SPENDING PLAN
Keeler proposes 2024 budget with no tax increase; 27 percent raise included for mayor
City officials held their first public hearing on the proposed 2024 budget, which does include no tax increases again, but does provide raises to some city officials including the mayor.
The $27.9 million plan represents the fourth consecutive budget without any increase in property taxes or water and sewer rates.
“Four straight years of no tax increases is a record we’re proud of. While inflation has increased costs across the board, we keep coming up with innovative ways to trim spending,” Keeler, a Democrat, said in a recent news release from his office. “In the past few years, the city has renegotiated contracts, including Music Hall management fees and recycling fees, that produced a combined $300,000 in annual savings.
“A citywide LED streetlight replacement program completed last year is expected to yield $9 million in savings over the next 20 years. “Floating Solar is our next big project and should be operational next fall. Annual savings of $500,000 are expected to follow. I’m grateful for the support of the Common Council majority in our ongoing efforts. This budget prioritizes public safety, full staffing in all departments, funds for park improvements, and allows us to keep making progress on long-overdue infrastructure projects.”
Keeler proposed a 27 percent raise for the mayor’s position, which would see the salary jump from $78,310 to $99,500. According to the Albany County Board of Elections,
The $27.9 million plan represents the fourth consecutive budget without any increase in property taxes or water and sewer rates.
Keeler is running unopposed in the November general election.
Some members of the Common Council, which is comprised of all Democrats, commented on Keeler’s proposed raise.
First Ward Councilman Bill Smith said he does not agree with the mayor receiving that large of a raise and said he also does not agree with the raise for the secretary to the police chief, who happens to be Keeler’s daughter, which would see that salary increase 11 percent from $58,135 to $64,750 in 2024.
“It is disrespectful to our residents who are struggling to pay their bills for this Mayor to write himself a 27 percent raise that equals $400 a week,” Smith said to The Record Wednesday morning. “And, then to top it off, he gives his daughter an 11% raise on top of the 10% she received her first year on the job. That makes them both the highest-paid employees in the city’s history in those two positions. People in the same position as his daughter are making 15-20,000 less. How does that work?”
Second Ward Councilman
Don Russell also commented on the mayor’s proposed raise.
“In regards to the mayor’s raise, it is deserving of a raise but I do not feel that 27 percent is justified for any mayor. We settle unions and employees contracts typically at 3 percent annually and that seems fair. After several budget meetings in the near future I’m sure there will be a compromise,” Russell said to The Record.
Common Council President William McCarthy said a couple of questions were asked during Tuesday night’s public hearing, but said none of them were about the proposed mayoral raise.
“I anticipate that there will be questions on the mayor’s raise,” McCarthy said.
“Each section of the budget including salaries will be discussed and analyzed (during the upcoming meetings),” 5th Ward Councilman Adam Biggs added.
Keeler responded Wednesday as to why he is proposing a 27 percent raise for himself.
“Elected officials’ salaries can only be addressed every four years. The mayor’s salary was last raised to its current level ($78,900) effective 2016, when then-Mayor
Shawn Morse also received a $15,000 stipend during his term, thus $93,900 annually,” Keeler said. “That stipend was stopped as I came into office in 2020, and I declined any raise during my first four years. The 2024 budget raises the salary to $99,900, still significantly below the figure paid to other Albany County city managers which range from $120,000-$144,000.
“The next mayoral raise can’t occur until 2028. Viewed over the 2016-2027 timeline, the mayor’s salary will have increased at a 2% annual rate, well below current inflation. I’m proud to have successfully guided the city through a pandemic and a recession, while submitting four straight budgets with no tax increase and bringing in a record $42 million in grant funding.
“There are a lot of positive things happening in Cohoes right now and much more on the horizon. Being mayor is an incredibly rewarding opportunity, but 60-hour workweeks are the norm, not the exception. The budgeted increase provides fair compensation that will continue to attract top talent moving forward.”
Cohoes Police Chief Todd Waldin also responded Wednesday as to why he is proposing a roughly 11 percent raise for his secretary.
“My police department budget proposed a raise for the Secretary to the Chief of Police that reflects several non-traditional duties she assumed post-pandemic,” Waldin said. “Mrs. Potts created and maintains the police department’s social media platform and is newly responsible for directing communications, including frequently serving as our media liaison and creating press releases.
“She also serves as our Special Events Coordinator, spearheading our annual Bike Rodeo, National Night Out, Trunk or Treat, and much more. Many of these responsibilities fall outside of her normal duty hours and on short notice, meaning frequent night and weekend assignments. She also serves as the department’s grant writer, continually applying for grants at both the State and Federal level for traffic safety, bulletproof vests, and bodyworn cameras.
“Her proficiency in grant writing has been acknowledged by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee who presented her with a ‘Recognition of Excellence’ award in conjunction with Stop-DWI and M.A.D.D. Community engagement activities and departmental transparency were priorities established by our NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative and city-wide survey in 2020 and would not be possible without her significant contributions.”
“It is clearly more cost-effective to have a civilian employee perform these myriad functions than it is to have a uniformed officer handle them,” Keeler said when asked about the raise for the chief’s secretary. “The raise budgeted for the Secretary to the Chief reflects the value-added responsibilities.” City officials went on to note how the 2024 budget had to deal with rising employee health insurance and retirement costs.
“Employee health insurance premiums increased by 7.8 % in 2023 and we’re anticipating a jump of 12% in 2024, adding $250,000 to employee health insurance expenses. Retirement rates for police and firefighters increased by 14.7%, now topping out at 34% of payroll. Overall retirement expenses increased $287,700 year over year,” City Comptroller Michael Durocher said in the news release from the mayor’s office.
The city’s overall fund reserves have increased to over $6.5 million, including $3.1 million set aside in the recently created Tax Stabilization Fund.
“Our total fund balance has increased by 2.4 million in the last 3 years, and we are likely to see more growth when the 2023 numbers are finalized. The assignment of fund balance over the past two years to a Tax Stabilization fund gives us the ability to keep taxes level while maintaining services. The financial position of the City of Cohoes is strong,” according to Durocher. Cohoes received $1,711,482 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). To date the city has spent about half, leaving $836,000, he noted.
Third Ward Councilman Chris Briggs, who also serves as chair of the finance committee, said they will hold at least two finance committee meetings before voting on the budget. Briggs said one meeting will be on Oct. 19 and the other on Oct. 26, both at 6 p.m. in the Cohoes Council Chambers and those meetings are open to the public.
Sixth Ward Councilman Justin Alesio did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
The mayor’s proposal was approved by the Board of Managers and forwarded to the Cohoes Common Council which has until Nov. 15 to enact the city’s budget.