Mayor’s Budget Plan Has Cuts, Slight Tax Increase

by Steve Yablonski | August 14, 2017 9:46 pm

OSWEGO, NY – Mayor Billy Barlow’s tentative 2018 city operating budget looks to trim personnel and take some financial burden off the taxpayers’ shoulders.

Barlow’s budget calls for “a slight property tax increase” (3.6% compared to Fiscal Year 2017).

He attributed the increase to retirement costs, healthcare costs and $262,000 in contractual raises city wide.

Healthcare costs continue to increase and again, the Affordable Care Act costs the city in 2018 a projected $187,000, he added.

The budget is designed to cut immediate and long-terms costs, make long-overdue, responsible investments in equipment and buildings and overall better positions the community to sustain its current momentum and proceed with its transformation into a vibrant 21st Century upstate New York community, the mayor told the large crowd in the Council Chambers.

“I continue to push for shrinking the size of city government and reducing the number of government employees on city payroll. In this budget, I propose eliminating eight positions from City Hall staff,” the mayor said at Monday night’s Common Council meeting. “My budget calls for one less employee in the City Chamberlain’s office, the City Clerk’s office, the City Personnel department and the Community Development office. I propose consolidating the plumbing inspector position into our code enforcement office and will eliminate that position entirely.”

In addition, after working closely with Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Mayor Barlow is proposing to enter into an inter-municipal agreement with Onondaga County to provide Oswego with purchasing services, while retaining the Port City’s procurement decision making authority.

“We will see substantial cost savings through a reduction in staff, combined volume purchasing and will give city vendors new business opportunities,” the mayor said. “This proposal eliminates three more positions and more than $135,000 from the city budget.”

A part-time clerk position in Code Enforcement is penciled in as full-time in the budget proposal. Therefore, the staff reduction is seven, he said.

The total value of eliminating the positions allows for a cut of nearly half a million dollars from the city budget between salary and fringe benefits, according to the mayor.

“I am pleased to note that because last year we secured $3.9 million in New York State Water Grants, the water and sewer rates will not be increased for the second year in a row. I do want to point out that this administration and the Common Council, working together, have sought out, pursued and obtained alternate funding sources like the grants I have mentioned,” Barlow said.

He intends to have the “heavy users” pay their fair share and city taxpayers are no longer subsidizing such users, the mayor said.

The city is still in the process of negotiating expired contracts for the supply of potable water and the treatment of wastewater for heavy users outside the city limits.

Some users, such as SUNY Oswego, have stepped up to shoulder their fair share of costs, Barlow said, adding that others, such as Sithe, the town of Scriba and Novelis, “have been slower to do so.”

Council President Eric VanBuren said, “There isn’t anything in there too shocking, having been through some of the city’s worst budgets. I think it’s a budget that’s pretty palatable,” he said.

As for the personnel reductions, he said that is open for discussion.

“I would like to hear more about the benefits of it. I know of a few municipalities that have done this and they’ve been reasonably happy with what they’ve done,” he told Oswego County Today following the meeting.

He said he was expecting consolidation to happen more at the local level between (Oswego) county and the city.

“Onondaga County has taken on several municipalities in the tri-county area, so we’ll see where this goes,” he said.

The modest tax increase will help cover things like infrastructure and equipment costs, he said, adding that “I think this (budget) is right in line with that.”

“There is some cutting and there is some growth incorporated in the budget,” he said. “All in all, I think it’s a pretty balanced budget.”

Mayor Barlow said Mahoney approached him regarding shared services just before he released his budget plan last year.

“Most of our vendors are the same. It just makes sense; the governor’s pushing it hard. Consolidation and sharing services makes sense if it’s to reduce the costs of those services,” the mayor said.

He added that the city aims to keep the vendors and work as local as possible.

“Local vendors would still get an opportunity to bid on work,” he said.

The mayor hasn’t ruled out working with Oswego County.

In this instance, Onondaga County was ready to go.

“They have done it with other municipalities. Talks were happening and so in my opinion it was just more expeditious and made more sense to go with Onondaga County right now,” Mayor Barlow said.

It’s now in the hands of the council on whether to accept the proposed budget or to amend it by resolution.

Any amendments made by the council by resolution to increase or decrease appropriations will affect the proposed tax rate, the mayor pointed out.

If any increase in the tax levy equals 5% or ore, the amended budget must be presented to a public referendum in November per local law.

Should the amended budget be voted down in the November election, the mayor’s proposed budget will become, by default, the 2018 operating budget, he said.

The council will hold budget workshops to review the tentative spending plan and possibly make further reductions.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/mayors-budget-plan-has-cuts-slight-tax-increase/

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