Saratoga Springs schedules multiple public hearings, flags several contract and budget items

Mayor Stafford announced that the City of Saratoga Springs will hold four public hearings Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30 p.m., including a proposed local law and two ordinances affecting city code and permitting.

The announcements came during a brief city council meeting in which the mayor also previewed a capital-plan review, several contract and invoice authorizations on upcoming agendas, a planned pilot agreement for a Findlay Street housing project and a community meeting on a Grand Avenue sidewalk redesign.

Mayor Stafford told the council, "Tomorrow evening, starting at 06:30, we will have 4 public hearings," and said the hearings would be held before the council—s regular 7 p.m. meeting. He listed the items that will be heard: a proposed Local Law No. 7 of 2025 "to remove imprisonment penalty from city ordinances," an ordinance to amend Chapter 9 of the city code on defense and indemnification, and an ordinance to amend Chapter 180 of the city code titled "Public Right of Way Use Permit." He said the hearings will be held Tuesday and that no final action on those matters would be taken at the preparatory session.

Why it matters: the items scheduled for public hearing would change how the city handles penalties in its ordinances, how the city provides legal defense and indemnification to officers and employees, and how the Department of Public Works (DPW) will process right-of-way permit approvals if the Chapter 180 changes are adopted.

Key items listed by the mayor and department heads

- Local Law No. 7 of 2025: Described by the mayor as intended "to remove imprisonment penalty from city ordinances." The mayor said the second…