Noble, left, said city has “very little wiggle room”
KINGSTON – Several dozen participants gathered at Kingston City Hall Thursday to help Mayor Steven Noble put together a draft 2017 budget for next year. The forum and workshop represented the first time city officials ever included constituents in the budget formation process.
Following an introduction by Mayor Noble, City Comptroller John Tuey delivered a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation, explaining general overview and budgetary goals, including property tax cap, anticipated revenues, state mandates, and other fiscal obligations.
Some of the graphs and charts which Tuey displayed were first time statistical breakdowns, never before seen by Kingston residents.
“The city, since its inception, has not overridden the New York State tax cap,” Tuey said. “That is becoming increasingly difficult. It’s not a two percent tax cap, it’s actually significantly less,” he added. When all factors are considered, the 2017 tax cap comes to one percent, or about $200,000. That would limit city increase in spending, without tapping into reserves, or finding new revenue sources.”
The mayor said it leaves the city with “very little wiggle room.” It is the time to look internally, how things are done and how they can be done differently, the mayor said. Department heads are instructed to be as creative and innovative as possible with taxpayer money.
Following the talk, people separated into work groups organized by category, to present ideas with city officials and department heads. They brainstormed together for about an hour, taking notes, gathering fresh ideas from the public.
“We did get some good ideas generated from the public, which I’m excited about,” Noble observed after the event. An online survey will continue the process, he indicated.
Data collected will be integrated into a draft budget, expected from the mayor’s office sometime in October. Afterward, the Finance and Audit Committee will scrutinize the 100-page document, sending a modified version to the common council floor, where it will be further tweaked and finally approved in December.
