1 00:01:50,580 --> 00:01:53,060 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 2 00:03:06,620 --> 00:03:15,120 Good morning. I want to welcome the many elected officials who are here. I want to thank the members of our 3 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:26,560 common councilor here. I see Deb Zamer and Jenny Farrell and anybody else. I can't, the lights are in my eyes. But thank you for coming. I'm also joined by our city 4 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:42,880 and our Chief City Auditor, Dorsey Applears, and a number of our incredible commissioners and directors, the people who really run the city and make things work to present our proposed budget plan for 2024. 5 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:49,860 And I start this presentation the same way every year, which is to remind us of why we are here. 6 00:03:49,860 --> 00:03:54,460 We are here to serve the residents of the city of Albany. 7 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,200 We're here to ensure that it is a place that is safe. 8 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:07,580 But all of us place ourselves at the service of this city so that we can create and support and build a safe healthy and economically vibrant community. 9 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,860 And that is what this budget is designed to do. 10 00:04:11,300 --> 00:04:14,020 So let's talk a little bit about the economic outlook. 11 00:04:14,020 --> 00:04:22,260 There are some indicators that seem to point in the direction of the economy expanding at a solid pace. 12 00:04:22,980 --> 00:04:26,220 Job gains have slowed in the recent months, but they remain strong. 13 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:37,060 The inflation is moving in the right direction, although there are indications that there are still some pretty significant inflationary pressures out there. 14 00:04:37,060 --> 00:04:44,960 Our unemployment rate remains relatively low and we are lower than many of the other averages 15 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:45,960 across the country. 16 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:53,420 And in the city of Albany, right now we have, as of July of 2023, the highest number of 17 00:04:53,420 --> 00:04:58,400 people employed since they began capturing this data in January of 2000. 18 00:04:58,900 --> 00:05:01,140 So all of those are strong indicators. 19 00:05:01,140 --> 00:05:05,660 But we also know that there are pressures. 20 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,400 Rents are going up everywhere, including in the city of Albany. 21 00:05:11,180 --> 00:05:13,900 And we have seen that upward pressure here. 22 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:20,800 We also are concerned about the impacts of a shutdown of the federal government. 23 00:05:21,060 --> 00:05:26,760 I've been in contact with the county executive's office because these cuts will be, 24 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,620 oh, Sonia, sorry, I didn't see you there. 25 00:05:28,620 --> 00:05:34,460 The chair of our finance committee, I must make sure that I welcome you to this revealing of our budget. 26 00:05:35,740 --> 00:05:38,960 And that potential shutdown could really have an impact on our residents. 27 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:46,800 So those who are receiving WIC benefits, SNAP benefits, depending on how long this shutdown lasts. 28 00:05:47,020 --> 00:05:52,580 If it happens, could really have some really significant impacts on our residents here. 29 00:05:52,580 --> 00:05:57,340 And so we'll be working closely with the county executive's office to understand what those 30 00:05:57,340 --> 00:05:58,500 challenges may be. 31 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:03,500 Fortunately, in New York State, we have a state government that pre funds a number of 32 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:09,320 these programs and so we're cautiously optimistic, but it is a concern. 33 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:15,060 As I said, rents are increasing interest rates remain high and they are projected to remain 34 00:06:15,060 --> 00:06:16,500 high through 2026. 35 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:21,680 And so we use this information to ensure that the assumptions that we make in the decisions 36 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:30,140 that we make are prudent. So our budget for 20-24, we are proposing a $226 million budget 37 00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:36,480 that's up from 218 million. Many of you might ask what is driving that increase and it's actually 38 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:43,500 quite simple. The good news is that increased state and federal aid leads to increased expenditures. 39 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:50,180 So we have to invest the resources that we receive through our budget and those resources are being 40 00:06:50,180 --> 00:06:52,900 spent in our neighborhoods and in our community. 41 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,260 And I'm going to highlight some grants, 42 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:58,220 but the give grant, which helps with public safety, 43 00:06:58,660 --> 00:07:00,740 our urban forestry grant, that we were successfully 44 00:07:00,740 --> 00:07:02,500 getting opioid resettlement money. 45 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:04,840 All of that funding must be spent. 46 00:07:05,260 --> 00:07:10,220 And of course, we also are seeing increased pressures on wage 47 00:07:10,220 --> 00:07:13,320 and benefits, and that makes up a significant part 48 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,560 of our increase, and it represents 70% of our budget. 49 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,440 So, where is our revenue coming from? 50 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,620 We are projecting an increase in state and federal aid. 51 00:07:25,140 --> 00:07:32,120 State aid is up $1.4 million, including $800,000, which is the increase that we're getting 52 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,640 for our given initiatives, which have proven to be incredibly successful. 53 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,580 And I want to thank Governor Hokel for recognizing that it's important to fund this very 54 00:07:41,580 --> 00:07:42,700 impactful program. 55 00:07:42,700 --> 00:07:53,340 Our federal aid is up due to the utilization of our befunding which we must utilize by 2024 and we're projecting sales tax up about $1.7 million. 56 00:07:53,740 --> 00:08:00,440 We continue to see strong economic activity that is driving that sales tax revenue up. 57 00:08:01,100 --> 00:08:09,480 We are proposing to increase the tax levy by below the cap 1.6% increase since 2015 which was my first budget. 58 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:18,080 We have increased taxes on average less than 1% a year, so well below inflation, well below the property tax cap. 59 00:08:18,940 --> 00:08:24,140 What this impact is going to be is that our residents are going to see a slight increase. 60 00:08:24,740 --> 00:08:38,200 Roughly $90 over the course of the year of an increase in their 2024 city property tax because of our homestead non homestead balancing that we are continuing down the path of trying to equalize. 61 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:46,140 our businesses will see a decrease in their city property tax bill of roughly $274. 62 00:08:47,100 --> 00:08:49,860 So I want to say this very clearly. 63 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:58,280 This non-home set rate applies to all of our residential units that are buildings of four 64 00:08:58,280 --> 00:08:59,360 units or more. 65 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:04,840 So if you are a renter in the city of Albany and you live in an apartment building that has 66 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,180 at least four units, don't let your 67 00:09:08,180 --> 00:09:12,640 landlord tell you that your rent is going to go up because taxes are going to go up. 68 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,220 Taxes are going to go down and again this is the type of thing that we look at in a city 69 00:09:18,220 --> 00:09:25,020 where more than 60% of our property is rental property is what is what are the things that we can do 70 00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:31,860 to address the upward pressure on rents. And so this is again an indication of my administrations, 71 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:38,800 concerns, concern, care, and the hard work that it takes to ensure that we are doing what 72 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:43,280 we can to not contribute to those increases in rents. 73 00:09:43,580 --> 00:09:50,800 As I said, wages and benefits are up, about $10 million, wages are up, 5.4 of that, benefits 74 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:51,820 4.5. 75 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:59,680 Those are big numbers, but again, this is what we need to do to ensure that we are able to 76 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:06,820 positions that our workforce is paid fairly, and that we are doing all that we can to ensure 77 00:10:06,820 --> 00:10:12,560 that we are able to attract people to these jobs and deliver on essential city services. 78 00:10:14,020 --> 00:10:15,720 Our capital plan is bold. 79 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:21,020 These are big numbers, and I know that we will have some pretty significant discussions 80 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:27,460 around this as we roll this budget out and as we talk about our capital plan over the coming 81 00:10:27,460 --> 00:10:27,960 years. 82 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:35,960 But these are investments that are necessary, and I'm going to talk a bit more about these investments a little bit later in this presentation. 83 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,420 So what are we investing in? Number one, we're investing in public safety. 84 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:48,320 And we are seeing an impact on reductions coming from the efforts of the Albany Police Department. 85 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:56,280 a 34% decline in confirmed shots fired, a 39% decrease in shooting incidents, 39% decrease 86 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:02,660 in shooting victims, but one crime is a crime too many, and we have significant work 87 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:07,740 that we need to continue to do an investments that we need to continue to make in order 88 00:11:07,740 --> 00:11:11,140 to ensure that we are creating the safest city in America. 89 00:11:11,140 --> 00:11:26,700 So this budget invests in a street treatment program and partnership with Albany County to try to prevent some of the challenges that we see in the quality of life issues that we're seeing across our community. 90 00:11:27,420 --> 00:11:37,360 We don't always need to call the police, but we do need to ensure that we're addressing those public, those quality of life issues in order for people to feel safe in our community. 91 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:43,180 You've seen the numbers, but we still hear from too many of our residents and businesses that they don't feel safe. 92 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:52,260 And so we need to ensure that we have people who are experts in treating addiction, in helping people to find housing, 93 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:58,720 who are really engaging with people who are struggling in our communities so that we can get people to help that they need. 94 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:07,080 And we are also in this budget providing social workers at center and south stations. 95 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,660 We have individuals who walk into our police departments in crisis. 96 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:18,380 On an almost daily basis, we have arrestees who are taken to our stations on a daily basis 97 00:12:18,380 --> 00:12:21,300 who are often suffering from a mental health crisis. 98 00:12:21,620 --> 00:12:26,420 We want to be able to address those issues with the right people in the right places at the 99 00:12:26,420 --> 00:12:27,000 right time. 100 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:40,020 And so that is an investment that we are making in public safety, but also how we deal with the challenges in a compassionate and constructive way that people are facing in our community. 101 00:12:40,780 --> 00:12:49,080 We are putting together a working group to explore a court, which would then take these social workers and actually deploy them on certain calls. 102 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:54,220 And so that is something that we are looking forward to exploring, again, with Albany County. 103 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:59,320 And we continue to invest in a police auxiliary program so that we have individuals. 104 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:07,400 We don't have to have sworn officers that are dealing with some of the issues and some of the events that happen across our city. 105 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:14,300 So we're looking to relieve our officers from those types of duties, our parades, our various events, 106 00:13:14,300 --> 00:13:20,900 of going into our parks, making sure things are safe and really focusing on police issues. 107 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:23,520 We're also investing in our workforce. 108 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:30,580 We have raised our living wage by nearly 5% to $18.37 an hour. 109 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:44,000 My administration is committed to ensuring that we lead, whether it's with respect to public 110 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:49,160 and care that we're investing in and that we're leading by paying people a living wage so 111 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,720 that they can provide for themselves and their families in an environment where we know 112 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,640 inflationary pressures are really challenging for many of our families. 113 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:06,040 And so this is a way for us to say we are leading and we want other employers across our city 114 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,540 to understand what it takes for families to be able to make it in our community. 115 00:14:10,540 --> 00:14:13,820 and for all of them to be paying a living wage to their employees. 116 00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:20,620 Our vacancy rate of our positions across the city has declined 29% year over year. 117 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,860 We were really struggling with a very high vacancy rate in our positions. 118 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,660 It's still too high, but we are moving in the right direction. 119 00:14:29,420 --> 00:14:34,040 And that's because of the investments that we're making in the people who help us run this city. 120 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:40,240 We have settled 12 of our 13 contracts with our bargaining units. 121 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,880 We've settled a police contract and a fire contract. 122 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:49,220 They are settled for the first time in recent memory through 2026. 123 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:57,120 So, we're really focused on ensuring that we are working with our workforce to meet the needs 124 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,880 and be able to ensure that we have... 125 00:14:59,880 --> 00:14:59,980 Bye! 126 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:09,320 Firefighters in the Firehouse Police Officers on our streets and a workforce, including our sanitation workers and all of our unionized workers, 127 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:28,360 fairly paid with settled contracts. And the contract has allowed us to look at our longevity issue. And in one of the things that we dealt with in the police contract was providing an increase in the longevity pay in a hope that more of our officers will stay beyond 20 years. 128 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:41,700 We do continue to struggle. I will say unequivocally. I do not anticipate in 2024 the city of Albany being able to get to full strength in the police department. 129 00:15:42,340 --> 00:15:55,220 I've stood here in past years with optimism and hope that we would be able to do that, but given the fact that only 118 people sat for the police civil service exam. 130 00:15:55,220 --> 00:16:02,400 And of those 40 of them, we're taking the test here, but have expressed a desire to work 131 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,240 in an apartment in another community. 132 00:16:04,660 --> 00:16:07,240 It's a very challenging environment for our police officers. 133 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:13,140 And we need to be doing all that we can to ensure that we are addressing that issue and 134 00:16:13,140 --> 00:16:17,740 that we are planning for it because it's not acceptable for us to say to someone we don't 135 00:16:17,740 --> 00:16:19,200 have a police officer to send. 136 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,260 We're investing in our neighborhoods, the new department of neighborhood services and I want 137 00:16:24,260 --> 00:16:28,680 thank the council members for their support of this, for the ideas that they brought to 138 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:34,420 the table. It's a better department because of your input and because we worked collaboratively 139 00:16:34,420 --> 00:16:42,360 together to reimagine how we could address neighborhood concerns. We've seen an 87% increase 140 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:48,800 improvement in our response times to see click fix. We've been able to provide $2 million of assistance 141 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:58,680 to new homeowners and for homeowners who need help with housing repairs to be able to stay in their homes and we're going to continue to invest in this model in 2024. 142 00:17:00,260 --> 00:17:01,620 We're investing in our infrastructure. 143 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,640 You know, this is another historic investment in our complete streets, 144 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:10,220 19 million dollars for streets and sidewalks. 145 00:17:10,300 --> 00:17:18,000 We are focused on ensuring that we're investing in speed reduction and in working to ensure that 146 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,560 that we are doing all that we can to keep pedestrian safe on our streets. 147 00:17:22,180 --> 00:17:27,760 And we are also doing additional pedestrian improvements, 4.5 million dollars. 148 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:35,840 We are also investing, I should say there's not a slide for it, but we're investing in the historic building. 149 00:17:36,340 --> 00:17:40,560 And it's a significant amount of funding that is needed to put a new roof on this building. 150 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:46,280 But this is one of the most historic structures, not just in the capital region, but in the country. 151 00:17:46,280 --> 00:18:06,380 It is an example of a time and an era when their public pride in buildings like City Halls was reflected in the construction of those places and spaces, and so it's incumbent upon us to make sure that we preserve it. 152 00:18:06,380 --> 00:18:11,360 We're investing in ensuring that we have a resource in place. 153 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:17,280 I've talked to a number of the council members about this, as you know, our city engineer recently moved on to DOT. 154 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:19,160 We'll be asking him for lots of money. 155 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,500 But it gives us an opportunity to really focus. 156 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:29,080 And I've heard this from a number of council members of looking at what other cities do, 157 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:35,460 where an engineering department sits as its own department and is at the service of the entire city. 158 00:18:35,460 --> 00:18:40,480 And so we are proposing to pull it out of the Department of General Services, 159 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,180 re-incorporate traffic engineering into that department, 160 00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:49,140 building and maintenance, looking at the buildings that we maintain and that we own, 161 00:18:49,420 --> 00:18:55,620 and really ensuring that we are doing all that we can to maximize that resource 162 00:18:55,620 --> 00:18:58,800 and the hard work of those in our engineering department. 163 00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:03,240 We are investing in world-class recreation facilities. 164 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,860 the Lincoln Park Pool, the West Hill Community Center, 165 00:19:06,300 --> 00:19:09,460 Hoffman Park, I'm going to be talking a little bit more about some of the investments that 166 00:19:09,460 --> 00:19:14,340 we're making there, but these are really critical investments that we're making and sending 167 00:19:14,340 --> 00:19:19,600 a message to communities that we're left behind and that didn't see this type of investment. 168 00:19:19,980 --> 00:19:26,680 The Lincoln Park Pool almost closed and so these are historic investments that are not only 169 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:31,300 going to set us on a pace to be able to have these world class facilities for our residents for 170 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:37,440 decades to come, but they're going to send a message to neighborhoods that were formally redlined 171 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:38,340 that yes. 172 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:42,880 It's not just investing millions of dollars in downtown, it's not just investing millions 173 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:50,620 of dollars out at the Western part of Albany, as we saw Nanotech go up and all of the investments 174 00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:55,280 that the state has been making, we're investing in their neighborhoods and that sends a very 175 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:55,980 powerful message. 176 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,080 And I think the council for their continued support of that. 177 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:06,420 We're also going to be investing because of grant money in continuing to invest in our 178 00:20:06,420 --> 00:20:07,920 incredibly, incredibly preserve. 179 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,340 We're looking at rehabilitating our tricentennial park. 180 00:20:11,540 --> 00:20:13,460 We're reimagining Madison Park. 181 00:20:13,660 --> 00:20:19,500 We know that we've had some public safety issues there and we think that we can make some investments there that will improve safety. 182 00:20:20,380 --> 00:20:24,340 We're looking at we're continuing to revitalize our playgrounds next year. 183 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:28,080 We'll be White Hall and the playground out at six mile waterworks, 184 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,980 which I see our commissioner of our water department here, 185 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,600 we sort of steward that facility together, 186 00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:38,000 but this is an investment that needs to be made. 187 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,100 And we continue to rehabilitate our spray pads. 188 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,320 You know, we are also continuing to invest in our youth. 189 00:20:44,740 --> 00:20:47,200 Our summer youth employment program has proven 190 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:48,720 to be incredibly effective. 191 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,260 We need to continue to invest in our youth. 192 00:20:51,420 --> 00:20:53,840 We need to continue to ensure that we're doing all 193 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,700 that we can to put our kids on a strong path 194 00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:59,900 to a bright and exciting future. 195 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:01,740 We want them to stay in our community 196 00:21:01,740 --> 00:21:03,460 invest and be successful here. 197 00:21:04,460 --> 00:21:07,440 We are also investing in our health. 198 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,500 We have incredible leadership in our fire department. 199 00:21:11,780 --> 00:21:14,900 I want to thank Joe Gregory for being here. 200 00:21:15,140 --> 00:21:19,060 But we have seen that in the city of Albany, unfortunately, 201 00:21:19,860 --> 00:21:24,140 we have the longest ER wait times anywhere in the state. 202 00:21:24,140 --> 00:21:34,820 And that is impacting ambulances that are going and sitting at the hospitals waiting to be able to get patients admitted. 203 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:47,580 It's driving up our costs, but we owe it to our residents to ensure that we can provide fast emergency services and continue to get people to the emergency room as quickly as possible. 204 00:21:47,580 --> 00:21:56,740 So, we are going to be investing in additional $600,000 to add ambulance services to address 205 00:21:56,740 --> 00:22:01,540 this issue of the continued long wait times at our ERs. 206 00:22:02,940 --> 00:22:05,200 We are investing in our future. 207 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:11,300 You know, Governor Hockel has said that we are the first generation to experience the impacts 208 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:15,540 of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it. 209 00:22:15,540 --> 00:22:24,780 And so we are doing our part to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but we need to do more and the 2024 budget recognizes that. 210 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,720 We are going to be purchasing a majority of our energy from renewable sources. 211 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,540 We're investing in EV chargers and electric station planning. 212 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,200 We're investing to convert our city fleet to all electric. 213 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:45,260 We're replacing more street lights, we're continuing to invest in DGS's composting program, 214 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:50,920 which has been incredibly successful for every million metric tons of organic waste that 215 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:58,840 we decompose, that's 469 metric tons of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that will not 216 00:22:58,840 --> 00:22:59,960 be released as methane. 217 00:23:00,300 --> 00:23:06,280 And so composting reduces those emissions and we need to ensure that we are doing our part. 218 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:11,720 We're investing $1.8 million over the next five years in our urban forestry program. 219 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:17,220 Again, thanks to an investment in federal dollars that we will be receiving for that. 220 00:23:18,260 --> 00:23:23,880 According to the Arbor Day Foundation, a mature tree will absorb almost 50 pounds of CO2 a year. 221 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:28,480 So not only do we need to invest in trees so that we can reduce the heat impact 222 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:34,080 from not having enough shade, but those trees also absorb carbon dioxide. 223 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:49,320 And we're partnering with the Radix Center to study the effects of tree cover on urban heat islands which will help us to know where we need to plant more trees and will also assist us in getting even more government funding to be able to do that. 224 00:23:49,960 --> 00:24:02,900 We are rewriting our climate action plan thanks to a grant that we expect to get to ensure that we're looking at what we can do to ensure that we're ready for the impacts of climate change. 225 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:05,980 And we need to, again, reduce emissions. 226 00:24:06,660 --> 00:24:08,920 Tailpipe emissions are a huge emitter. 227 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:14,280 As is gas, natural gas, those are the two biggest 228 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,540 emissions sources here in the city of Albany. 229 00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:19,980 So as we electrify our fleet, as we electrify our buildings 230 00:24:19,980 --> 00:24:22,680 and cars, we're reducing our gas emissions. 231 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,340 But it is going to take some significant investment. 232 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,280 And we will be walking through why that number is so big 233 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,900 over the next five years to build out the infrastructure 234 00:24:31,900 --> 00:24:40,760 or to do that. So, you know, we are very good at securing other resources to help to offset 235 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:48,120 the cost of this. And that is due in no small part to the hard work of those who lead our 236 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:55,460 departments. In order to access this funding, we have to have plans. Those plans take a significant 237 00:24:55,460 --> 00:25:01,020 amount of work to create. They take a lot of dedication on the part of our workforce. And 238 00:25:01,020 --> 00:25:07,060 Because they are so good at what they do, we are good at getting funding to help us to achieve these goals. 239 00:25:07,820 --> 00:25:16,460 So we are looking at $11.3 million that we're receiving for our roadways, 3.9 million for infrastructure and recreation facility. 240 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:18,680 I mean, you can see these numbers up here. 241 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:28,700 These are numbers that are really helping us to be able to deliver on these world-class investments for our city and for our community. 242 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:35,380 We've also invested a significant amount of money in our, of our, of our, our, our American 243 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:38,020 Rescue Plan funding in transformative projects. 244 00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:42,820 And so for those of you who want to know, how is that money been spent so far? 245 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,260 $8 million is out the door of the $25 million that's been granted. 246 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:55,510 We have seen a million dollars plus go to our small businesses, many of them, minority and 247 00:25:56,430 --> 00:26:00,170 We've prevented 70 and this is plus because this is an old number. 248 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:03,430 I think we just prevented an eviction yesterday. 249 00:26:04,310 --> 00:26:06,370 But we've prevented 70 evictions. 250 00:26:06,810 --> 00:26:08,530 We've replaced lead services. 251 00:26:09,090 --> 00:26:13,190 We've created 88 affordable units of housing. 252 00:26:13,710 --> 00:26:15,110 Six new affordable homes. 253 00:26:15,310 --> 00:26:16,090 We're going to build 100. 254 00:26:16,710 --> 00:26:19,070 But six of them are already built and occupied. 255 00:26:19,070 --> 00:26:32,950 We have supported over 200 residents through to help navigate accessing food and security issues, financial issues, helping to figure out how to get their kids registered for school. 256 00:26:33,450 --> 00:26:41,050 Lots of challenges that families just need that extra help, 220 plus people have received those services so far. 257 00:26:41,050 --> 00:26:57,810 We've helped acquire 3,000 square feet for a new LGBTQI and BIPOC service delivery facility that is going to be run by in our own voices, and we've purchased a 23,000 square foot building that is going to be the future home of the West Hill Community Center. 258 00:26:59,410 --> 00:27:01,450 We're renovating Hoffman Park. 259 00:27:02,250 --> 00:27:08,230 We're going to be providing additional homes for our partnership with Habitat for Humanity, 260 00:27:08,530 --> 00:27:13,110 as well as the Albany Land Trust and the Albany Housing Alliance. 261 00:27:13,590 --> 00:27:17,250 The Clinton Market Collective, anybody who's been driving up or down Clinton Avenue, 262 00:27:18,170 --> 00:27:22,350 is having challenges, but that's good because it means that new infrastructure is going in. 263 00:27:22,450 --> 00:27:25,030 We're very excited about seeing that open. 264 00:27:25,030 --> 00:27:31,430 We're going to be installing wayfinding downtown to make people feel safer understand where 265 00:27:31,430 --> 00:27:36,590 our amazing attractions are and how to get there safely and we're going to be doing a second 266 00:27:36,590 --> 00:27:42,830 round of small business grants. So these dollars are being invested. They're having an impact. 267 00:27:43,910 --> 00:27:49,970 I had a woman stop me yesterday to tell me about a grant that we provided to her and her small 268 00:27:49,970 --> 00:27:53,850 business and she was so grateful for that grant. 269 00:27:54,110 --> 00:27:58,770 It made the difference between her being able to start a small business or not. 270 00:27:59,070 --> 00:28:01,530 We just opened a new coffee shop on Pearl Street. 271 00:28:01,750 --> 00:28:05,910 Again, in minority owned business by somebody who didn't think that they would necessarily 272 00:28:05,910 --> 00:28:08,290 be able to open this business. 273 00:28:08,390 --> 00:28:13,630 They had had a dream to open it for many years in Albany and with help from our 274 00:28:13,630 --> 00:28:16,010 are befunding they were able to fulfill that dream. 275 00:28:16,450 --> 00:28:17,750 So very exciting times. 276 00:28:19,850 --> 00:28:22,430 So President Biden often tells the story 277 00:28:22,430 --> 00:28:23,650 of his father's expression. 278 00:28:24,610 --> 00:28:27,150 Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, 279 00:28:27,270 --> 00:28:28,610 and I'll tell you what you value. 280 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:31,790 And I believe that this budget sends a clear message 281 00:28:31,790 --> 00:28:36,230 to the residents of the city of Albany that we value them 282 00:28:36,230 --> 00:28:39,670 and that in order to ensure that we are doing 283 00:28:39,670 --> 00:28:42,310 the best that we can for those who live here, 284 00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:45,290 we're making historic investments in public safety, 285 00:28:45,710 --> 00:28:49,430 in mental health services, in world-class recreational facilities, 286 00:28:49,930 --> 00:28:52,570 in our parks, in our streets, our sidewalks, 287 00:28:52,650 --> 00:28:55,830 walkability, sustainability, our city workforce. 288 00:28:56,390 --> 00:28:58,570 When we look at these facilities that we are building 289 00:28:58,570 --> 00:29:01,190 at both Hoffman Park and at West Hill, 290 00:29:01,570 --> 00:29:04,070 we have a significant focus on our seniors 291 00:29:04,070 --> 00:29:07,030 and ensuring that we are addressing the needs of our seniors 292 00:29:07,030 --> 00:29:11,230 to have safe places to go and to have an engage in community. 293 00:29:11,230 --> 00:29:18,070 And so this is a budget for our future and for our residents and our city workforce. 294 00:29:18,430 --> 00:29:22,930 I want to thank Gideon Grant, our budget director and his team, Catherine and Joel. 295 00:29:23,310 --> 00:29:29,330 I want to thank our new Commissioner of Administrative Services, Anne Marie Samman, who didn't miss a beat 296 00:29:29,330 --> 00:29:34,210 and helped to put together this incredible budget took a lot of hard work. 297 00:29:34,590 --> 00:29:39,750 And they've created a document that I think clearly reflects what we value as a city. 298 00:29:39,750 --> 00:29:42,830 I don't think that we've ever had a brighter outlook. 299 00:29:43,050 --> 00:29:47,150 Notwithstanding the challenges that we're facing, notwithstanding the struggles that people 300 00:29:47,150 --> 00:29:52,790 are still experiencing as we come back from COVID, but that is the time for us to roll up 301 00:29:52,790 --> 00:29:58,710 our sleeves, ensure that we are looking through compassionate eyes at those who are struggling 302 00:29:58,710 --> 00:29:59,970 and coming up with... 303 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:09,140 Real solutions for how to help them both using the funding that is available to us as a city, but also with our partners. 304 00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:28,120 And when I look at how closely we work with our partners at the state level and at the county level, I think we're a model for the country, because we get things done and we solve problems and we continue to work together and it wouldn't happen without the incredible hard work of everyone in this room. 305 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:33,280 I want to also remind us that we didn't get here overnight. 306 00:30:34,340 --> 00:30:40,480 We do face some headwinds and so we have to ensure that we are fiscally responsible and 307 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:46,120 that we hold the line on spending and that we do things that are going to make sure that 308 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:52,340 we're able to continue to sustain these initiatives going forward, but we've been able to 309 00:30:52,340 --> 00:30:58,960 get through a lot before and when I came into office, we faced some really serious challenges. 310 00:30:59,220 --> 00:31:02,280 We've been able to slowly build a fund balance. 311 00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:03,460 It's still too small. 312 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,840 The state controller still doesn't like the size of it, but we're getting there. 313 00:31:08,180 --> 00:31:13,340 And so I think that together with the way that we've demonstrated how we've addressed 314 00:31:13,340 --> 00:31:18,420 the American Rescue Plan with the bipartisan Infrastructure Act funding that is available, 315 00:31:18,660 --> 00:31:21,300 the funding that's available under the Inflation Reduction Act, 316 00:31:21,300 --> 00:31:26,240 the historic pieces of legislation that are helping to keep our police officers and firefighters 317 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:33,780 on the streets and allow us to tackle climate change that we will continue to stay on a path 318 00:31:33,780 --> 00:31:39,780 of growth and investment for our cities. And so I look forward to working with our residents 319 00:31:39,780 --> 00:31:45,700 and the members of the Albany Common Council to approve this budget and to continue to move our 320 00:31:46,300 --> 00:31:53,560 I want to direct your attention, though, to this is just a small example when you talk about what we value. 321 00:31:54,240 --> 00:32:01,560 There was a letter to the editor that was in the paper, I believe it was yesterday, from an employee of our Department of General Services, 322 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:08,560 who was a sanitation worker, who was somebody who was formally incarcerated, and who talked about the importance of giving people a second chance. 323 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,420 and who expressed gratitude for the second chance that he was given. 324 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:19,500 And the fact that he is able to have a job with benefits that sustains him, 325 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,220 that allows him to get his life back on track. 326 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,780 And I want to thank the Commissioner of our Department of General Services. 327 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,780 You know, Sergio Pinozio was at the front of the line 328 00:32:30,780 --> 00:32:33,220 when we talked about giving people a second chance. 329 00:32:33,620 --> 00:32:36,200 And it can present challenges, but that's what we do. 330 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:42,380 that's what we do. We lead by example. So when we ask the broader community to do certain 331 00:32:42,380 --> 00:32:47,500 things, we start by doing it ourselves. So I could not stand here and would not be standing 332 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:52,620 here. If it were not for the hard work of our directors and commissioners, some of whom 333 00:32:52,620 --> 00:32:58,300 are in the room, some of whom I'm sure are watching the livestream, some of whom are in very 334 00:32:58,300 --> 00:33:02,020 important meetings, helping to get us more money. But I want to give you a round of applause 335 00:33:02,020 --> 00:33:03,480 and thank you for all of your hard work. 336 00:33:10,970 --> 00:33:13,490 So all of you for all powered by pride and potential, 337 00:33:14,130 --> 00:33:18,130 I am happy to take questions from the media. 338 00:33:33,550 --> 00:33:37,730 So we are, first of all, the entire city fleet is pretty ambitious. 339 00:33:37,970 --> 00:33:41,690 There are certain vehicles for which there is not an electric option. 340 00:33:42,350 --> 00:33:47,350 But we are looking at $11 million over the course of five years 341 00:33:47,350 --> 00:33:51,650 to build out the infrastructure that would be needed to support 342 00:33:51,650 --> 00:33:57,670 that fleet because it's not just buying the vehicles and in fact there are funding sources 343 00:33:57,670 --> 00:34:04,950 for buying vehicles that we've been successful in being able to tap into but it's also 344 00:34:04,950 --> 00:34:10,210 the infrastructure that will be needed throughout the city to be able to charge those vehicles 345 00:34:10,210 --> 00:34:11,490 going forward. 346 00:34:15,290 --> 00:34:19,910 Okay thank you. You mentioned when it comes to recruitment for police 347 00:34:19,910 --> 00:34:24,710 and you mentioned some numbers there as well. What needs the change to be able to kind of 348 00:34:24,710 --> 00:34:28,290 change this trend, if you will, and this section for you. 349 00:34:28,810 --> 00:34:32,570 You know, I think that we have to be really clear about the job. 350 00:34:33,190 --> 00:34:40,010 And I think for, you know, when you look at, you know, what has happened across the industry, 351 00:34:40,250 --> 00:34:41,490 we are not the only ones. 352 00:34:41,970 --> 00:34:46,190 You know, there are communities that are disbanding their police departments and having their 353 00:34:46,190 --> 00:34:50,650 counties come in to provide policing in their communities because they can't find police 354 00:34:50,650 --> 00:34:51,050 officers. 355 00:34:51,050 --> 00:35:11,670 So one of the things that we are doing with this budget is we are working really hard to ensure that we're providing a clear path for police officers or people who want to be police officers to see what that career trajectory looks like and what our expectations are of our officers. 356 00:35:11,670 --> 00:35:35,670 And I think we still have the reaction when we see social challenges, when we see the failures of our healthcare system, or our education system, or our mental health system that result in impacts on quality of life that we immediately look to the police to solve that. 357 00:35:35,670 --> 00:35:42,850 And I think for those who are thinking about entering that career, that's a real challenge. 358 00:35:43,850 --> 00:35:48,870 So I think the more that we can do to ensure that we're providing the supports that are needed, 359 00:35:49,290 --> 00:35:54,910 and bringing on the professionals that are needed to fill those roles, we can make it more clear 360 00:35:54,910 --> 00:35:57,030 of what we expect of our police officers. 361 00:35:57,790 --> 00:36:03,070 And that has to come from the community, and that's what our policing reform collaborative was all about. 362 00:36:03,070 --> 00:36:10,690 We have the playbook, and we have to continue to execute on that playbook so that we can ensure 363 00:36:10,690 --> 00:36:14,930 that this is a career path that people can look to and understand. 364 00:36:15,330 --> 00:36:17,590 We also think that our auxiliary program will help. 365 00:36:18,190 --> 00:36:29,270 We also believe that in looking at the contracts that we've made some real progress in ensuring 366 00:36:29,270 --> 00:36:32,010 that we're making this an attractive career choice. 367 00:36:32,010 --> 00:36:38,850 When we ask individuals to put their lives on the line, we have to demonstrate in our budget that that's something that we value. 368 00:36:40,410 --> 00:36:45,810 And being able to, we've now settled two contracts with the police union. 369 00:36:46,590 --> 00:36:51,730 In very short order, we were able to settle a contract that went back to, I think, 2014. 370 00:36:52,710 --> 00:36:55,590 And then we were able to settle a contract going forward. 371 00:36:55,590 --> 00:37:02,870 And so, I think that those are positives that will help to increase the interest in our 372 00:37:02,870 --> 00:37:03,350 in policing. 373 00:37:03,510 --> 00:37:04,530 But we have to rethink policing. 374 00:37:04,690 --> 00:37:10,870 We have to really rethink what it is that we expect of our police officers and who we 375 00:37:10,870 --> 00:37:14,890 send and what we do, that's why this street treatment program is so important. 376 00:37:15,570 --> 00:37:19,790 Why are we waiting for somebody to call 911 because somebody's in crisis? 377 00:37:19,790 --> 00:37:26,330 We should have a street treatment team who's out there who knows that a particular individual 378 00:37:26,330 --> 00:37:31,990 is no longer taking their meds and they need to be reconnected with health services in order 379 00:37:31,990 --> 00:37:33,630 to be able to address that issue. 380 00:37:34,150 --> 00:37:39,590 We should know before that crisis occurs and that's what we're looking to do with the street 381 00:37:39,590 --> 00:37:40,550 treatment program. 382 00:37:48,470 --> 00:37:51,850 Yes, I actually glossed over that and I should not have. 383 00:37:51,850 --> 00:38:01,530 So, we have received another grant that allows us to expand our summer youth employment program to be more of a year around program. 384 00:38:02,030 --> 00:38:08,450 So, really focused on engaging young people in work opportunities during the school year. 385 00:38:09,010 --> 00:38:13,870 So, we have applications out now for that program. We're really excited about it. 386 00:38:13,950 --> 00:38:20,610 We were able to do it last year for a pretty small pool of people. We have $600,000, which is an increase. 387 00:38:20,610 --> 00:38:27,290 And so I think the nice thing about that funding source is the more successful we are, the more money we get. 388 00:38:28,190 --> 00:38:36,290 So we're really looking forward to that. We are always looking for employers who are willing to take on a young person, 389 00:38:36,830 --> 00:38:42,910 to really mentor them, have them see what if they're interested in a particular career path, what that career looks like, 390 00:38:43,230 --> 00:38:45,250 and be able to take advantage of that opportunity. 391 00:38:48,980 --> 00:38:53,260 You mentioned the ARPA funding, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the eight million that's 392 00:38:53,260 --> 00:38:58,320 Benzfent, the 2024, I guess, deadline to get that money out the door. 393 00:38:58,620 --> 00:39:01,080 It's another 25 million. 394 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,980 How much of a sense of urgency is there to make sure you can use that money before it 395 00:39:04,980 --> 00:39:05,800 maybe gets pulled back? 396 00:39:06,020 --> 00:39:07,260 There's a real sense of urgency. 397 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:11,960 We are working with the recipients to make sure that that money gets out the door. 398 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:18,700 Some of the recipients, we think we're going to have a lot of money that's going to go out the door relatively quickly, 399 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:25,180 but especially where there are capital improvements that we're part of that funding grant. 400 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:32,040 You know, those take longer being able to identify, for example, in our own voices moved very quickly. 401 00:39:32,620 --> 00:39:37,100 We're pleased that they were able to identify a location and purchase that location. 402 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,040 Some of the other funding is a little bit longer term. 403 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,280 it has to be allocated by the end of next year, 404 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:45,980 which means they have to have contracts, 405 00:39:46,820 --> 00:39:48,420 and then they have to have it all spent 406 00:39:48,420 --> 00:39:50,640 by the end of 2020, six. 407 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:05,060 So this budget includes an increase 408 00:40:05,060 --> 00:40:07,740 because the police department budget went up. 409 00:40:08,220 --> 00:40:10,800 So it's the Statutorily under local law J, 410 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:12,900 which was pass fire voters. 411 00:40:12,940 --> 00:40:15,960 It calls for mandates that I provide 412 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:19,800 1% of the police department budget for the CPRB. 413 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:27,340 Last year, they asked for a one-time increase in that to pay a consultant, which the council provided. 414 00:40:28,700 --> 00:40:41,900 But it was clear at that time, at least to me, and we'll have conversations with the council about it, that that was a one-time amount of money that was needed to deal with the consulting firm that they were working with. 415 00:40:41,900 --> 00:40:51,860 And so I have not received a written budget request from the CPRB at all in advance of releasing 416 00:40:51,860 --> 00:40:52,460 this budget. 417 00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:57,500 So at this point we're at the 1% statutory amount. 418 00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:03,860 I can say that it's 35% higher than what they spent in 2022. 419 00:41:03,860 --> 00:41:21,100 And right now, based on how much the CPRB has spent, they're at less than half of what was allocated to them in the 2023 budget, and you know, we are at the beginning of October. 420 00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:22,060 So, 421 00:41:31,900 --> 00:41:39,480 the Police Department does have a social worker who works at the Police Department as part 422 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:40,760 of our give grant. 423 00:41:41,420 --> 00:41:47,620 There is a social service component to that, where there is a resource available at the 424 00:41:47,620 --> 00:41:56,260 Police Department to help connect individuals with services, with housing, and so we would 425 00:41:56,260 --> 00:42:03,260 anticipate that that individual would oversee, but there is a supervisory position that is part 426 00:42:03,260 --> 00:42:04,880 of the budget to oversee that. 427 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:11,380 I try to be really careful because the county has a Department of Mental Health and Dr. 428 00:42:11,420 --> 00:42:13,740 Dr. Dr. Dr. Drodano does an amazing job. 429 00:42:14,140 --> 00:42:19,800 The fact that they did a pilot program, a street pilot, and really went out to see what was 430 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:26,500 happening in the community is an example that I think counties across the state should look 431 00:42:27,380 --> 00:42:27,820 to. 432 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,500 And I'm hearing that there are some counties that are doing that. 433 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:32,420 I just heard that Anadaga County is doing that. 434 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:33,420 So that's great. 435 00:42:35,300 --> 00:42:40,020 But, you know, so I try to be very careful about what we manage because we don't have a department 436 00:42:40,020 --> 00:42:40,860 of social services. 437 00:42:40,860 --> 00:42:41,960 It's not what we do. 438 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:53,760 But, in this instance, we believe that we see enough crisis happening and issues and trauma 439 00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:59,640 happening in our police stations that it warrants having a social worker that is there. 440 00:42:59,940 --> 00:43:07,620 Again, it frees up police officers' time, they provide and have a background and experience 441 00:43:07,620 --> 00:43:13,520 to be able to not just de-escalate our police officers do a really good job of de-escalating, 442 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:20,520 but then what? Because then we need to be able to get people connected to the treatment that they need. 443 00:43:26,090 --> 00:43:31,270 The 600,000 for the ambulance for the wait times. How will that address this issue? Obviously, 444 00:43:31,270 --> 00:43:35,470 it's a much bigger issue than that, but what will that do? How will alleviate some of the issue there? 445 00:43:35,470 --> 00:43:44,130 I mean, historically, the ambulance service contract that the city has with Mohawk ambulance 446 00:43:45,140 --> 00:43:53,250 has been able to be self-sustaining, so they're able to bill for their services and so it 447 00:43:53,250 --> 00:44:00,010 has not been at a cost to the city, because those wait times have grown exponentially. 448 00:44:01,090 --> 00:44:03,170 They can no longer do that. 449 00:44:03,170 --> 00:44:10,190 We have a high population of people who need to be transported for whom there is no reimbursement 450 00:44:10,190 --> 00:44:10,590 stream. 451 00:44:11,290 --> 00:44:19,450 And they need to add additional personnel and additional apparatus because we've looked at 452 00:44:19,450 --> 00:44:25,670 the calls, we've looked at where we're dispatching and how often we're dispatching. 453 00:44:26,690 --> 00:44:29,190 And those wait times are just unacceptably too long. 454 00:44:29,190 --> 00:44:35,510 And so, they have to add apparatus and people for which their reimbursement is not going to cover, 455 00:44:35,810 --> 00:44:37,930 and so the city of Albany is putting that bill. 456 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:42,580 Thank you very much.