Albany residents will go to the polls next week to vote on the city school district budget and a spending plan for local libraries.
The Albany City School District approved a $342.4 million budget proposal last month.
Speaking at a recent meeting of the Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations, school district Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Joe Karas said the budget includes a small spending increase.
"We're asking our community for a 0.9% increase over last year's tax levy," said Karas. "This is the fifth consecutive year a proposed increase has been less than 1%. Over the five years, it's been a 0.5% of an average increase. Over a 10 year average it is a 0.8%. The budget is also supported by an estimated state aid increase of $12.1 million, and the school district is also investing $12.6 million of our fund balance and reserves to help offset any tax increase by the budget."
Karas says 36% of the budget comes from taxpayers, 54% from state aid. In a challenging budget year where some local districts are eliminating staff, Karas says the district's proposal reduces staff expenses through retirements and the elimination of vacant positions.
“And with the enrollment expected to decline, and due to the changes of federal immigration policies, we needed to, strategically reduce the staffing to be able to continue to support the programs and services of our students to where our community can afford. No positions will be eliminated through layoffs. Excuse me, even with the planned staff reduction through attrition decay, staff to student ratios will remain close to the same or improve as enrollment also declines,” Karas said.
The reductions, he says, account for the end of temporary federal COVID-19 relief funding for schools.
Voters will also elect two school board members. Two board members’ terms expire at the end of June. Board of Education President Sridar Chittur is seeking re-election to a third term. Board member Vickie Smith is not seeking re-election. Candidates Edith Leet and Austin Wolfgang are also running.
The Albany Public Library's budget plan was approved by its Board of Trustees in March. The library budget appears on the school district ballot as Proposition 4.
The proposed 2025-2026 tax levy of nearly $8.3 million reflects a 5% increase over last year’s operating budget tax levy. Albany Public Library executive director Andrea Nicolay, who also spoke at the CANA meeting, says the library is facing several financial challenges.
"We lost about $200,000 in PILOT revenue, which you know, can never totally count on that," Nicolay said. "That is a variable source. We also have seen rising health care costs, so the health benefits that we offer to all of our full time staff, those costs have gone up. The New York State time Retirement System contributions went up by 16% into next year, and interest rates have been variable, and we're not sure what to expect there. So for all of these reasons that are that are outside of the library's control, we need to look for this 5% increase."
Nicolay says the library’s major operating costs are: salaries and benefits for library staff; maintenance and operation of seven library buildings; cost of computers and software for public and staff; purchase of books, periodicals, databases, and other borrowable materials; and programming for the community.
If voters approve it, the owner of a home assessed at $250,000 would pay approximately $11.44 more in library taxes next year.
There are five candidates vying for two open seats on the APL Board of Trustees, Aidan Hennessey, Christina Wiggins, Shaniqua Jackson, Michele Greenblatt and Rachael Vonada.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
