Albany mulls best use of aid money

$79M could be spent on debt, budget gaps, reducing taxes

Common Council members spent Thursday questioning city officials on how the city might spend its potential $79 million in aid from the proposed federal stimulus package.

The city tentatively plans to spend the money over the next few years on a variety of priorities, Budget Director Michael Wheeler and Treasurer Darius Shahinfar told the council’s finance committee during discussion on the aid package and the financial fallout from the coronavirus shutdown.

But Wheeler cautioned that all possible aid numbers from the federal government were still hypothetical.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty of what that number is going to be,” he said.

Albany would receive $79 million in aid as part of a larger $350 billion state and local aid allocation under a House

bill approved last month. It’s unclear how much that might change in the bill the Senate is expected to vote on in the next few days. The city’s total 2021 budget is $180.8 million.

The two men explained that the city’s priorities over the next few years, regardless of the final figure, would be plugging its budget gaps, replenishing its fund balance and debt reserves, paying down its debt and taking on needed capital projects.

The city might also use some of the money to settle outstanding labor contracts, including the one with its largest police union. The union has not had a new contract in years and any agreement would likely include retroactive raises that would cost the city millions.

The other unknown is how much of a budget hole the city will see in 2021 and beyond as businesses try to recover from the pandemic. Wheeler cautioned that some jobs may not come back while others remain virtual.

And while $79 million may be a boon to the city, it could come with unintended consequences.

The city is concerned

that the state may decide to reduce its annual aid payments to local governments because of stimulus money, rather than give them their typical amounts. Albany typically gets around $25 million in direct state aid between two programs. The state itself is in line to receive billions in aid.

Councilwoman Ginnie Farrell, chair of the finance committee, credited Sheehan’s administration with getting the city through a difficult budget.

“But as hopeful as I am

for President Biden’s federal stimulus to help the city and our residents move forward, I am concerned about the potential loss of state aid, which could be very difficult for Albany and our finances,” she said.

Cuomo initially withheld 20 percent of that money last year as part of the state’s own budget tightening but in January, said that number might be reduced to 5 percent if the federal government passes another coronavirus package.

Councilman Owusu Anane asked if the city intended to try to give residents a property tax break. During her 2021 budget address, Sheehan said she hoped to refund or cut taxes in the equivalent amount if the city received enough aid.

Wheeler said that was still on the table if the state did not strip the city of its usual aid.

The first priority though would be plugging existing budgetary holes, he added. The city ended the year with an estimated

$4.2 million budget deficit, drawing on its current $14 million fund balance to fill it.

City revenues were down across the board, with the exception of property taxes. Overall revenue will fall about $15 million short of expectations, according to city projections.

However the city was able to cut costs in several areas during the shutdown, including reducing operating expenses by $8.2 million, for an expected total cost reduction of around $11.6 million, according to city finance officials. The final numbers could change as last minute expenses come in, Shahinfar said.

“I think we’ve come out in pretty decent shape overall, considering the hand we were dealt,” he said.

My girlfriend, Michele, and I rarely disagree. But when we do, it’s not, as you might expect, about money, sex or her mother. It’s usually about what day it is.

“Is today Tuesday?”

“No, I think it’s Wednesday?” “Are you sure?” “Positive.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty positive today’s Tuesday.”

Sometimes I’m right, sometimes she’s right. The worst is when we’re both wrong.

Such is retirement life in the age of COVID-19. The days, like the colors in a watercolor painting left out in the rain, all begin to run together, blending and transforming into something surreal, unrecognizable.

Financial planners divide retirement life into three stages: the “Go-go Years,” when you’re recently retired (like me) and still have the stamina and good health to do those things you want to do. Then the “Slow- Go

Years,” when you still have the desire to do the things that you did when you were younger but some days your body says, “Hey, wait a minute!” And finally, the “No-go Years,” when your body and mind are content to just sit home and watch reruns of “Law and Order” all day.

I fear the pandemic has pushed me directly into the

“No- Go Years.” Instead of traveling, exercising, volunteering, staying vibrant, I find myself doing less, engaging less, constantly being seduced by the sofa to take more naps and, yes, watch “Law and Order” reruns.

Over this past year my world has grown smaller by the day.

When the pandemic first

appeared, and we were told to quarantine as much as possible, part of me was not unhappy. Home all day, I would finally have time to tackle two big projects I had been putting off — cleaning out the basement and organizing the many boxes of family photos in the attic. I got off to a quick, productive start, but that turned out to be short-lived. By month’s end my progress had slowed to a crawl. (Think of a sickly, old turtle crossing a country road — on crutches).

At first, I blamed this on the monotony and solitude of the work. But I soon realized that wasn't the problem. It was the lack of urgency.

When I was commuting, working and raising my daughter, time was a precious commodity. I followed the old rule, “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.” It served me well. I started each day with a checklist of those things I wished to accomplish before I went to bed that night. I didn’t always succeed, but many days I did, and my career, home life and mental state were better for it.

COVID -19 has flipped that rule on its head. Suddenly it’s okay for me to put off to tomorrow what I can do today because tomorrow is going to be a day pretty much like today, filled with endless free time but little focus, direction or energy.

In boxing, there’s a term for when a fighter has been inactive over a long period. It’s called “ring rust.” These boxers often complain of feeling less sharp than they once did. They feel physically slower, more nervous, more easily fatigued.

When this pandemic is finally over the challenge for me will be to mentally and physically return to the “Go- Go Years.” To rise up each morning and face the day with energy, enthusiasm and purpose. To shake off the ring rust caused by COVID and resist the seductive call of the sofa.

It won’t be easy.