Noble (file): “… really good
meeting place …”
KINGSTON – Mayor Steven Noble’s proposed 2017 Kingston budget
of $41.4 million is just shy of a $1 million increase from this year’s,
but the city has succeeded in creating a budget with a zero percent tax
levy increase, bringing it in under the state’s tax cap of 0.68
percent.
Noble said although there were challenges, for example a $700,000 increase in city worker health insurance costs, a number of zombie properties, limited state aid, limited tax base growth, expired union contracts, high service demands and growing infrastructure needs, he believes they have come up with a budget that will be prudent with taxpayer dollars, while at the same time, providing them the services they need.
“I think for all of this, is trying to determine where should we be putting our priority areas, and where should we be cutting back and where should we be expanding into, and that’s one of the things that was probably the most difficult,” said Noble. “I feel like we ended up being able to find that really good meeting place, where we’re going to continue to be able to implement the core services that we have to do, but then also be able to try some of these new innovative programs that the public are looking for here, I think, in Kingston anyway.”
Those programs include boosting the economic development efforts, an increase to municipal parking fees, as well as new technology at parking meters where, eventually, individuals would be able to use a smart phone app to pay for parking rather than coins. The city is also looking to have negotiations with the three unions with expired contracts, enter into a franchise agreement with Time Warner Cable for increased broadband in public facilities, as well as resources to film city meetings, and he is planning to have infrastructure for LED street lighting by 2017.
Noble said even though there has been an issue with tax base growth, the areas where cuts have been established will result in no layoffs or loss of services.
