BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Mayor Michael Tooley said he wants Ogdensburg to continue reducing its property tax levy as the city begins preparing its 2027 budget, though officials acknowledged that rising costs and limited revenue growth could make that goal challenging.

Tooley said he would like the city to stay on track with its five-year financial plan to reduce the levy by $117,000 annually, noting that the city has successfully met that target during the first two years of the plan.

"I'd like to see if we can stay the course in the five-year plan to reduce the levy by $117,000 a year," Tooley said during a City Council discussion on the upcoming budget.

However, Tooley said he believes another goal outlined in the city's financial plan — eliminating the use of fund balance to balance the general fund budget by 2027 — may be more difficult to achieve.

"The goal of getting to a truly balanced general fund budget in three years, I always thought was a bit aggressive," Tooley said.

City Manager Fonda Chronis brought the 2027 budget timeline before council, telling members that the process will begin Friday when budget instructions are sent to department heads.

Chronis said departments will be asked to prepare a "current services" budget showing what it will cost to maintain existing levels of service. They will also be asked to identify potential service enhancements and the costs associated with those requests.

"It's a pretty simple philosophical process, never simple to actually do," Chronis said.

Department heads will have about a month to complete their submissions before meeting with Chronis and the city comptroller in late August and early September. The administration will then begin reviewing requests and determining what can be included within available funding.

Under the tentative schedule, council members will receive the recommended budget Oct. 8, followed by a public budget presentation Oct. 13.

The council is expected to consider adopting a preliminary budget by Oct. 26, with a public hearing tentatively planned for Nov. 9. The city must adopt its final budget by Dec. 1.

Chronis said budget workshops will likely be scheduled in mid-to-late October, allowing department heads to explain their requests and giving council members an opportunity to ask questions.

He encouraged council members to focus on broader spending priorities rather than reviewing the budget line by line.

"We look for big themes and big areas where we can either cut or enhance depending on the wishes of council," Chronis said.

The discussion also focused on the city's use of fund balance.

The current budget includes $270,000 in fund balance to help balance the general fund. Under the city's previous financial plan, 2027 was expected to be the first year the city would not use fund balance for that purpose.

Removing that $270,000 appropriation would require the city to find additional revenue, make spending cuts or use a combination of both.

Chronis said the city faces several financial pressures heading into the budget process, including flat sales tax revenue since the county's sales tax distribution changes in 2022, increased retirement costs and an anticipated 19.8% increase in healthcare expenses.

"We can't really rely on the sales tax to grow by leaps and bounds to cover our costs," Chronis said.

Tooley said he supports continuing efforts to reduce the amount of fund balance used in the budget, but he does not believe the city should be locked into eliminating it entirely if financial conditions do not allow it.

"I'd like to see us make progress in reducing the amount of applied fund balance," Tooley said. "But for me personally, I'm not wedded to zero depending on how the submissions are going to department heads and where revenue projections fall."

No action was taken during the discussion. Council members will continue reviewing budget priorities as the city moves toward its fall budget workshops and preparation of the 2027 spending plan.

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