Utica mayor proposes $3.01-per‑$1,000 tax increase in FY26 estimate, cites $3.8M fund‑balance draw and cost controls

Mayor Mike Golini presented the City of Utica's fiscal year 2026 annual estimate at a meeting of the city's governing body, proposing a $3.01-per-$1,000 increase to the property tax levy and continuing an approximate $3.8 million draw from the city's fund balance to close the gap between revenues and expenses.

Golini said the proposed tax change equates to an average residential increase of about $165 per year (roughly $13.79 per month) and a 9.77% increase overall; he gave example monthly impacts by ward, saying the Third Ward would see about $19 per month, his own house about $28, the Second Ward about $12, the Fifth about $10, the First about $8, the Fourth about $15 and the Sixth about $16.

The mayor framed the proposal as part of a broader fiscal turnaround. "We're burning cash. We're trying to turn that around," Golini said, and described a combination of revenue actions, grant-seeking and tighter spending controls intended to stabilize Utica's finances.

Why it matters: Golini said the city closed the most recent audited year with a net deficit and a reduced fund balance after several years of rising fixed costs. He told the meeting the city ended the last audited year with an $11.7 million fund balance and a $1.1 million deficit; the proposed FY26 estimate uses restricted and unrestricted reserves to avoid deeper cuts to core services, particularly public…