Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Taxes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Olean finance committee reviews 2025–26 draft budget, flags insurance reallocations and buyouts
Summary
Finance Committee members reviewed a draft 2025–26 budget built around proposed increases to property tax (6%), sewer (5.6%) and water (5.04%), discussed reallocations of health-insurance buyouts that produce large percentage changes in some fund lines, and asked staff for monthly savings reports and further capital-fund planning.
The Finance Committee met March 4 to review the mayor’s and department heads’ draft budget for fiscal years 2025–26, which the presenters said is built around a proposed 6% property-tax increase and rate changes including a 5.6% sewer increase and a 5.04% water increase.
Committee members and staff discussed the timing and structure of the budget-review process. Alderman Robinson and others suggested interim meetings between the mayor and departments before the budget arrives at the committee so members have early visibility into areas likely to be contentious.
Insurance, employee-benefit and payroll allocations produced the largest line-item shifts in the draft. Presenters said health insurance showed a 3% overall decrease negotiated through the city’s consortium, but some water and sewer fund lines show a near 93% increase because buyouts and other benefit allocations were excluded from last year’s budget and are included this year. Finance staff said total buyouts/remaining flex payments across the city equal roughly $700,000 and that prior-year budgets did not always include those payouts, which explains large percentage changes in individual fund lines even though overall costs did not increase by that amount.
Committee members asked that staff provide monthly reports to show realized savings. Staff confirmed they will produce a monthly savings statement and the committee asked finance to continue reallocating employee time and benefits across general, water and sewer funds so charges reflect actual usage.
Members also reviewed contingency and fund-balance strategy. Staff said the city aims to rebuild water and sewer fund balances, maintain a contingency line and create separate capital funds (via budgetary transfers) for water and sewer projects. The budget includes planned transfers to capital projects—committee members discussed whether to preserve specific capital lines rather than allowing them to roll into general fund balance at year-end.
The committee discussed fleet and personnel efficiency: members asked departments to re-evaluate positions when employees retire and to consider shared vehicle use across departments. No layoffs or eliminations were approved; members recommended reviewing positions by attrition and revisiting role necessity.
On scheduling, the committee confirmed that budget-review sessions will begin after the council’s regular meetings and that meeting start times will move to 6:00 p.m. to accommodate members’ schedules. The committee set a calendar for budget presentations and expected department presenters to circulate schedules ahead of meetings.
No budget adoption occurred March 4; members reviewed the draft, requested additional analysis and scheduled follow-up meetings.
