A fiscal profile on the city of Syracuse from New York’s comptroller paints a picture of a municipality challenged by vacancy, tax-exempt properties, and low homeownership rates.
Property taxes, traditionally the primary source of funding for cities, provide just 13 percent of Syracuse’s revenue. That’s far below the average of 26 percent for cities in the state, according to the report, which the comptroller’s office released today.
Reasons for the gap include the fact that half of the city’s properties are listed as tax-exempt. Another 8 percent are tax delinquent, and almost 11 percent of the city’s housing units sit empty.
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Therefore, Syracuse is turning to sales taxes and fees to help it cover costs. Fees like transportation charges and utility charges generate 25 percent of the city’s revenue, the comptroller’s office found. Sales tax provides another 22 percent.
Other sources of pressure cited in the report include rising fixed budget costs, industrial-sector declines, and a drop in population. Syracuse lost more than one-third of its population between 1950 and 2010, the report said.
“Syracuse is suffering from long-term systemic problems,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a news release. “Unfortunately, as the economy continues to recover slowly from the financial meltdown of 2008, communities like Syracuse are likely to experience more financial difficulties.”
The report noted that rating agencies give Syracuse credit for having relatively strong finances. The city has $292 million in outstanding debt, 53 percent of its constitutional limit. Utica, by comparison, is at 55.4 percent of its debt limit, according to a previous report from the comptroller’s office.
Since the 2008-2009 fiscal year, Syracuse lost $4.3 million in state aid, the report on the city said. Its general fund balance fell 37 percent from 2008 levels, dropping from $63 million to $39.5 million.
The entire report can be viewed at http://bit.ly/WWZdiZ.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
