During a meeting that ran for about four hours on Monday, three Watertown city councilors voted not to override a state tax cap that would limit the tax increase in the budget to 2.5%. The initial budget proposed by the city manager included a tax increase of 18.8%.
In response to the initial vote on the resolution, council member Robert Kimball said it’s unrealistic that the council will make enough cuts to stay under the state cap.
"This does not commit us to overriding the tax levy,” Kimball said. “It opens that opportunity to us, and honestly, I don't see a way that we're going to make our budget fit in the tax levy limit established by New York state."
After an executive session on an unrelated issue, the resolution was brought back to the table. Two of the council members who initially voted no, Ben Shoen and Lisa Ruggiero, changed their minds.
Shoen said he thought voting yes would force the council to adopt the budget with the 18.8% increase.
“I guess it was a mis-thought on my part, thinking that we were tied into the budget as proposed without the override," he said.
Ruggiero also explained her change of heart.
"I don't like the idea of overriding the tax cap, but I think that if we continue working on the budget the way we have been, I think we can make some great strides in the next few days," she said.
Kimball and Mayor Sarah Compo Pierce voted yes both times, and council member Cliff Olney voted no both times, saying he wanted the city to look into other solutions for its budgetary challenges.
At Monday’s meeting, city officials said the council has to adopt a new budget by the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, or the city will not be able to spend any more money.
Monday’s meeting also included another public hearing on the budget, with community members speaking for more than an hour. A majority of those speakers were in favor of the city helping to fund Zoo New York. Mayor Pierce said she is working to find a solution that can help the zoo and work for the city.
