The following is a memo from Mayor Palmieri to the Common Council regarding the upcoming budget.<\/p>\n
To:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Members of the Common Council<\/p>\n
From:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mayor Robert M. Palmieri<\/p>\n
Date:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 January 23, 2013<\/p>\n
(Utica, NY) On Dec. 18, 2012, the\u00a0Observer-Dispatch\u00a0documented\u00a0the Common Council\u2019s projection that Utica was facing a budget deficit of between $3.8 and $4.2 million.<\/p>\n
The same article and subsequent public comments made by members of the Common Council indicate the possibility that Utica\u2019s legislators will enact a budget adhering to the two percent tax cap.<\/p>\n
Observing this tax ceiling would produce revenues of approximately $400,000, well below the amount needed to meet the Common Council\u2019s projection.<\/p>\n
If the Council decides to resolve this projected budget gap within a two percent tax cap, providing a responsible level of service to the citizens of Utica would become problematic.<\/p>\n
Predicates.<\/p>\n
The purpose of this memorandum is to explain the impact the cap will have on those departments most responsible for protecting our people and our quality of life.<\/p>\n
In order to close the Council\u2019s projected deficit, the City of Utica will need to eliminate at least 55 positions.\u00a0 These positions will necessarily come from those departments requiring the greatest number of personnel:\u00a0 the Department of Public Works\/Recreation Division, the Utica Fire Department and the Utica Police Department.<\/p>\n
For the sake of discussion, it is assumed that each position eliminated within the DPW represents a decrease of $55,000 while each position cut from the Police and Fire Departments represents a decrease of $75,000:<\/p>\n
DPW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 15 Positions at $55,000\/position = $825,000<\/p>\n
UFD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20 Positions at $75,000\/position = $1,500,000<\/p>\n
UPD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20 Positions at $75,000\/position =\u00a0$1,500,000<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
TOTAL:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0$3,825,000<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While cutting these positions could eliminate the deficit, the\u00a0real\u00a0life\u00a0impact\u00a0on the safety and the City\u2019s quality of life would be severe.<\/p>\n
I.\u00a0 Department of Public Works\/Parks and Recreation Division.<\/p>\n
A two percent tax cap will compel the\u00a0elimination of fifteen positions.<\/p>\n
Three positions\u00a0will be taken from the Parks and Recreation Division, virtually\u00a0eradicating all Summer programs.\u00a0 Swimming pools will not open.\u00a0 Softball fields will not be maintained.\u00a0 It is also likely that winter recreational facilities will be seriously compromised.<\/p>\n
One highly specialized diesel mechanic\u00a0will also be eliminated.<\/p>\n
Eleven laborers\u00a0will be eliminated.\u00a0 Such a loss will result in the cessation of spring\/fall green waste pick-up as well as a pervasive deterioration in all snow plowing and street cleaning capability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
II. Bureau of Fire.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A two percent tax cap will necessitate the\u00a0elimination of twenty positions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This reduction would primarily occur among line firefighters in the Suppression Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The consequences of cutting entry level line firefighters will be extreme and expensive:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Call backs and overtime expenses will result in a significant increase in replacement time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reduction of the daily complement will result in the closing of at least one fire station.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The number of units served under the Rental Occupancy Program would decline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The number of Lead Abatement Inspections would decline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The number of state mandated elevator inspections would decline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Delivery of Emergency Medical Services will be delayed.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The City of Utica\u2019s agreement with Oneida County regarding Hazardous material protections will be jeopardized.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Utica\u2019s ISO rating will go down causing an increase in commercial insurance rates.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
III.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bureau of Police.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A two percent tax cap will force the\u00a0elimination of twenty positions.\u00a0 This action will require that other units be utilized to \u201cbackfill\u201d losses in the Uniform Patrol Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of the Special Operations Unit.\u00a0 All SOU personnel will be transferred to the Uniform patrol division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of the Traffic Division, with its two positions being transferred to the Uniform Patrol Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of as many as two narcotics investigators from the Metro Narcotics Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of one of two investigators from the Warrants Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of one Desk Officer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Elimination\u00a0of an undetermined number of officers in the Criminal Investigation Division.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reduction\u00a0of Night Shift Patrol Zones from seven to six.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reduction\u00a0of Day Shift Patrol Zones from eight to seven.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Curtailing\u00a0of\u00a0officer response to non-critical, non-criminal calls for service.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
10.\u00a0\u00a0Slashing\u00a0of additional police services as follows::<\/p>\n
a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Neighborhood Watch participation will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Prostitution enforcement details will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Outreach to the homeless, community organizations and business groups will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Response to non-injury traffic accidents will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
e.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Traffic education programs will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
f.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Traffic surveys will be\u00a0eliminated…<\/p>\n
g.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Additional traffic enforcement around schools and in residential neighborhood will be\u00a0eliminated.<\/p>\n
h.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Traffic citations for moving violations will be\u00a0reduced.<\/p>\n
i.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Quality of life and special problem area enforcement will be eliminated.<\/p>\n
The City of Utica faces extraordinary and uncertain times.\u00a0 We cannot discount any eventuality nor discard any option.<\/p>\n
This Common Council needs to give itself every responsible power and avail itself of every reasonable alternative.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The following is a memo from Mayor Palmieri to the Common Council regarding the upcoming budget. To:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Members of the Common Council From:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mayor Robert M. Palmieri Date:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 January 23, 2013 (Utica, NY) On Dec. 18, 2012, the\u00a0Observer-Dispatch\u00a0documented\u00a0the Common Council\u2019s projection that Utica was facing a budget deficit of between $3.8 and $4.2 million. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regional"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-aQV","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}