COUNCIL APPROVES BUDGET, TRASH FEE
2018 spending plan OK’d by 5-4 vote
TROY, N.Y. » The City Council on Friday approved a 2018 budget along with a $160-per-unit sanitation fee.
The council previously turned down Mayor Patrick Madden’s $73.6 million proposed budget about a month ago. However, the majority of officials were eventually able to reach a compromise that reduced the sanitation fee from the initial $190 proposed by the mayor in October and cut the amount of time until the law is phased out from three years to one.
“It’s been a long road to get to this point,” said Deputy Mayor Monica Kurezejeski.“We’re very thankful for the bipartisan support of this amended budget and we look forward to moving forward with the [council.]”
Prior to voting on the ordinances Friday night, Republican City Council President Carmella Mantello and Republican Councilman Mark McGrath made a motion to table all of the ordinances on the agenda Friday night since Madden was not present during the meeting. Mantello said only Madden could sign any legislation to approve the budget and that he had to do so before 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31.
However, once Kurzejeski informed the council that Madden would be back in town before that deadline, the motion to table everything on the agenda was then withdrawn.
Outgoing Republican councilmen Dean Bodnar and John Donohue joined the council’s three outgoing Democratic members, Erin Sullivan-Teta, Robert Doherty and Lynn Kopka on Friday night to help approve the 2018 budget along with the one-year claused $160 trash fee with 5- 4 votes on each ordinance.
The $160 annual sanitation fee helps to balance the budget, and also takes the place of what would have been another 15 percent tax hike if those costs were still covered by property taxes, officials said.
“This is another tough one, we had a similar situation last year, [ but] I look at it strictly as business,” said Donohue during the nearly two-hour long special meeting. “We have two options, pass the budget or don’t pass the budget.”
During the meeting, Councilman Jim Gulli also made a motion to amend the non- contractual salary raises included in Madden’s budget and to make other cuts within the budget, which also includes a 1.17 percent tax increase.
“I would like to make that amendment and I would like to suggest that we take out those raises, but also implement a couple of the eliminations that affect our service to the public,” explained Gulli during the meeting. “The assistant city clerk, the temporary employees up at Frear Park and anything else that the five members who are going to vote yes, that you think would be beneficial to the taxpayers, please add in there.”
The amendment started by Gulli was eventually rejected, 5- 4.
“I don’t believe we’re sending the right message to our workforce in taking out raises for those people who have been trying to help us through periods in which they’re filling in for higher-graded employees,” said Bodnar.
During the meeting, Doherty said that all he was concerned about was passing a balanced budget on time with everyone working together at it.
“We worked very hard with administration to come up with a one time fee,” said Doherty. “We do have an exciting incoming council.... I have confidence we’ll get there, but we can’t get there on a broken horse, we can’t get there avoiding our responsibility to do a budget.”
Prior to passing the budget and other ordinances, the City Council heard comments for and against the proposed trash fee during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“When this fee was revealed with the budget on Oct.6, we should have taken some of that feedback and gotten a new budget proposed either by the mayor or the City Council,” said Troy resident Jason Harlow.
“I’d like all of you to keep an open mind here today about this, if you made private deals — say, ‘ Well, if we can reduce it from $190 to $160, I’ll vote for it,’ please don’t do that; you’ve got bigger concerns,” added resident Bruce Rubin.
Some residents, such as Peggy Kownack, spoke in favor of the trash fee Friday night.
“I’m sure all of you know, I’m in favor of this trash solid waste disposal fee,” said Kownack. “Why? Because I’ve done some math. Why? Because I’ve educated the other folks that live in the buildings that I live in and instead of throwing out five [cans] of trash for a sixunit building, we throw out two cans of trash and five bins of recycling, [and] it works.”
Mantello and McGrath shared more of their thoughts after the budget was approved with them being two of the four votes against approving the budget and trash fee.
“I wish they were more open and honest about what they were doing and maybe they would have got a lit- tle bit more [cooperation,]” said McGrath.
“This past week has truly been [a] disappointment in terms with the way government works,” added Mantello. “Here we are on a Friday night, two nights before New Year’s Day, the mayor isn’t even in town [right now], [they] presented an unbalanced budget, five outgoing councilmembers who aren’t going to be here on Jan. 1, two days before the first of the year, passed a trash tax and I felt very strongly when I said Jan. 1 begins the budget process, not Oct. not Nov., not two days prior.”