KINGSTON – A special meeting of the Kingston Common Council Tuesday night saw the restoration of the city’s amended 2016 budget, vetoed last week by outgoing Mayor Shayne Gallo. The override prevailed by an 8-1 margin, with 4th Ward Alderwoman Nina Dawson the lone dissenter.
This means that austerity measures in Gallo’s proposed budget, which slashed staff salary lines in the city clerk and corporation counsel offices have been restored, with extra funds in contingency for the new mayor to establish any desired changes.
The salary fixes came at a cost – Mayor-elect Steven Noble’s old job in the Parks and Recreation Department was eliminated and replaced with a part-time position. The cut brought home the stark reality of tough times in a tight economy, while also sparking a factional firestorm between Noble and Gallo political teams.
“I have reservations on both of these budgets; there’s some things that we have to be alert and aware of next year,” said 7th Ward Alderwoman Mary Ann Mills, chair of the Finance Committee. “By adding money to contingency, which I do not agree with, is $150,000 or one point [percent], which is going to affect ratings in figuring out the current budget into next year.”
Dawson explained her no-vote opposing the budget, arguing that the $53,000 eliminated from Parks should have been left in, and earmarked for a reading and writing program at the Hodge Center. “There are sixth graders in this neighborhood who cannot read,” she said.
Gallo, who was unseated by Noble in the Democratic primary, offered his prediction for next year.
“In 2017, when those three union contracts expire, next summer, Steve Noble’s going to have a real tough time,” Gallo said. “He’s going to have to put a minimum of $500,000 to $700,000 in contingency for the contract settlements. He’s going to be in a situation where he has to make some tough choices.”
Gallo said with 86 cents of every dollar consumed by unfunded mandates, “each percentage point merely $150,000, the two percent tax cap presents an unsustainable fiscal impossibility. What are you going to do? You do the math. Good luck, there’s nothing to cut,” Gallo said.
Another issue tackled at the meeting involved the Pike Plan. Roughly half of the Uptown businesses affected by the special tax district have refused payment due to safety violations and shoddy restoration of the controversial sidewalk canopies. Gallo had vetoed the city’s ability to add those arrears to the property tax bills, which was reversed by the common council in a separate resolution.
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