SCHENECTADY — The Schenectady City Council is making strides towards a vote on a $116 million budget. This budget includes a property tax hike and plans to use $3 million from the unallocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
The council’s finance committee, comprising council members John Mootooveren, Carmel Patrick, and Carl Williams, gave their unanimous approval to the proposed 2025 budget with a 3-0 vote on Monday evening.
The proposed 2025 budget is now set to be presented to the full seven-member council for a vote at its meeting next Monday, just ahead of the city’s budget deadline next Friday.
City Council President Marion Porterfield expressed her confidence on Tuesday that the budget proposal will be approved on Monday.
Mayor Gary McCarthy, on Tuesday, stated that he is still scrutinizing the proposed council budget and did not hint at whether he will endorse the plan if it gets the council’s approval on Monday.
The proposed 2025 budget includes a property tax hike that would see rates increase from $12.98 per $1,000 in assessed home value to $13.37.
The budget process has been more expedited compared to the 2024 budget negotiations, which saw the council approve its first of three budgets on Nov. 20. McCarthy vetoed the council’s first two plans before finally signing the council’s third budget on Dec. 21.
“I genuinely believe that we acted more collaboratively than we did last year,” Patrick commented on Tuesday. “I feel that the council has made a concerted effort to improve communication among the group compared to last year. I believe that the tone of our discussions was perhaps more respectful than they were last year, which I think helped us reach a better place faster.”
The proposed spending plan includes a $1 per week increase in trash fees for non-tax-exempt properties in 2025 and a $1.75 per week increase for tax-exempt properties.
The proposed budget represents a 6.3% increase in spending over the city’s approved $109 million 2024 plan. It also plans to increase the tax levy from $32 million in 2024 to $33.3 million in 2025, a 4.16% increase.
Councilman Damonni Farley suggested during last Thursday’s budget hearing to add $100,000 to the $150,000 allocated for the city’s youth employment program, with the council adding the funds on Monday from the city’s contingency funding.
“It provides young people with a chance to earn money and also equips them with skills in various areas and introduces them to the workforce at an early age,” Farley said.
The proposed council budget includes salary increases for several city department heads, with city Director of Development Alexandria Carver, City Clerk Samanta Mykoo, and additional members of the city development and finance departments receiving raises above the requests outlined in McCarthy’s proposed budget.
Porterfield mentioned on Tuesday that the council was presented with the potential salary increases by the city department heads.
The spending plan would also utilize $3 million in APRA funding that was previously allocated to other city projects, including $1.25 million that was originally awarded to the Carver Community Center renovation project in August 2022. The city is currently in negotiations with the Schenectady City School District for the district to acquire the former Hamilton Hill community center, which closed in 2013.
Under the proposed property tax increase, residents who own a home assessed at $100,000 in value are projected to pay an additional $39 in taxes in 2025.
“The mayor, considering the services provided by the city, stated that there would be no way to continue to provide the services to the city without that tax increase,” Porterfield said.
The budget includes $500,000 in projected 2025 revenue for excess waste fees as the council considers a proposal from the city administration to impose fees on residents for the disposal of large-scale trash items and on homeowners who leave more than seven bags of trash on the curb per week. A public hearing on code changes is scheduled for the council’s Nov. 12 meeting.
Agree. Great to see progress being made on the city budget!
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