Many cities in upstate New York and across the country are struggling to balance their budgets in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, but the city of Oswego's mayor is proposing a budget that neither raises taxes nor borrows from the city's savings.
Mayor Billy Barlow said his proposed $45 million budget was years in the making. He was able to avoid tax or fee increases this year thanks to reductions in staff in previous budget cycles.
"That's always a difficult decision and sometimes you don't realize why you're doing it or it's hard to realize the savings up front, but over time our approach has always been to have the long-term success, the long-term financial stability of the city be at the forefront of our decision-making," Barlow said.
And it's paying off. The proposed budget not only avoids increasing taxes, it continues investments in Oswego's code enforcement program, city owned buildings, and tourism initiatives.
Barlow's efforts were aided by sales taxes that remained largely steady with 2019 figures. Other cities in central and northern New York have not fared quite as well this year. Syracuse and Watertown had to dip into their rainy day funds and layoff or furlough city hall staff to make ends meet.
The Oswego Common Council is set to vote on Barlow's proposed budget later this month.
