| A
Letter From Ken |
 The
2010 budget will be one of the most
challenging budgets this city has
faced in a long time. Let's take a
look back to see how we got here to
understand what we face.
Upon taking office I analyzed the
budget we inherited and warned the
Council of upcoming economic
problems, and possible loss of
important revenues. I implored
departments to curb spending.
Despite my warnings, the 2009 budget
requests that my fellow council
members submitted would have
resulted in a 29% tax increase! So I
began the unpopular job of
scrutinizing their budgets looking
for unnecessary spending and with
their help, came up with an initial
budget that represented just a 4%
tax increase assuming similar VLT
funding as 2008.
Then came word that Governor
Paterson’s Budget included cutting
our VLT revenues in half. The entire
Council made multiple trips to
Albany to lobby to have the funds
fully restored but our attempts were
unsuccessful. There was then much
spirited debate on whether to pass a
budget with half of the VLT money or
all of the VLT money.
We went to work looking for where we
could make additional cuts assuming
we would only get half the VLT
money. In the end, the council
unanimously voted to approve a
budget that assumed half VLT funding
(as the governor had indicated we
should) and a zero percent tax
increase. I know a lot of people are
playing Monday morning quarterback,
but I repeat all city council
members voted to approve a budget
that assumed half VLT revenue and a
zero percent tax increase.
In March 2009, the Governor and
legislative leaders dealt us a huge
blow by creating a new aid formula
that made Saratoga Springs the only
host community not to receive any
VLT revenue. By Charter, the 2009
budget had to be revisited, and more
cuts had to be made in order to
close this gap. This meant cutting
things that were very nice to have
but not critically essential. We
were able to accomplish this without
cutting any essential services to
the city, but it wasn’t easy.
VLT aid represented 10% of our total
budget and over 25% of property tax
collection. This means we are
looking at a 2010 budget that could
have serious cuts in services
(possible layoffs like many other
municipalities) or sizable property
tax increases.
There will be budget workshops in
September where I will scrutinize
each department budget request, line
by line. This is your money so, I
encourage you to attend or tune in
to the webcasts and then voice your
opinion via email, phone or in
person.
I pledge to continue to seek other
sources of revenue, other than
property taxes, as well as continue
the fight for our VLT funds. I am
examining every expenditure and
looking for ways to reduce our
spending without impacting essential
services. Until the economy
improves, the status quo cannot
continue. |
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