TROY – Mayor Lou Rosamilia presented the proposed 2013 City Budget on Monday. The proposal outlines a spending plan under $65.9 million that falls within Governor Cuomo's tax cap, which calls for no cuts to services, and results in zero layoffs to the City workforce.
"Municipalities across the state face difficult times and economic challenges, and the City of Troy is no different," Mayor Rosamilia said. "This is a responsible budget that keeps spending down and preserves important services that residents expect and deserve. We have overcome a great deal in 2012 and I'm extremely optimistic about the economic outlook for 2013. I look forward to working with the City Council to finalize a budget that holds the line on expenditures and preserves our critical services."
Mayor Rosamilia presented the proposed 2013 Budget to the City Clerk's office Monday afternoon. During the next month, the City Council will hold a series of department-specific budget meetings.
Among the budget highlights:
- The proposed budget calls for a 2 percent tax increase which falls within Governor Cuomo's mandated property tax cap. This percentage represents approximately $32 per-year to the average property owner in the City of Troy.
- The proposed budget totals $65,889,564 – a 1.7 percent increase over 2012's $64,758,345 proposal.
- Approximately 85 percent of the City's budget falls under two categories, personal services and debt – two areas that fall largely outside municipal control.
- To adhere to state mandates, sewer rates will increase to bring the City of Troy in compliance with the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) policy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and State Department of Environmental Conservation. Sewer rates will rise by less than $0.75 per 1,000 gallons of water used. The water rate does not see an increase.
The City of Troy lists a number of factors that presented economic challenges to the area including:
- Pension costs increased by $500,000.
- The city's tax base decreased by $2.5 million in 2012.
- Alternative funding avenues needed to be identified for sizeable infrastructure projects like the Troy Marina and on Campbell Avenue.
"We've put in a great deal of work to identify cost-saving measures in order to make sure our municipal programs and services would remain stable," Mayor Rosamilia said. "I applaud the department heads who have been asked repeatedly to do more with less, and who have worked hard to manage costs and increase efficiency. This was a challenging year. But this budget, along with a tremendous amount of economic opportunity and activity we're seeing in Troy, has us positioned for prosperity in 2013."
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