Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello is proposing a $130 million city budget for 2027, with a 3.4% property tax increase and a small water bill hike, the mayor's office announced Saturday.
Those increases would translate to a roughly $85 annual tax hike on a home valued at $150,000 and a roughly $22 annual water bill increase for the average family of four, according to Mantello, a Republican.
The budget is within the New York State tax cap and includes funding for a five-year budget surplus. It comes as Mantello has frozen hiring for city jobs outside the police and fire departments.
Other Capital Region municipalities are facing double-digit tax increases meant to address the end of federal pandemic relief funding, increasing costs and union contract negotiations. Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs is proposing a 15% property tax levy increase, and Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy has put forward a budget with a roughly 43% property tax levy increase.
The budget will have to be approved by a majority of the Troy City Council's seven members.
“We are controlling costs, protecting City assets and investing strategically in the services and infrastructure our residents depend on," Mantello said in a statement Saturday. "Affordability means more than the tax rate. It means addressing problems before they become more expensive and delivering lasting value for our taxpayers.”
In a statement shortly after Mantello's announcement, City Council President Sue Steele applauded the mayor's budget but noted that Mantello "inherited" the city's "sound fiscal condition" from former Mayor Patrick Radden, a Democrat who left office in 2023.
"Unlike other area cities, the previous administration did not misuse American Rescue Plan monies to balance the city budget," Steele, a Democrat, said. "The City Council looks forward to holding budget hearings and working with department heads to find further areas of savings. Financial oversight is a core responsibility of the council and we will scrutinize the numbers on behalf of the taxpayers to ensure the math adds up."
Mantello said her office is "pursuing new revenue opportunities," including changes to the city's share of county sales taxes and the exploration of wholesale water contracts.
