A city budget is typically pretty cut and dry, but Syracuse’s annual spending plan can also offer some context for just how big the city is. And so like a budget, this story is all about numbers.
Here are some interesting figures pulled from Syracuse's proposed budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
- Every winter, snow plows drop 35,000 tons of road salt to try and keep the roads dry.
- Thirty-five thousand tons (34,750 to be exact) is the same amount of trash that gets hauled away from curbs every year, or 136 tons a day. Syracuse only recycles a sixth as much waste - 6,600 tons per year - as it puts in a landfill.
- Syracuse’s 400 plus police officers drive 1.3 million miles a year while on patrol, responding to an average of 147,000 calls.
- And fire trucks roll to nearly 1,200 reports of explosions or fires each year, but that’s a lot less than the 14,108 medical calls.
- The public works department tamps down about 17,600 tons of asphalt, patching potholes and repairing streets.
- And for those of you who leave your cars parked illegally, you provide a big cash flow for Syracuse. The city brings in $3.2 million each year in fines and charges for the more than 90,354 parking tickets it writes.
In total, the Syracuse city budget is $674 million, with over half of that spent on schools. The city council is reviewing the budget now, with the new spending plan beginning July 1.