Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

No Tax Increase in Mayor Stephanie Miner's Budget Proposal

Facebook - Stephanie Miner

  Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner released her new budget proposal Friday. The proposal holds the line on property taxes, water, and sewer rates for the fiscal year, which begins July 1.

59 percent of the $706 million spending plan would go to the School District; the City would receive the remaining 41 percent. The plan needs $12.1 million in reserve funds to be balanced.

“The City of Syracuse has made significant progress in addressing the reality of our fiscal challenges...," Miner said in her budget letter sent toSyracuse Common Councilors, according to a Friday press release.“We have made much progress through right-sizing government, responsibly addressing our expenses, and investing in program priorities that make our community stronger." 

Highlights from the plan include:

Pensions - The City’s pension bill will decrease by $1.1 million.  The decrease in this bill will be made possible by the Mayor’s decision not to participate in the New York State Pension Rate Stabilization program (also known as pension borrowing) and a decrease in rates.

Land Bank - Due to increasingly aggressive tax collection resulting from the City’s ability to sell delinquent properties to the Land Bank, the City of Syracuse has received $5.6 million in back taxes and associated penalties and fees. The City will provide the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corporation with $1.5 million in funding.

Sales Tax  - Sales tax revenue is currently down $1.6 million based on projections. Onondaga County has provided the City with a projection of an increase of .6% for FY 2016-2017.

CHIPS Funding  - The City will receive $1.7 million in CHIPS funding from New York State for road reconstruction, street cleaning, and associated equipment. They will also reimburse the City for employees and consultants working in our traffic control operations.

Departmental Expenditures  - The City will see an increase of 1.6% in departmental expenditures, or $2.5 million. This slow rate of growth is made possible by innovative governing strategies and doing more with fewer resources.

SU Service Agreement  - Mayor Miner and Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud announced a service agreement between the City and University Thursday, which will result in $7 million being paid to the City over five years. $800,000 will be added to the City’s general fund for services in FY 2016-2017 and $500,000 will be used for neighborhood organizations under the guidance of the University Neighborhood Service Agreement Advisory Committee (UNSAAC).

Increased Assessments - The City will see the tax levy increase by $387,587 and the School District will see an increase of  $695,174 resulting from increased assessments on properties.

Say Yes - The City will make a $1 million contribution to the Central New York Community Foundation to support Say Yes to Education.

Demolitions  - The City of Syracuse will spend $500,000 on planned demolitions during the year.

Syracuse Common Councilors will spend the next month reviewing the budget before voting May 9.

Both a videoand a full, PDF versionof the budget are available online.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.