Council adopts budget for 2018
Plan includes no hikes in taxes, water and sewer rates
COHOES, N.Y. » Property taxpayers in Cohoes aren’t facing any increases in taxes next year, and their water and sewer rates will remain the same.
The Cohoes Common Council last week adopted a $19.3 million budget that calls for a $125,000 spending decrease. It will be the second-straight year that residents won’t pay more in taxes or for water and sewer services.
The property tax rate is $17.89 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The water rate will remain at $3.70 per 1,000 gallons, and the sewer rate will continue to be $3.60 per 1,000 gallons.
“I think it’s a testament to the citizens of the city, all of the [city] employees and all of the staff that I have that has worked diligently to live within our budget,” said Mayor Shawn Morse. “We’re very excited about the budget, and without their help and support in making some changes and doing business different than it’s been done before, we wouldn’t have these zeros, so it’s a combination of everybody’s hard work.”
Some other highlights of the proposed budget include no layoffs or service reductions.
“This is a balanced budget that reflects the city’s best efforts to provide its residents with the highest quality services available, at the best value,” Morse said.
Common Council President Christopher Briggs said that he was also pleased that the budget passed for a second year in a row without any tax increases or without any reductions in services.
“This is the second year in a row with having zero increases in the tax rates for the city,” Briggs said. “We’re very pleased with [the budget]. It’s another year of not cutting services and another year of having all departments full.”
City officials were also excited for the fact that the city has seen a lot of economic development investments over the past two years off Morse’s administration. They believe that more positive investments are still to come in the future.
“The overall projection of the city is encouraging,” Cohoes Comptroller Michael Durocher said. “The momentum and investments Cohoes is seeing now and the near future is promising. With results like this, we all should be ‘Cohoes Proud.’”
“There’s a lot of development and construction going on throughout the city,” added Briggs. “The city’s never looked so good.”