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Lockport staff unveils $68 million 2025 spending plan, proposes tapping $12 million in reserves
Summary
City staff presented a proposed 2025 budget showing $57 million in projected revenue, $68 million in proposed spending and use of $12 million from reserves while maintaining roughly four months of fund balance. The plan prioritizes capital construction, infrastructure and personnel.
City staff presented the proposed 2025 budget to the Lockport City Council on Nov. 6, saying the plan balances near‑term capital investment with reserve requirements.
Lisa, a city staff presenter, told the council the budget includes $57,000,000 in total revenue and $68,000,000 in expenses; the proposal uses about $12,000,000 of excess reserves while leaving an excess fund balance of just over $9,000,000 across funds. "We're using $12,000,000 of excess reserves," Lisa said during the presentation.
The presentation broke revenue into five major sources: about one‑third from water and sewer revenue, nearly another third from state and local taxes, and roughly 15% from real‑estate taxes. On the spending side, capital construction accounts for the largest share (about 36%), payroll‑related expenses about 20%, and professional fees and debt service the remainder. Personnel costs in the general fund totalled about $10,000,000.
Staff highlighted $17,000,000 in capital projects budgeted for next year plus roughly $7,000,000 in carryover from this year. Lisa said the city is meeting its fund‑balance policy of roughly four months of reserves and emphasized conservative revenue assumptions given a quieter grant pipeline.
Councilmembers voiced appreciation for staff work on the budget and for accelerating some road projects noted in the plan. The council also heard that next steps include a Nov. 20 public hearing on the budget and a property‑tax levy presentation; the council intends to consider final approval of the budget and levy at its Dec. 4 meeting.
The presentation included department‑level detail: staff said the police department accounts for the largest share of general‑fund spending (about 47%), with public‑works and engineering and administrative costs comprising significant portions of the rest. Lisa said upcoming line‑items include software upgrades (moving Microsoft Office to a 2024 version) and a proposed new building‑maintenance position to handle city facilities.
The budget presentation was informational; no final budget vote was taken at the Nov. 6 meeting. The city will hold a public hearing and return to the council as scheduled.
