Proposed Utica budget avoids tax increase

UTICA, N.Y. — There are no tax increases in the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri’s presented Feb. 7 to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.

The proposed $74.4 million budget increases spending by less than 1 percent annual over a 14-year span.

The mayor’s proposal calls for 38 percent of the budget to fund the city’s police department, 28 percent for the fire department, 13 percent for public works/streets/lighting, and 21 percent for all other expenses.

Last month, the city secured its ninth consecutive budget surplus, increasing its fund balance to more than $11 million. Since 2013, the city’s sales tax revenue has increased by 22 percent to $15.3 million, and its assessment roll increased by $7 million in the past year.

Between the budget surplus, increased fund balance, tax-base expansion, and higher sales-tax revenue, the city has the financial resources and capability to implement a self-insurance plan, Palmieri noted in his presentation. Without the self-insurance plan, the city’s health-insurance rate would have increased 15 percent, equaling a 4-percent property-tax increase. With the self-insurance plan, the cost of insurance also decreases for city employees, he added.

“The track record and credibility of this administration in improving the finances of Utica, is strong,” Palmieri contended. “For the eleventh consecutive year, I am proposing a fiscally responsible budget which provides the services and resources needed for continued economic development.”

His proposal also lays out the spending plan for American Rescue Plan Funding the city received. Initiatives for that funding include street paving and sewer-infrastructure improvements, improvement to city parks and recreation, assistance to small businesses, child-care expansion, increased resources for law enforcement, investment in affordable housing, and opportunities for at-risk and minority students to have a career path in public safety.

The mayor’s budget message and proposal is available online at www.cityofutica.com.