ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The first look at the City of Rochester's proposed spending plan for next year was on Friday. If this budget is approved, Mayor Lovely Warren said the average city homeowner would see a reduction of their tax bill of about $65.
The fiscal year 2017-18 budget totals $525 million. Compared to last year, that represents a 1.3 percent increase.
“My budget was designed to keep faith with our residents by lowering the residential tax burden while continuing to invest in important programs and services,” said Warren, D-Rochester.
The Mayor’s Office stated closing the budget gap came after cutting capital program and enterprise fund balances by nearly $21 million. Other savings are from adjusting $1.6 million in debt services, along with slimming down departments. The rest came from new sources of income for the city.
"We benefited from some additional revenues,” said Christopher Wagner, the city’s budget director. “We had those departmental reductions and efficiencies, about $5.1 million there, and we raised some fees. That came from refuse, local works and water."
The city also says it will be reducing overall staffing by 11 full-time positions, but claim that no one will be laid off in this year's budget. They're also hoping to fund a fall police recruitment class as well.
The task at hand now goes to City Council to review and approve the budget.