Saratoga Springs City officials on Tuesday reviewed the accounts and finance portion of the 2026 comprehensive budget, warning of sharply rising costs for salaries, retirement and liability insurance while describing several near-term revenue options including a short-term rental registry and fee increases.

The finance presentation, delivered as part of the city's third budget workshop, said retirement costs in the general fund rose from about $4.4 million in 2022 to an estimated $8.27 million in 2026, health insurance projections rose from roughly $7.8 million in 2022 to nearly $10 million in 2026, and liability insurance is estimated to climb from about $834,000 in 2022 to $2.4 million in 2026. Presenters also highlighted a 17% projected increase in debt service and gave an example of a capital cost that rose from $180,000 to $587,000 between 2019 and 2025.

The presentation said that, under the comprehensive budget, revenues are expected to come about 30% from property tax and about 38% from non-property sources (sales tax, mortgage tax, some state and federal aid, and fees), while roughly 60% of expenses go to public safety. The accounts division's proposed comprehensive budget increased from about $1.32 million in 2022 to $1.92 million for 2026; managers said that increase reflects staffing and contractual obligations and that one administrative position was defunded to help balance the department's numbers.

Why it matters: officials said some line items have grown at rates far above typical inflation, creating pressure to either raise revenue or make cuts. Presenters called the comprehensive budget the administration's most conservative estimate and said the amended budget (developed later) will be the vehicle for changes if new revenues materialize.

Revenue options and short-term rentals: the finance commissioner described a package of revenue options intended to help close the gap without unduly increasing the tax burden. Recommendations included a 2% property tax increase included in the comprehensive budget (estimated at about $14 a year for a home assessed at $100,000), a review and likely increase of special-event fees and outdoor dining fees, reassessing parking permit timings and paid parking fees, and reviewing concession and lease fees for city property.

The finance presentation also focused on short-term rentals (STRs). Commissioner Moran said the city's monitoring dashboard currently identifies roughly 1,099 distinct short-term rental addresses and about 1,600 total listings across platforms; he and staff extrapolated a likely supply in the range of about 1,200 units. Under the local STR law passed earlier this year, any property listed for rent must be licensed, and the city's conservative revenue estimates for licensing and associated compliance work range widely depending on compliance rates.

Estimates provided to the commission included: registration fees generating roughly $500,000 to $700,000 annually under a conservative compliance assumption; fire-inspection-related revenue of about $250,000; and a sales-tax attribution to STR activity of roughly $600,000 to $900,000 if the incremental short-term rental market is in the $40 million to $60 million range. Commissioner Moran said combining bed-tax, registration and other fee changes could yield new revenue in a wider scenario between about $2.1 million and $2.8 million above what the initial comprehensive budget showed — but he and the finance staff repeatedly stressed those are estimates and urged conservative budgeting until receipts are verified.

County/bed-tax caveat: commissioners cautioned that some potential revenue is contingent on county and state processes. Presenters said the governor recently signed language allowing collection of occupancy tax from short-term rentals; the city has not yet budgeted that revenue because timing and county distribution mechanics were not fully codified at the time of the comprehensive budget. Commissioners warned there is no binding county agreement guaranteeing a pro rata share back to the city and recommended treating county-related estimates as uncertain until written terms are available.

Department cuts and priorities: the accounts/finance presentation listed several reductions in the comprehensive budget across departments, including lowered overtime and training budgets, reduced risk and safety funding for accounts (risk and safety was budgeted at $60,000 in the comp budget after lower-than-budgeted use in prior years), the defunding of an executive assistant position, reductions to participatory budgeting funding, and decreased contingency and utilities lines. Finance staff said contractual obligations limit flexible savings and that roughly 88% of some budgets are fixed costs.

Process and next steps: presenters said the comprehensive budget will be posted for public hearings and later amended once more revenue data — including later sales-tax and STR receipts — are available. Commissioner Moran said he plans to place an item on a future agenda to hold a local public hearing about collecting occupancy tax tied to short-term rentals and that the city will not budget county revenue sharing until terms are clear.

Public-safety and special events: officials also discussed the cost of public-safety overtime tied to the city's growing calendar of large events. Department leaders asked commissioners to consider event-related surcharges or higher special-event fees for moving events, state-road closures and gatherings above 5,000 people, and noted that overtime for some large events (for example a half marathon) can require many officers on overtime.

Votes at a glance: the only formal vote recorded in the workshop was the procedural motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion passed 5-0.

What was not decided: commissioners did not adopt any changes to the adopted or amended budget at the workshop; all revenue estimates for short-term rentals and county bed-tax distributions were presented as preliminary and contingent on future verification.

Ending note: finance staff asked departments to continue reviewing fees and to centralize purchasing where possible; commissioners emphasized a conservative approach to amending the budget until additional revenue is received and verified.