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Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh unveiled his proposed city budget for the 2023 fiscal year to the Syracuse Common Council on Monday.

While giving the presentation, a series of signs were presented across the room. On one of the signs, Walsh highlighted an increasing tax base, a lack of a property tax increase and a budget totaling over $294 million.

But Walsh said in the presentation that under his proposal for fiscal year 2023, which will last from July 2022 to June 2023, the city will be running a deficit.

Walsh also said during the press conference that there will be no increase in property taxes with the proposed budget.

“Working together, we have made tremendous progress to fiscal sustainability for city government,” Walsh said while addressing the council. “This budget stands on that progress.”

Syracuse University appears multiple times on Walsh’s proposed budget. One of the largest changes related to the university will be an increase in SU’s supplemental service payment to the city. SU’s payment was $1 million in fiscal year 2022, but Walsh’s proposal would have the university paying $1.5 million in fiscal year 2023.

Other revenue sources for the city from SU will remain at their fiscal year 2022 levels for fiscal year 2023 under Walsh’s budget. The SU service agreement will remain at $500,000 and tax revenue from the Carrier Dome will remain at $100,000. The Carrier Dome traffic reimbursement will also remain at $420,000.

There is also $500,000 allocated for University Neighborhood Grants in fiscal year 2023, the same amount as fiscal year 2022.

Another one of Walsh’s signs during his presentation to the Common Council was labeled “A Stronger Syracuse.” The poster board listed items such as a million dollar increase from the school taxi levy and nuisance abatement. The second point was “Public Safety,” which highlighted an increased police presence across the city.

In Walsh’s budget, the total expenditure for police field services will increase by 18% from projected fiscal year 2022 totals to fiscal year 2023. The total expenditure for police services in Syracuse will be $55,867,350 under the mayor’s proposal.

Along with costs and revenue, the mayor’s budget proposal includes performance indicators for city departments such as the Department of Police. In 2021-22, the mayor’s office is estimating that the Syracuse Police Department will have made 7,000 arrests. This number is proposed to remain the same for 2022-23.

Other performance indicators include the use of polygraph tests by the police departments. For 2021-22, there will be an estimated 108 uses of the testing. In 2022-23, the mayor’s office is estimating in the proposal that the number of tests administered will increase to 120.

The salary for the chief of police would stay at $134,289. The current chief is Kenton Buckner, but he is a finalist to be a police chief in Olympia, Washington, syracuse.com reported.

Walsh also addressed Interstate 81 during his presentation.

“The city will hire an I-81 city project director to provide planning and oversight for city assets and infrastructure and ensure the interests of city residents are protected during the massive infrastructure project,” Walsh said.

The project director would be paid $103,100, according to Walsh’s proposed budget.

The budget also estimates that the city’s Department of Engineering will have worked 80 hours on work related to I-81 during 2021-22. This is expected to increase to 600 hours in 2022-23.

The entirety of Syracuse’s Department of Engineering is also increasing its expenditure by 41%. In fiscal year 2022, the department is projected to have an expenditure of $1,046,065. In fiscal year 2023, the department would have a proposed expenditure of $1,481,263.

Walsh’s proposed budget also addresses lead poisoning in the city. In 2020, about 9% of children tested in Syracuse had elevated blood lead levels. In Onondaga County, 4% of children tested in 2020 had elevated blood lead levels.

“The division of code enforcement will fully implement the city lead abatement and enforcement ordinance allowing city inspectors to conduct more lead inspections in rental properties requiring abatement by landlords,” Walsh said to the Common Council.

Walsh’s budget also includes a lead project coordinator. The position, along with an office manager, would work with code enforcement inspectors to conduct and process inspections, Walsh said. The coordinator will be paid $73,677.

The Neighborhood and Business Development’s Division of Code Enforcement would have an 11% increase in its budget under Walsh’s budget. For fiscal year 2022, the department’s estimated expenditure is $3,959,729. In Walsh’s proposal, the department would receive $4,394,302 in fiscal year 2023.

Walsh’s budget also provides a large increase in the total expenditure for the Department of Public Works Street Repair, increasing by 57.4% from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023. The division would have $1,401,926 budgeted in fiscal year 2023 under Walsh’s budget.

The Common Council would also receive an increased amount of funding under the proposed budget — the council would receive around $100,000 more in fiscal year 2023 than fiscal year 2022.

Despite this, the council is projected to decrease the number of committee meetings. The council is projected to have 85 committee meetings in the 2021-22 session but only 75 in 2022-23.

Alongside the Common Council, the Office of the Mayor will also increase its funding between fiscal year 2022 projections and Walsh’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023. The office would go from a budget of $619,683 in fiscal year 2022 to $846,720 in the fiscal year 2023 proposal.

Walsh’s salary, however, will not change under the proposed budget — it will remain at $130,000. Additionally, there are currently seven people working within the Office of the Mayor, but under the proposed budget there will be eight. The mayor’s office, unlike the police and fire departments, did not have any listed performance indicators in the budget.

Walsh said he was hopeful for the future of the city’s financial situation in his speech to the Common Council.

“Fortunately there are several very positive trends that can help to carry us to long-term sustainability,” Walsh said. “A status I know that we can achieve.”

Published on April 14, 2022 at 1:53 am

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard