The Albany Common Council has approved Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s budget plan for 2024.
Monday’s vote was unanimous. The third-term Democrat calls the $226 million spending plan “transformational,” saying it makes historic investments in public safety, recreation, streets, sustainability, and the city workforce. First Ward councilor Sonia Frederick chairs the council's finance committee.
"There's a lot of great investment included in the budget. Items like the West Hill Community Center, Hoffman Park Recreation Center, Lincoln Park pool, for example. We also see great investment into mental health and public safety, including adding social workers to Albany Police Department stations, for other great things. As part of our passage. As a body. We also included some amendments to the budget, including the vacancy study, which is required from the emergency Tenant Protection Act to see if we can opt into that program. We are in a housing crisis. So that is a priority of our council, as well as additional funding to the community police review board to make sure that they can perform their duties necessary in the upcoming fiscal year as highly supported by our voters here in Albany,” Frederick said.
Councilors agreed to give the Albany Community Police Review Board an additional $145,000. Sheehan’s budget proposal follows Local Law J's mandate that 1% of police department funding (about $598,000) go to the Community Police Review Board. In fall 2022 the Common Council intervened to help the CPRB obtain some additional funding of $172,000 after Sheehan nixed the board's $2.8 million budget request.
Prior to the vote at Monday night's meeting, CPRB Chair Nairobi Vives told councilors without an adequate budget, the CPRB simply cannot fulfill its mandate. “As we have discussed, the board's preference is to become an independent city agency," Vives said. "While we have a strong sense now, having been in the role for a few years, of what is needed and required, we cannot be expected to know and understand the city structure. We look forward to partnering with the council to help find a home within the city system that empowers the people's voice and allows us to work as independently as we have.”
Frederick acknowledges Sheehan's concern the council included additional permanent spending in its amendments. “We as a body believe in particularly as it relates to the CPRB that we have a process ahead of us to incorporate them into the city. And until we do that, wait, we're not really at the time period where we can talk about what their permanent funds are. And so we have a difference of opinion there. But I'm hopeful that the mayor will sign off and we'll be able to proceed forward,” said Frederick.
7th Ward Councilor Sergio Adams says the housing crisis is also on the panel's "budget radar." They've added an additional $75,000 to the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services to support a vacancy study.
“Housing is very expensive right now," Adams said. "Also, we are unsure of the amount of vacant units that exist in the city of Albany. To help us get a better understanding of where we are with housing the people here in the city of Albany, the vacancy study, which has previously been on the 2023 budget, I believe, and maybe the one before, this is going to now put us in a position to be able to have data, hard data, real data to be able to use and be more and make to make more informed decisions as we move forward with addressing affordable housing throughout the city."
The budget now goes to the mayor for her consideration – and possible veto. Sheehan’s office said the mayor was not available for comment. In a prepared statement on the budget's unanimous passage, she applauded its approval.
