City Budget Passes

More Work To Be Done To Cut Expenses

By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA

On Tuesday, December 3, the City of Oneonta’s Common Council initially declined to pass the tentative 2025 budget that they had approved on November 19.

When put to a second vote, six of the seven council members consented to pass the 2025 budget of $20 million, with the caveat that there would be future budget cuts and solutions to cover the deficit while drawing down less of the reserves.

Eighth Ward representative Don Mathisen remained resolute in opposing the budget, voting no a second time.

Kaytee Lipari Shue, Fourth Ward, Len Carson, Fifth Ward, Scott Harrington, Sixth Ward, and Mathisen all voted against the tentative 2025 budget the first time around. A vacancy in the Seventh Ward automatically counts as a “no” vote.

Those five “no” votes outweighed the three “yes” votes by Elayne Mosher Campoli, Cecelia Walsh-Russo and Shannon McHugh, who represent the First, Second and Third wards, respectively.

When Carson moved to reconsider passing the budget, David Merzig—attorney for the City of Oneonta for the past 38 years—instructed the council that a second motion, discussion and a second vote is permissible.

A heated discussion and debate ensued, during which tensions ran high.

Mosher-Campoli sought a compromise from her dissenting council members.

“This is very disappointing to see,” she said. “We have been working on budget cuts all summer, all fall and winter. The budget was a result of compromises. I am really disappointed.”

Mathisen replied, “I voted no because I am not willing to exceed the tax cap.”

Later he said, “We are paying the consequences of decisions made.”

Mathisen referenced the costs of large construction projects, debt payments that will come due on $7.5 million in bonds, and the salary increases that the city negotiated with the labor unions.

Harrington explained why he voted no initially.

He said, “Ever since somebody put ‘call your council member’ in the newspaper, my phone has been ringing off the hook.”

Harrington said his constituents are opposed to raising taxes.

What people may not realize though, according to city officials, is that property taxes in Oneonta have been going up every single year by some 2 percent, but have not exceeded the tax cap.

Virginia Lee, director of finance, outlined the negative consequences if the Common Council did not approve the budget.

The proposed 2025 budget has a $1.6 million deficit that is easily covered by the $8 million in accumulated reserves, Lee said. If the tentative 2025 budget was not adopted, the charter mandates that the city revert back to the 2024 budget plus all new obligations covered. This would have resulted in an even larger deficit of $2.8 million, according to Lee.

This was discussed in the November 19 Common Council meeting as well.

Non passage of the budget could have also affected the city’s favorable bond rating of “A –,” Lee explained. The potential for interest rates to rise on future debt payments was mentioned as another possible negative consequence.

Mathisen said he has spoken to more than a dozen constituents who tell him, “I do not have a lot of money. I am retired and on a fixed income,” or, “I have a low-paying job and don’t want my property taxes to go up.”

Lipari Shue argued, “The main issue I have with the budget is that the tax increase is not going to solve the problem…We have to address our expenditures, reign them in.

“I look forward to the day that we can balance the budget,” Lipari Shue said.

Mayor Mark Drnek proposed forming a budget committee to study what other cuts could be made. He promised to appoint three or four Common Council members to this committee.

When questioned by Carson as to whom he would appoint, Drnek said Carson and Lipari Shue would be two of the people he would tap for this newly-formed committee. Carson pressed the mayor for an exact date for naming the other members of the committee, and Drnek agreed to make a decision by December 17, the final Common Council meeting of 2024.

Mayor Drnek opened the meeting with an endorsement of his nominee for the Seventh Ward, Mike Forster Rothbart. When the public was given an opportunity to speak, Kyle Marks, 35 Elm Street, said, “I am concerned.”

He spoke of the democratic process by which a member of the Seventh Ward received signatures from their constituents. Marks expressed his preference for Carolyn Marks without mentioning her by name, saying he was concerned that the mayor was ignoring the wishes expressed by the public. Kyle Marks is the son of Carolyn Marks.

Common Council members voted unanimously to accept the mayor’s nomination for Mike Forster Rothbart following questions from Carson and Harrington. Forster Rothbart will serve the Seventh Ward for a one-year appointment, effective January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

In an e-mail dated December 6, Forster Rothbart said, “Oneonta has been a great place for my family, a great place for my kids to grow up. Public service has been a big part of my life, so I feel grateful to be voted in and able to serve the city in this way.

“Talking with my neighbors, a lot of people in my ward feel unrepresented and disconnected from the city government. I understand—as a resident, it took me a decade to learn how to get things done here,” Forster Rothbart continued. “It doesn’t have to be that way. So this is my first priority as I take office—to be a conduit of information in both directions, for my neighborhood and for city officials. I think many people I know would get more involved and volunteer for the city if the city did a better job communicating needs and opportunities.”