Mayor Barlow Unveils Proposed 2019 Oswego City Budget

OSWEGO – At Monday night’s Common Council meeting, Mayor Billy Barlow unveiled his tentative operating budget for the coming year. It contains a 2.1% reduction in city property taxes for 2019.

This is the first tax reduction for city residents in 20 years, Barlow said Monday night during his annual budget message to the council.

It’s also the first city budget since at least 1969 that results in a reduction in property taxes without using the city’s reserve fund to offset operating costs,he added.

Council President Robert Corradino said he was pleased with what he heard inthe mayor’s remarks, “but I can’t really comment too much on it. We just got it.”

He scheduled some budget workshops for next week with the other councilors to review the budget proposal.

“We have nine days for all the councilors to be looking it over. We have five new (councilors) so they really don’t know the procedure yet. I indicated to them that we have none days; look it over, contact the department heads and if they have questions, ask them and come to next week’s meetings with any questions or comments,” he said.

Barlow’s budget proposal reduces the general tax rate from $15.67 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2018 to $15.33 in 2019.

For the owner of an $80,000 home, that would mean a savings of about $26 per year.

Residents will have a chance to weigh in on the budget proposal during a public hearing set for August 27 at 7:10 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

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