Newburgh City Manager Joe Donat solemnly presented to the city council Tuesday a 2020 fiscal-year proposed budget that would lay off 14 percent of the police department and 16 percent of the fire department.

That would translate to between 11 and 13 police officers and between 10 and 12 firefighters, Donat said to the council at Tuesday night's marathon meeting at the Newburgh Activity Center.

Nearly every member of both departments were at the meeting, along with about 100 other community members.

The budget also proposes a 6 percent increase in sewer fees, a 10 percent increase in metered water fees and increases in property taxes.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Donat told Spectrum News earlier in the day. "...The city is one or two major, costly events from being insolvent."

Donat said past administrators had overestimated revenue and underestimated expenses for several years, putting the city in this position.

This was the first budget Donat and comptroller Todd Venning have presented to council.

Donat was hired in December 2018, following the resignation of former city manager Michael Ciaravino, who is now the city manager of Millcreek, Washington. 

Firefighters, including Acting Chief Terry Ahlers and Union President Brendan Hogan, said they did not know several firefighter positions would be in danger until Donat met with union representatives last week to inform them of the tough decisions before the city.

“With building permits and everything being up, I really thought things were getting better and at the end of this grant we would be okay,” Ahlers said earlier on Tuesday.

For some, this could lead to a second layoff within 16 months.

Six firefighters who were laid off in 2018 and rehired in 2019 after the city secured a federal grant to fund their positions would be among the firefighters whose positions are in jeopardy.

Councilmembers shook their heads in disbelief as Donat ran through the numbers and explained there are few other options to save money and keep the city operational in the coming year.

"This was, by no means, the budget I wanted to propose," Donat said. "But it is my belief that this is the budget we need to propose."

The budget is not final.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for November 12 and the council is scheduled to vote on a budget on November 25.

Mayor Torrance Harvey harked back to previous years' budget discussions, during which the council found ways to dissect budgets that proposed layoffs and tax increases and emerge with budgets without layoffs and tax increases.

"The city council is committed to working day and night between now and the end of November to change these numbers," Mayor Harvey said. "We did it last year. We're going to do it again."

"We have a lot of work to do," Mayor Harvey said to Donat with glare.

"I look forward to the collaboration," Donat said.