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Council moves budget‑guidance resolution to special meeting after amendments
Summary
A resolution proposing guidance for the 2026 executive budget — including direction on vacancies, consultant spending and public engagement — was amended in committee and scheduled for a special council meeting pending a clean copy from the mover.
Common Council members debated and amended a resolution June 11 that would convey council preferences to the city manager for the preparation of the 2026 executive budget. The document urges careful review of vacancies, consultant and travel spending, holding nonessential capital bonding and earlier public engagement; it also asks that the manager present a proposed budget no later than two weeks before scheduled budget hearings.
Alderperson Fabrizio introduced the resolution and Alderperson Letterman pursued amendments to require the city manager to explain how council recommendations were or were not incorporated at the time of the executive budget delivery. Councilors also debated whether the budget direction should explicitly note that compensation for employees earning below the Ithaca living wage be included; after amendment votes the committee removed a carve‑out that would have excluded that pay uplift from the tax‑cap guidance.
The committee approved amendments and moved to place the resolution on the council’s special meeting agenda (June 18) on the condition that the mover provide a clean, consolidated final text to the deputy clerk within 24 hours. The motion to place the item on the special‑session agenda carried 10–0 in committee. If the mover does not provide the corrected version within the requested timeframe, the item will not be placed on the special meeting agenda.
What staff and council said: The city manager had previously indicated council could pass a resolution conveying its budget preferences; planning for an earlier public engagement process and clearer reporting from the manager were topics many councilors supported.
Next steps: The mover will provide the consolidated resolution text to the deputy clerk and staff; the resolution will be on the special meeting agenda for council consideration if the clean copy is delivered in time.
