Binghamton council approves a slate of 2025 budget transfers, authorizes HUD agreements amid federal shutdown

The Binghamton City Council approved several amendments to the 2025 capital and departmental budgets and authorized federal housing-and-urban-development grants during its Oct. 8 business meeting.

Council members voted unanimously, 5-0, to adopt a series of introductory ordinances that move money between capital and departmental lines to cover equipment and vehicle purchases and facility repairs. The council also approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign agreements for approximately $700,000 in FY2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Councilors spent the most time debating whether some of the capital transfers should be treated as proceeds from borrowed funds (bond or BAN proceeds) and therefore subject to state comptroller rules governing allowable uses and useful-life accounting. Several council members said they wanted legal and comptroller confirmation before moving funds that might have come from borrowing. Council member Kavanaugh, who led the finance committee items, said he was comfortable voting but pledged to follow up with the comptroller. "I am comfortable, but I will also follow-up with the comptroller," Kavanaugh said during the meeting.

Public comment ahead of the votes raised related concerns about capital transfers and the aesthetics of a state pilot housing product. A resident who identified herself as a neighborhood property owner said the city’s capital budget transfers merited scrutiny and warned that certain modular housing units—described in public comment as a pilot product—“would not be happy with the placement” in some…