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Mohawk Valley Compass
Analysis of the comptroller’s water fund warning
Four straight years of no increases in water rates, while at the same time depending on seven-digit transfers from the water fund each year to reduce city taxes isn’t a sustainable financial plan for the City of Amsterdam. The possibility that the water fund balance could be depleted was proven and well-publicized at least a year ago. Yet in Mayor Michael Cinquanti’s proposed budget for 2021-2022, we see virtually no water rate increase (.25%) and the exact same $1.3 million appropriation of fund balance to transfer to the general fund as we had last year.
First look at the proposed 2021-2022 budget
City of Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti released his proposed budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year yesterday. The budget calls for a 0.18% increase in the property tax rate, along with an overall 5.64% increase in user fees. However, city officials said yesterday they are prepared to make additional changes based on recommendations from the New York State Comptroller’s office.
Why we need to watch local government’s executive session procedures
Because the general public and media are prohibited from executive sessions, New York State’s open meeting law contains very specific rules as to how an executive session should be convened during a public meeting. The purpose of these rules is to make sure that anyone attending the meeting can hear and understand the reason for the session at the time it is convened. The rules also serve to keep officials accountable for keeping their discussion limited to the reason stated, as well as defining which subjects are allowable to discuss in private.
GASD board won’t see completed budget until same day as vote
Each year, the city council and county legislature take weeks to pour over the multi-million dollar budgets they are responsible for approving. It’s one of the most important jobs they are elected to do. They often have to deal with uncertain revenue projections from a number of sources, some of which have to be changed last minute. While the school district budget has it’s own unique intricacies, I thought for sure that members of the Greater Amsterdam School District Board of Education would have at least some reasonable amount of time to study, research, and question the proposed district budget before approving it for final vote by the public.
Amsterdam’s millions are here. Where will they go? No one knows!
By now, the money should be in the proverbial till. As of the end of June, the City of Amsterdam was set to borrow $7.7 million to erase deficits in several city funds, the biggest of which being the general fund. According to the resolution that authorized the borrowing, the cash should be booked to the funds with negative balances, bringing each one back to zero.
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