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Utica council overrides mayoral vetoes on multiple ordinances, approves salary reductions in budget amendments
Summary
In a special session, the Utica Common Council recorded a series of votes overriding mayoral vetoes on multiple ordinances and approved budget amendments reducing salary lines for the council, mayor and controller with the stated rationale of lowering the tax levy; many overrides were recorded as 8-yea votes.
The Utica Common Council held a special meeting in which members repeatedly voted to override mayoral vetoes and approved several budget amendments that reduce salary lines for city officials.
Council members moved and seconded multiple ordinances and budget amendments; the meeting transcript shows repeated roll-call confirmations reading “8 yeas override” after many items. On an earlier budget amendment the clerk recorded “7 yeas to override.” Several motions to amend annual estimates specifically cited “decreased salaries to reduce tax levy” as the rationale.
Items acted on during the session included budget amendments affecting salary lines for the Common Council, the mayor’s office and the city controller and the consideration of numerous ordinances by number. The clerk and presiding officer repeatedly called for votes and the stenographic record shows the votes counted as overrides of prior vetoes. One council attorney explained the mechanics of the veto vote to members: “If you vote yes, you’re overriding the veto,” the attorney said while instructing the members on the roll-call procedure.
The meeting also produced administrative direction: after the overrides the council discussed preparing the warrant for tax-bill printing. A council member stated a warrant figure in the record that was not clearly audible; the transcript preserves that the warrant and levy were discussed and that tax bills would be printed, but the precise aggregate dollar total in the transcript is not specified.
Votes at a glance (items recorded in the transcript): - Budget amendment: Common Council salaries line — motion to amend annual estimate to reduce salaries (rationale: reduce tax levy). Vote: recorded (first amendment) as 7 yeas to override (mayoral veto). Specific dollar changes are not clearly specified in the transcript. - Budget amendment: Mayor salary line (mayor A51210101 series) — motion to amend annual estimate to reduce mayor’s salary line (rationale: reduce tax levy). Vote: recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 49 of 2025 — controller salary modification referenced in the motion. Vote: recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 51 of 2025 — motion and second recorded; vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 14 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 16 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 28 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 26 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 25 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 19 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 35 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 30 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 20 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 44 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 15 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas adopted via override. - Ordinance No. 40 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 34 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 36 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 37 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 55 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override. - Ordinance No. 57 of 2025 — vote recorded as 8 yeas override.
Several items were listed and voted in sequence; the transcript shows repeated confirmations that overrides passed. The council then directed staff to prepare the warrant for tax-bill printing and discussed scheduling; the transcript shows members saying the warrant would be prepared and tax bills printed, but the recorded dollar totals and tax-rate calculations in the transcript are unclear.
What the record does not show: the transcript does not include detailed line-by-line budget math for each salary change or an explicit listing of every vote by named member; it records the roll-call confirmations (counts) rather than individual member votes in the excerpt provided.
Next steps: City staff are to prepare the warrant and print tax bills. Additional procedural meetings were discussed if needed.
