The Plattsburgh Common Council took public comments on the proposed city budget last night. Most comments focused on two recent items the body addressed.
The mayor presented the executive budget to city councilors on October 1st and the six-member panel is now reviewing individual departmental budgets to the overall spending plan.
The Common Council opened the first review session to public comments and the few residents who stepped up to the podium took issue with recent initiatives the council acted upon.
After weeks of consideration the city council this month passed a temporary local law effective this winter that will fine city residents who do not remove snow or ice from sidewalks. Oak Street resident Jeff Moore urged city leaders to find alternatives. “The key to a successful budget is a sustainable budget. I’m not for raising taxes or anything like that. But if an increase is necessary we need to do that. The other thing that I would like to mention is I would like to see $50,000 put in there for snow removal. I took the liberty of pricing the equipment. I’m just saying that I think this fine thing is going to become very unpopular. I think the real answer is that the city takes over the clearing of the sidewalks. I’m really resentful of the fact that I have to pay four to eight hundred dollars more to live in the city than people who don’t have a sidewalk. It’s everybody’s sidewalks.”
“Sue Moore, Oak Street. I also wanted to ask you to consider putting money in the budget for the sidewalk plowing for next year. When the sidewalk committee put their proposal together the enforcement was supposed to be temporary and it was only supposed to be for this year with the hopes that it was going to be a permanent solution and have the city take it over next year. And I don’t think the solution is to fine people. I think you still have time to implement this and put it in your budget this year and I hope you take consideration for that.”
The city is planning to change its health care insurance benefit program for Medicare eligible retirees from a self-funded plan to an Humana administrated system mirroring the current plan. Retired human resources manager John Linney is infuriated. “I made a couple more phone calls this week. I guess to get cardiac care I’m going to have to leave town. So this ‘Oh it’ll be accepted everywhere’ is a lie. It is not accepted everywhere. And we had a meeting with a bunch of retirees. There is an association started. They have voted to take legal action. I don’t speak for them. But I’m telling you it’s a farce that it’s going to save you money.”
Ward One Democrat and city council budget officer Rachelle Armstrong wants residents to remember the constraints that are pressuring localities. “Aid to municipalities has remained stagnant. Yet costs go up. We’ve got the tax cap now. It’s been reduced as a result of the decline in the cost of living and so we’re even further constrained! And we want to be able to maintain serves, preserve the quality of life. But the tack is kind-of stacked against us. We’re going to be really scrupulous and it’s going to be hard because some hard choices will need to be made.”
The $55 million proposed operating budget is far above the state mandated .73 percent tax cap at 9.9 percent. Plattsburgh Mayor James Calnon believes councilors will bring the spending plan under the cap. “There is the tax cap figure itself but there’s also a growth factor that the state gives us. So in the end our actual tax cap this year is just under 1.9 percent. Can we get down to that level? I think it’s possible. I mean if you look at it from the standpoint of if we’re about $800,000 over the cap and if the health care plan saves us $400,000, well, that’s half of it. So we’re hoping that we’ll get down there. But we’ll have to take a look and see.”
The City Council has until January 14th to pass amendments to the proposed budget. If no amendments are passed by then, the mayor’s proposal becomes the official budget.
