Peekskill budget proposal revised; city manager package now projects a 3.75% tax-rate increase

Tony, the city's budget presenter, reviewed the city manager's tentative 2025 budget and outlined a set of adjustments made since an Oct. 1 draft. He said changes to outside legal services, police salary assumptions, and retirement projections altered the package. "The projected increase right now is a proposed 3.75% instead," he said, describing a reduction from an earlier 4.65% proposal.

Tony walked the council through key line items: $595,000 budgeted for outside legal counsel, increased salary assumptions for police hires, and a major increase in New York State Retirement costs driven by Tier 6 police and fire rates. He reported a significant pension-related increase concentrated in police and fire retirement costs, and said that much of the general fund (about 85%) is comprised of mandated expenses such as personnel and benefits. On revenues, he cited increased interest and penalties and anticipated additional parking revenue if a new phone-based meter-replacement system is adopted.

The presentation included an example homeowner calculation: at the taxable assessed value presented, the average homeowner would see an increase of about $107.78 under the new rate. Tony said the city plans to use $500,000 of appropriated fund balance (down from a larger draw in the prior year) and is pursuing a potential self-insured health plan that could reduce premiums and produce estimated savings around $1.2 million if approved by unions.

The council held a public hearing on the budget; after the initial close a remote participant requested to speak and the council briefly reopened the hearing to take a parks-budget question from a resident. City staff responded that some consolidation and staffing shifts were proposed, such as not replacing a recreation leader and consolidating duties under a community hub model.