The Albany city budget for 2027 proposed Thursday by Mayor Dorcey Applyrs includes a 15% tax levy hike, the creation of a half-percent city sales tax, $9.1 million in cuts and higher fees.
Applyrs, a former city auditor serving in her first year in office, said the proposed spending plan would help the city move toward fiscal stability amid “one of the worst budget challenges facing any municipality in New York.”
“Our city is facing a serious fiscal crisis,” the mayor said at a press conference.
Applyrs proposed a $257 million general fund, up from $228 million in 2026. Her total budget proposal includes a $49.6 million water fund, a $2.9 million youth and workforce fund and a $45.7 million capital projects budget for a total of $355.2 million.
She called it “a soundly balanced budget” that drives the city from a generational fiscal crisis toward sustainability.
The city faces a $26 million deficit for 2026 and a $35 million deficit for 2027, which includes higher costs for debt service, health care costs, employee wages and operating costs for fuel, construction and utilities, Applyrs said.
The mayor said the proposed 15% property tax levy increase would raise taxes $280 a year for owners of properties valued at $250,000, and would produce $9.646 million in revenue.
The 0.5% city sales tax would add 50 cents on a $100 purchase and raise an $5.25 million, Applyrs said.
The budget also would increase recreation and department fees by $2.5 million, a new “embellishment fee” for tax-exempt properties to raise a projected $500,000 to offset street cleaning, snow plowing and sidewalk rebuilding costs and add $350,000 in event fee collections.
The plan increases debt-service costs by $9.3 million to a total of $28.5 million in 2027, the mayor said.
Applyrs said her first budget proposed as mayor focuses on public safety, preserving essential services and economic recovery.
The mayor said significant efforts were made to reduce personnel and operating costs by more than $9 million. She said Albany was among cities in New York and the U.S. that are being forced to make extremely tough budget decisions.
“At times, I’m sure it feels like we are trying to squeeze water from a rock,” Applyrs said.
She said the 2027 spending plan reflected months of work with city departments to identify savings and followed recommendations made by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, which found the city’s 2025 and 2026 budgets included “significant revenue and expenditure estimates that were not reasonable, contributing to its operating deficits.”
“The city has experienced fiscal stress for years and used temporary federal pandemic aid and fund balance to pay recurring expenditures, including staff salaries,” DiNapoli said.
Former Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who left office on Jan. 1, declined comment for this story.
In a letter sent to the mayor and press, Albany-area lawmakers – Sen. Pat Fahy and Assembly Member Gabby Romero – expressed concern that a sales tax is regressive and could impact lower income residents disproportionately.
They also called for minimizing property tax increases.
“Albany has one of the highest property tax burdens in the Capital Region. Ensuring that we are not adding to that burden should remain a priority, and not raising property taxes above the state’s statutory property tax cap should ultimately be a top priority as we continue to invest in projects and proposals that seek to grow Albany’s population, residential, and commercial tax bases,” they said.
The 2027 budget plan now heads to the Albany Common Council for review.
Source: spectrumlocalnews.com
