Mayor Ben Walsh has proposed a $348 million budget for 2026 for the City of Syracuse, a 2% increase from last year’s budget.
While the Common Council isn’t expected to act on a final budget until May 8, the proposed budget is projected to pull $27.2 million from the City of Syracuse’s fund balance.
This is the first year since 2021 that the city has not received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which provided federal funds to city governments reeling from economic losses from the pandemic.
The city expects to earn additional revenue of $6.6 million from property taxes, $3.7 million from automated school zone traffic enforcement, and $1.2 million from building and property permits.
Here are the notable details from Walsh’s proposed budget:
2% property tax increase
Walsh’s proposed budget features a 2% property tax increase for the third year in a row. If approved, it would be the fourth tax hike in six years. He argued the increase in taxes is necessary Walsh says this is being done to cover rising costs and lagging city revenues.
“Property taxes are one of the few revenue sources we do have control over,” Walsh said.
The 2% raise will earn the city an additional $56.53 for every property with an assessed value of $100,000. In all, the city is expected to collect $6.6 million more in property taxes.
The proposed budget also anticipates raising water rates by 2%, which the city says will offset the rising cost of materials. According to the city, the average resident’s increase will amount to less than $5 per year. The city will be able to improve water infrastructure, including upgrading pump stations and lead service lines, Walsh said.
Structural deficit increases to $27.2 million
Walsh proposed pulling $27.2 million from its reserves to pay for city services because of a decline in city revenue. That would be a $2.2 million increase from last year’s budget.
The city is set to have $120 million in its reserve at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. At the start of the 2026 fiscal year, the reserve is projected to contain $35 million more than the reserve needs to have, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The city’s reserves are set to have doubled from 2018 through the end of June.
IT departments to be revamped after $10 million payroll modernization snafu
The city plans to restructure its Information Technology, Digital Services and Analytics, Performance and Innovation departments, Walsh said.
It is unclear how they’ll be restructured, but the announcement follows a tumultuous winter and spring for the departments. City officials failed to launch a payroll overhaul started during Walsh’s first term, which involved those departments among others.
Read more about the city’s payroll modernization project:
- Syracuse delays payroll rollout after 4 years, millions to consultants: ‘We’re not getting what we paid for’
- Man at the center of Syracuse’s payroll modernization effort resigns
- Contractor accuses Syracuse of using business as a pass-through in payroll modernization project; city denies claim
- Syracuse lawmakers approve audit of city IT department, payroll modernization
Over the last four years, the city spent about $10 million to implement new timekeeping and payroll systems. The payroll system ultimately failed at the end of 2024 to launch. The revelation caused tension between former Budget Director Tim Rudd and City Hall.
Rudd was ultimately fired after racist comments he made about Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens.
The Common Council voted in January to have FoxPointe Solutions audit the city’s IT and API departments
The restructuring could help “enhance project oversight,” Walsh said.
The change will not increase or reduce costs, he said.
“We’ve also embraced the audit process,” Walsh said.
More code enforcement inspectors, third party permitting
The city is also planning to add two additional code enforcement inspectors to its Neighborhood and Business Development staff.
“The Council is well aware of the challenges that we’ve had with bad property owners and deteriorating properties,” Walsh said.
The code enforcement office has been scrutinized by local housing advocates and Auditor Alex Marion for failing to issue enough code violations to property owners who neglect to renew their rental registry or follow ordinances.
These advocates have called for reform to the way that code enforcement officers inspect property conditions.
The budget also proposes allocating additional funds to third-party firms to review permit applications in hopes of speeding up the permitting process and processing more permits. The city approved a record number of permits last year that were worth $413.5 million.
The city anticipates to earn $1.2 million in revenue from building and property permits from an increase in construction.
“That has helped to take some of the burden off of our city staff and allow us to expedite the permit review process again, long term investment.”
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