Oneonta officials outline $17M budget proposal for 2022

Oct. 20—The Oneonta Common Council held a special meeting Tuesday, Oct. 19, to hear a presentation by city personnel on the preliminary 2022 general fund budget.

Oneonta Director of Finance Virginia Lee, Deputy Director of Finance Joe Temming and City Administrator Greg Mattice outlined the expected revenues and expenditures for the general fund.

"This is the preliminary budget," Mattice said. "We want the council's feedback on the expenditures. We will make any changes needed based on your feedback."

Lee said when all of the wishes from the different departments were added to the budget, it was more than $20 million, but "we took $3.2 million out of the budget," and the preliminary general fund budget is about $17 million.

She said the city is expected to receive $5 million in sales tax revenue by the end of the year, and revenue from ambulance calls is also up this year. The city also received $257,500 from the sale of the Dietz Street parking lot, she said.

In addition to the revenues listed, Lee said the city saved $874,107 in personnel expenditures by not filling positions in various departments, including vacancies in the police department.

Two of the biggest aspects of the budget are wages and benefits, which make up 68.7%, and supplies, which make up 18% of the total general fund budget, she said.

Police officers and firefighters make up a majority of the city personnel, she said.

She said the 2022 budget plan allows for the temporary hire of three firefighters and one police sergeant, positions that will become permanent when others retire.

She said the city expects to use $1.1 million from its unrestricted fund balance to close a budget gap the city is anticipating from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Gary Herzig cautioned against using the fund balance to help fund the budget. He said when he was first elected, the city was using its fund balance to help balance the budget and was running out of money.

He said when Dick Miller was mayor, the Common Council cut spending and made sure the fund balance was only used for big purchases if needed.

Lee said she agreed, but added that using it this year would let the city catch up on budget shortfalls from the pandemic. She said she didn't anticipate using any fund balance in the 2023 budget.

Oneonta received $1.4 million from the federal American Rescue Plan, Lee said. Oneonta will receive $714,000 this year and next year and the money must be spent on projects by 2026, she said.

The money can be used to fund a variety of projects, and Mattice outlined several park improvements at Neahwa and Wilber parks that could be financed with the the federal funds in the coming year. He said they would use the second $714,000 to help fund the water main replacement on River Street.

Council Member Kaytee Lipari Shue, Fourth Ward, asked if the council would final say on where they money would be spent and asked if the city could look into helping people who were the hardest hit during the pandemic.

Herzig said he supported investing in the parks the first year and investing in infrastructure the second year.

Lee said she had to let the federal government know by the end of December what the city intends to do with the funds.

The council will hold future budget meetings to discuss the 2022 sewer and water budgets, before the budget is approved next month.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.