Saratoga Springs officials gave their state of the city addresses Thursday, highlighting support for the unhoused and major projects over the past year.
Mayor John Safford was elected to lead the Spa City in 2023, becoming the first Republican to do so in a decade.
In recent months, there have been a number of conversations in city council meetings surrounding increasing pay for commissioners that could expand into a full-blown revision of the charter.
Safford had previously said he didn’t think a new charter reform effort would be possible in 2025. He seems to have changed course.
“I will be establishing a commission to review our charter and make recommendations for improvement. I’ve asked Vince DeLeonardis to chair this commission and will be inviting others, some with experience in city government, to participate,” said Safford.
A previous effort to change the city’s charter narrowly failed in 2018.
Saratoga Springs has an unusual commission form of government where the mayor and city department heads also serve as the city council, with equal powers. In the past, advocates have called for the establishment of a city manager to handle day-to-day city business among other ideas.
Safford ran on a campaign to support the city’s unhoused residents, and said he remains committed to the effort.
“I have worked closely with fellow commissioners, county leadership, frontline service providers, and local organizations to support efforts in securing permanent housing and mental health treatment for our unhoused population. While our outreach court has seen significant success, the homelessness crisis remains a persistent challenge and we remain committed to focusing on this issue in the year ahead,” said Safford.
This week, Saratoga County closed on the purchase of a 1.4 acre plot on Ballston Avenue for roughly $3 million to establish a permanent location for the county’s Code Blue shelter.
Democratic Supervisor Michele Madigan highlighted the importance of the purchase in her speech.
“Homelessness in New York state more than doubled between January 2022 and January 2024. Specifically, homelessness grew by 53.1% from January ’23 to January 2024. A rate more than four times the national average. While New York City and the influx of asylum seekers contributed significantly to this increase, the rest of the state also experienced substantial rises, notably Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. This area saw a 138% increase during this period,” said Madigan.
After years of debate and planning, Democratic Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran passed short-term rental regulations that would require property owners to acquire permits for each rental property among other regulations.
“It’s something that has been needed for a longtime. It is going to bring necessary safety and control and a modicum of supervision that does not currently exist to our neighborhoods. And it’s also going to drive revenue that’s going to help us fill the gaps that we will have in out years around the issues of public safety, around the issues of paying our municipal workers what they deserve,” said Moran.
Democratic Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi, who confirmed this week she will not seek re-election in November, she also highlighted the city’s new revenue sources, including a $200,000 raise in state aid to the city.
“We worked with DPW to set up seasonal paid parking and we are expecting to have a full season from Memorial Day to Labor Day this year and generate about half-a-million-dollars to support the maintenance of the city’s parking garages and other programs. Last fall, we had two cannabis entrepreneurs open their doors generating nearly $60,000 in cannabis tax revenues to date. In 2025 we are expecting a full year of cannabis tax revenues which will, again, add to the city’s funds,” said Sanghvi.
Democratic Public Works Commissioner Hank Kuczynski came on in October after Jason Golub had left for a state role in August.
“The most critical infrastructure upgrade to occur in 2025 is the Loughberry Lake Dam rehab and spillway capacity upgrade. This $9 million construction project began in 2019 when the dam’s hazard class was upgraded from intermediate to high hazard. Increasing the stability of the dam to prevent catastrophic flooding in the event of a major storm is critical to protecting residences, businesses, and the water treatment plant. Other projects include an addition to the ice rink to provide a working office for the DPW recreation staff who have spent years taking their breaks in a cold Zamboni room,” said Kuczynski.
Kuczynski is running a write-in campaign in Tuesday’s special election against Republican challenger Chuck Marshall. Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, who won his seat with GOP backing, announced the city police department has integrated a peer-to-peer counselor to its foot patrols in an effort to improve its response to mental health crises.