Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello delivered her second State of the City address Wednesday at Franklin Plaza, where she argued her administration has created a safer and healthier city.

Claiming “Troy is a city on the rise,” Mantello said she had made progress in improving public safety and water infrastructure, while protecting city assets and focusing on quality of life issues.

“This administration is committed to foundational fixes, not Band-Aid solutions,” Mantello told several dozen people in attendance.

Mantello said her public safety initiative “Project Sentinel” had helped reduce shootings in the city by 33% from 2023 to 2024, and recovered more than 70 firearms. She said her move to increase starting police salaries by $10,000 to about $50,000 had increased interest in serving in the Troy Police Department.

“Public safety is the bedrock of any thriving city,” Mantello said.

The city intends to launch a domestic violence intervention program in 2025, Mantello said. Also, a firefighting staffing and ambulance study will be made public in coming weeks, and the city plans to build a firehouse in Lansingburgh, she said.

“We have to address our broken and outdated staffing model,” Mantello said.

The administration replaced more than 400 outdated water service lines with lead, and will release a request for proposals in the coming weeks to undertake several hundred more, Mantello said.

She said $19 million from New York state will allow the city to move forward with the 1 Monument Square project, which she said would anchor the city's downtown and waterfront for generations to come. 

Mantello, a Republican, also drew attention to the reopening of the Knickerbacker Ice Rink, and said the city will create a master plan for Prospect Park this year.

Troy Council President Sue Steele issued a statement on Thursday in response to the speech.

“While there were several positive developments for the Collar City in 2024, our city is also facing many serious problems that cannot be glossed over. We hear constantly from residents concerned with crime, noise and other neighborhood-level complaints. Others cannot get a return phone call from the mayor’s office for the simplest of questions," Steele said.

She said while she intends to work with the mayor on certain issues, council Democrats will continue holding the city administration accountable.

“It’s been no secret that the city has been struggling to retain staff in key positions across every department," Steele said. "Record vacancies continue to force staff to do more with less and we see its cumulative impact in each neighborhood. Instead, we must invest in our workforce and direct resources to support essential services that residents deserve — something that should be prioritized over buying a new city hall building."