POUGHKEEPSIE – The City
of Poughkeepsie is projected to end 2016 with a surplus of $544,000. When
final accounting is complete, Mayor Robert Rolison said it shows “the
impact that cost-containment and careful monitoring of expenses throughout
the year has, and why we should not transfer savings from any particular
expense line to some other expense category mid-year.”
He was referring to the common council’s proposal to use employee
benefit surplus money to fund the city’s buses through the end of
the year. He has provided just enough money to keep them going through
June 30 at which time he would like Dutchess County to assimilate the
service into the county’s LOOP system.
The favorable 2016 result will reduce the city’s cumulative general
fund deficit from$13 million to $12.5 million and Rolison said if the
county takes over the bus system, t he city should save another $500,000
annually, bringing the total savings to $1 million.
“Fiscal stabilization is a gradual process, but it’s the key
to much of what is so important to us all, from public safety to clean
streets and thriving businesses,” the mayor said.
