Ithaca Common Council adopts 2026 budget 9–1 after restoring outreach and violence-interruption funding; sets tax rate at $12.24 per $1,000
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Summary
The Ithaca City Common Council on Nov. 12 adopted the 2026 budget by a 9–1 vote after passing motions to correct a defunding error and to restore funds for a community outreach worker program and a violence-interrupter program; the council also unanimously approved a tax rate of $12.24 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The Ithaca City Common Council adopted its 2026 budget on Nov. 12, passing the measure by a roll-call vote of 9 to 1 after a series of motions to reconsider previous amendments and to correct an earlier defunding error.
Alderperson Saint Perez moved to advance the 2026 budget, seconded by Alderperson Kumar. Alderperson Fabrizio asked the council to reconsider an action taken during the earlier budget amendment process that had mistakenly defunded a non-existent park manager position; she said the dollars ($115,006.97, as stated in the meeting) could instead be returned to the general fund and split between the downtown community outreach worker program and a violence-interrupter program. “Both of those programs…have proven their worth many times over,” Fabrizio said in urging the correction.
Council members clarified that the immediate motion before them only corrected which vacant position had been marked as defunded and did not itself directly fund new positions; subsequent reconsider motions and amendments restored funding levels for two programs. The council recorded a series of reconsider votes that were reported in the meeting as carrying 9 to 1. Alderperson Matos said he would vote no on the budget because of concerns about the absence of unarmed responders and limited DPW infrastructure funding, while other councilmembers said they supported the budget to avoid a larger shortfall.
The council also approved a resolution setting the tax rate at $12.24 per $1,000 of assessed value; that resolution passed unanimously. Separately, the council approved the recommended budget from the joint special committee on the Ithaca area wastewater treatment plant by unanimous vote. The mayor said the adopted budget meets the legal requirement under New York State law to pass a balanced budget.
Meeting discussion included repeated references to parking fees as a potential alternative revenue source, the need for a fleshed‑out unarmed responder plan, and concern among some members that the public had limited opportunity to review final numbers prior to the vote. The transcript records the mayor saying the net change in the budget “is projected to be about $697 to the good”; the meeting did not specify the unit for that figure in the transcript.
The council adjourned after taking the listed votes.
