Ithaca City Council tables stopgap amendment after debate over $2.1 million budget error

Ithaca City's Common Council and Budget Committee met to consider an administration stopgap plan intended to correct a roughly $2.1 million miscalculation in the proposed 2026 executive budget and to restore compliance with New York State's balanced-budget requirement.

Mayor (presiding) opened the meeting by describing the error and the administration's effort over the prior week to prepare a corrective plan. "Due to a technical error, there was a miscalculation, to the tune of approximately $2,100,000 in the proposed executive budget," the presiding officer said, adding that the administration briefed a mayoral finance advisory group before presenting the stopgap plan to council.

The stopgap plan relies primarily on revised vacancy-savings assumptions and a package of fee increases, with parking-related rate changes providing the largest single revenue contribution. Council and administration also discussed short-term borrowing, the use of restricted reserves, and the timing and visibility of any additional amendments.

Councilors pressed the administration on several specifics. Administration staff described the vacancy-savings assumption as a 5.5% projected vacancy rate and said six long-standing vacant positions had already been removed in the initial executive budget. "The vacancy rate is a way to describe" typical turnover savings, administration staff said, and officials added they will implement a vacancy-review process that requires analysis before authorizing hires.

Parking was a central revenue topic. Administration staff said parking rate increases are the majority of the additional fee revenue in the stopgap plan and described the parking estimates as "conservative," noting the city has an existing parking study and had reconvened a parking working group. Staff said Saturday parking changes could be implemented as early as March and that a December memo will outline implementation needs such as signage, communication and, possibly, equipment procurement.

Councilors voiced concerns that the stopgap plan relies on accounting adjustments rather than deeper programmatic reductions. Several members asked for more public visibility and time to consider amendments; the mayor set a procedural deadline for members to resubmit any live amendments within 48 hours (due Friday at noon) and said submitted amendments would be posted publicly ahead of the next meeting.

Administration provided a fiscal illustration of the tax impact: a 4.32% levy increase in the proposal would add about $114.25 in annual property tax for the median homeowner and set a proposed tax rate of $12.28 per $1,000 assessed value (up from $11.95). Officials also clarified that the sewer fund uses its own reserves and that the general fund, as presented, does not rely on general-fund balance for the stopgap adjustments.

Short-term borrowing and reimbursement limits drew scrutiny. Councilors raised that of roughly $51 million in outstanding short-term bond anticipation notes, only about 30% appeared to be reimbursable under current rules; one councilor noted that the city's 2026 interest payments total about $2.1 million, the same sum as the budget miscalculation.

After extended discussion and a request for more public review, Aldeperson Shapiro moved to table the amendment so the public comment period could proceed; that motion carried 10-1 with Aldeperson Wynne opposed. Aldeperson Perez then moved (seconded by Aldeperson Kumar) to table final budget action until the regularly scheduled common council meeting on Nov. 5; the motion carried unanimously. The council then voted unanimously to enter executive session on a personnel matter and left the public meeting with no immediate votes on final adoption.

The administration and council agreed on next steps: members should resubmit or confirm amendments within 48 hours for compilation and posting; staff will provide a fuller parking-implementation memo in December; and the council will reconvene the budget discussion at the Nov. 5 meeting where formal adoption is expected to resume. The mayor and finance conveners offered additional work sessions before the Nov. 5 vote.