Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh is set to give his second “State of the City address” on Thursday.

Walsh’s first speech featured comments on education, the city’s financial state and deficit, the replacement of a failing Interstate 81 viaduct and economic growth, among other things.

Several Common Councilors said Walsh will discuss Syracuse’s finances again this year, as well as initiatives he has led and his reflections on himself and the Syracuse community.

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“I imagine that he’ll look to the past year and see where he is and, you know, sort of evaluate himself. See where he came in and where he is now,” said Councilor At-Large and Council Majority leader Steve Thompson.

Here’s what Thompson, Councilor Susan Boyle and Councilor At-Large Tim Rudd expect Walsh to cover in his second “State of the City” address.

Syracuse’s financial state

Thompson said the primary concern of city government is its financial situation, specifically where Syracuse will get the money it needs to continue running independently. A balance should be established between saving money the city has in its reserves and ensuring that areas such as public safety are properly funded, he said.

Walsh’s 2018-19 fiscal year budget put a six-month freeze on salary increases and hiring of non-essential personnel in order to control spending, Syracuse.com reported. Police and firefighters were not included in the freeze, and the budget set aside money for a new class of recruits for both groups.

Boyle said the city’s budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year is the “giant elephant in the room.”

The Common Council unanimously approved Walsh’s first budget without change in 2018.

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Rudd said he expects Walsh to talk about how the city spends money.

One of Walsh’s priorities is maintaining the fiscal health of the city, Rudd said. Because of this, he said the city will have to continue to spend less money and begin spending money differently.

Rudd referenced the way some departments clock into work daily. He said the Department of Public Works uses timestamp slips that administrators then have to enter into computers. The Syracuse Police Department also uses paper slips for overtime work, he said.

An automated payroll system would decrease costs and increase the city’s efficiency and accountability, Rudd said.

“I think, ‘Here’s a lot of basic work like that probably isn’t the sexiest thing to talk about all the time,’ but it’s going to help us provide better services for less money,” Rudd said.

Walsh’s initiatives

A recently negotiated tax deal between Walsh and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon will be a notable item of discussion at the address, Boyle said.

In December, McMahon and Walsh proposed an extension of the current tax deal that determines how Syracuse and Onondaga County splits sales tax revenues. The deal, passed by the Onondaga County Legislature in January, could now last until 2030 if passed by the Common Council.

Boyle said the arrangement was a great sign of cooperation that the mayor will be proud of.

Walsh could also talk about his smart city initiative, Rudd said. The council approved the purchase of all of the city’s street lights from National Grid. The lights will be replaced with low-maintenance, energy-saving LED lights.

Rudd said after that first step the city will be able to provide additional infrastructure, such as free Wi-Fi, which could make certain areas of Syracuse more popular targets for companies to invest in.

Reflections on Walsh and the Syracuse community

Thompson said Walsh may use the speech to reflect on what he accomplished in the last year and what has not yet come to fruition.

Walsh’s focus on hiring additional police officers and firefighters is an accomplishment that has been positive for the city, Thompson said. SPD racked up millions of dollars in overtime costs due to understaffing in the department. He said Walsh is trying to get the numbers of those groups back up to where they should be in the city.

Boyle said Walsh will include topics surrounding diversity and community engagement in his speech. Constituent engagement and response was one of four objectives that Walsh established for his administration in his first year, along with fiscal sustainability, neighborhood stability and economic growth and the deliverance of city services effectively, efficiently and equitably.

Published on January 16, 2019 at 11:51 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu