Cuts to Syracuse, NY, Budget Eliminates Overtime for Training, Community Events

Syracuse, N.Y. — Fewer cops in Downtown and Armory Square. Less money for road salt in a notoriously snowy city. A pool closed for two summer months.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh outlined on Wednesday how city departments will scale down, or entirely cut, some services starting next month.

The nine members of the Common Council banded together to unanimously override Walsh’s proposed budget. They said city spending needed to be brought closer to revenues, and thus imposed millions of dollars in spending cuts.

Walsh had proposed raising property taxes by 2% and taking $27.1 million from city reserves. The council’s adopted budget keeps property taxes flat, uses $14.4 million in reserves and slashes more than $16 million in spending.

No city employees will be laid off, according to City Hall spokesperson Sol Muñoz. Several existing and new positions that were vacant were cut.

City department heads said they were blindsided and upset by the council’s cuts. Some councilors said the budget could be adjusted later in the year if departments run low on money.

Some changes will be noticeable sooner than others.

A number of specialized police details will be reduced or cut entirely, Walsh said, including at parks and pools, neighborhood watch meetings and the Clinton Square ice rink.

The detail in Armory Square will be cut by about 33%, according to Kieran Coffey, a police department spokesperson. A proactive detail in downtown will be reduced by about 25%, he said.

Several partnerships between the police department and outside organizations are being reduced, Walsh said. They include Liberty Resources, which sends mental health workers on 911 calls with people in crisis; and InterFaith Works, which hosts conversations to improve police-community relations.

The fire department’s overtime budget was cut by $1 million. Firefighters will now only use overtime when responding to 911 calls, Walsh said, instead of installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, doing code enforcement after hours, getting specialized training and other tasks.

Residents in the Valley neighborhood will have to travel farther to cool off this summer. The Valley Pool at 4942 S. Salina St. will close in July and August, Walsh said.

Summer festivals and other events could be impacted by the cuts. Eliminating positions for plumbers, electricians and carpenters increases the chances that the city can’t meet the needs of event organizers, Walsh said.

Construction activity in the city, which reached a record level last year, could slow. A program to have third-party reviewers speed up the permitting process was cut.

The impact from some budget changes could take longer to appear.

Maintenance will be deferred for fire stations, city vehicles and other equipment, Walsh said. The grass will be mowed less often.

The amount of money budgeted for road salt was reduced by 21%. The public works department may need to cut staff if the city, which won the Golden Snowball this year, has a snowy winter and the salt money runs out.

Cuts to the budget for disposing trash and debris from street sweepers could also lead to staffing cuts, Walsh said.

A 20% reduction in staffing for street repairs could lead to bumpier city streets.

The police department’s cadet program was eliminated. The one-year program gets young people on the path to becoming a police officer at a time when it’s becoming harder to recruit officers.

ShotSpotter, a system to alert police officers to gunfire in some neighborhoods, also was eliminated.

Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at [email protected] or @mossjon7.