Noble OKs $43M budget for 2021; tax levy stable
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Mayor Steve Noble has signed the $43.1 million city budget for 2021 despite concerns about changes the Common Council made to his original proposal.
Noble said during a Facebook Live event on Thursday that the budget “preserves all of the important services we have” and that, even with the council’s changes, the city has a spending package that won’t raise taxes and supports all planned upcoming initiatives.
“While there were a few changes the Common Council made that I didn’t agree with, as a whole, the 2021 budget is going to provide us with a majority of the tools and resources we need to move this city forward,” Noble said.
The council unanimously adopted the $43,120,685 budget during an online meeting Dec. 1.
The budget reduces spending by $1,343,648, or 3%, from the adopted 2020 budget of $44,464,333.
The property tax levy is to remain at the 2020 amount of $17,650,940.
The budget anticipates drawing $1,335,399 from the city’s fund balance to offset expenses.
Among the changes made by the Common Council was the elimination of a project manager position, for a savings of $87,138. In a separate move, the council added $12,384 to the parttime pay budget line in the Building Safety Department so the code enforcement officer could work additional hours if needed.
The council also opted to fund a vacant engineering technician position for the full year, rather than only from July 1 to Dec. 31. That change cost $35,004, split between the city’s general fund and its sewer fund.
Additionally, lawmakers put $10,000 into the city’s contingency fund for use if the Common Council needs to hire its own attorney rather than rely on the city Corporation Counsel’s Office.
The council also adopted a small shift in how the property tax burden is divided between residential, or homestead, property owners and commercial, or non-homestead, property owners.
Currently, residential property owners pay 55.20214% of the overall tax levy, while commercial properties pay $44.79786%. With the shift, residential owners will pay 55.18267% of the levy, while commercial owners will pay 44.81733%.
The tax rate for residential properties next year is estimated to be $8.98 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from the current $9.04 per $1,000. For commercial properties, the rate is expected to drop from $14.30 to $14.25 per $1,000.