The Schenectady City Finance Committee recessed its final budget discussion and set a follow-up meeting for Monday at 7 p.m. after members said questions remained and more information was needed.

Committee members said they could not proceed without answers to outstanding questions and requested written recommendations and clarifications from staff. "Based on the questions still not answered, I don't think we can proceed," the Finance Committee Chair said, calling for the recess and asking to set the next meeting for Monday at 7 p.m.

The committee emphasized preparing for a long session at the follow-up meeting. One member asked colleagues to prepare written recommendations or notes in advance so the meeting could be productive. "Please provide your recommendation and have it in writing or make notes of your recommendations so that when we meet next Monday, it will be a long meeting next Monday," a committee member said.

Members asked staff and colleagues to run conditional or "if-then" scenarios if final data are delayed. A member offered to produce recommendation graphs tied to different information outcomes and asked to be copied on follow-up emails. "What I could do is, like, take some do some if this, then that scenarios... If that's you think that that would be helpful, then I'd be willing to do that as well," a speaker identified in the transcript said.

Committee members also asked for two specific clarifications to support decisions: the municipality's fund balance policy and an explanation of the process that follows a suggested budget, including how any tax cut would be handled. "I think it's important that as we're going through this process that we have 2 things. 1 of them is our what our fund balance policy is for our municipality... and the other is... the suggested budget, afterwards, to receive the tax cut. And so for an explanation of what that actually is how that process works," a committee member said.

Before recessing, the chair asked for a motion to recess the finance committee until Monday at 7 p.m.; another member moved the motion, and the meeting proceeded on a voice vote. "May I have a motion that we, recess finance committee until Monday, 7PM?" the chair asked. "So moved," another committee member responded. The chair then called, "All in favor? Aye," and instructed that recording continue at the next meeting.

The committee also requested that follow-up emails and recommendations be copied to a staff member named Eric so that outstanding questions and recommendations would be collected in one place. One speaker noted an unrelated scheduling note that a secondary high school's homecoming was that night.

The action postponed formal decisions on the final budget until the Monday session; committee members directed colleagues and staff to supply written recommendations, data clarifications, and scenario analyses ahead of that meeting.