a $6 monthly increase for a home valued at $200,000. The new anticipated revenues will prevent layoffs at City Hall.
Democratic Mayor Meg Kelly, who had warned that a previous plan could result in her department losing building inspectors – as one example – thanked Madigan and the council for coming together over the last week.
“We made it through. We came around, everybody’s working together. It’s clearly the hardest budget anybody in history has had to put together. And you have it in the books. So congratulations,” said Kelly.
The budget also takes into account $8 million in revenue from new city fees. Commissioners will bring their fee proposals forward in the coming weeks.
Other members of the council also praised the amended budget, which passed unanimously.
But prior to the night’s presentation, Saratoga Senior Center Executive Director Lois Celeste made one last appeal to the council to restore its full amount of funding – the initial comprehensive budget and the amended budget carries a 50 percent decrease in city support for the senior center.
“We don’t have the same abilities to raise money for the seniors. They’re the most vulnerable in this. Everybody is vulnerable. But they’re really the most dangerously vulnerable,” said Celeste.
The budget passed Monday night will take effect January first and can be further amended.
The Rensselaer County legislature unanimously passed a $349 million budget Monday night, a slight decrease from 2020's $353 million budget. A statement from the county says the budget includes $1 million in personnel savings, $1.5 million in savings from Medicaid expenses, and $3 million in cost savings from bond refinancing.
The county budget anticipates state funding cuts and also includes $800,000 for COVID-19 contact tracing.
Under the adopted budget, a home assessed at $150,000 would see an estimated $24 reduction in its property tax bill.
