POUGHKEEPSIE – City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison’s 2023 preliminary budget was approved by the common council on Monday night with few changes. The $109 million spending plan is under the New York State tax cap for the sixth straight year but does include increases in water and sewer rates.
Rolison presented his proposed spending plan to the common council in October 2022 and included a Homestead tax rate of $10.28 per $1,000 of assessed value and a non-homestead tax rate f $15.15 per $1,000 of assessed value. Mayor Rolison’s preliminary budget, as presented to the council can be found here.
The council held a public hearing on the spending plan on December 5, 2022.
Negotiations between the council and administration, a few amendments were made to the preliminary budget. According to City Administrator Marc Nelson, the amendments transferred money from one budget line to another and did not change the amount of the overall budget for the next year.
Notable amendments included in the approved budget:
- Moving $25,000 from the contingency fund to pay for a “Council Research Fellow ($20,000) and $5,000 for associated computer equipment.
- Reducing the mayor’s salary by $38,651.
- Adding $150,000 to pay for an attorney to represent residents during possible illegal eviction proceedings.
- Eliminating the purchase of a multi-purpose vehicle for DPW, resulting in a $100,000 savings.
This was Mayor Rolison’s last budget as mayor of the city. He was elected to the New York State Senate in November and will take office in January 2023. City Administrator Marc Nelson will become the mayor for 2023, pursuant to the city’s charter. He is scheduled to take over the duties on January 1, 2023.
