Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan submitted her proposed 2025 city budget Tuesday morning.
The proposed $221 million budget is a $5 million reduction from the 2024 budget. Sheehan attributes this to additional American Rescue Plan funding.
According to the mayor, most of the budget is being spent on wages and benefits for city workers.
"Our years of hard work and perseverance have allowed us to propose this budget – a budget that will further enhance public safety, create world-class recreational facilities, improve quality of life, deliver on our commitment to sustainability, and do everything we can to prepare the workforce of the future," Sheehan said in a statement.
The budget would increase the tax levy by 2% to a total of nearly $63 million, according to the budget plan. The levy would decline .3% for homeowners, and increase 5% for business owners.
The tax rate for homeowners and commercial property owners would drop significantly to $7.31 and $10.44 per $1,000 of assessed value due to a recent citywide reassement of properties. Taxes paid on a property under the plan would depend on its recent reassessment, but the city says an assessment change less than a 60% increase should result in a tax decrease.