Common Council - Regular Meeting

And we have quite a line up for you tonight on the agenda. At 710, we will have a public hearing about local law number two. Right after that, approximately at 715, public session like we always do. Pledge of allegiance after that to the flag. Roll call for the regular meeting and mayor's report to the common council. And finally, the actual meeting where we have a number of resolutions to vote on. So that's the lineup, and as I said, this is the public hearing, and I do need a motion from the council to go into the public hearing. Councilor Lattinsack, Councilor Thompson, please call the roll.

His Honor, the Mayor?

Here.

Councilor Kennedy?

Here.

Councilor Eschlein?

Here.

Councilor Lattinsack? Here. Councilor Fitzgibbon? Here. Councilor Meyer? Here. Councilor Plunkett? Here. Councilor Thompson? Here.

Very good, thank you. I see there is one person signed up to discuss this item that's on the agenda. And I will call his name and then after that if there's somebody else that hasn't signed up and that would like to, just raise your hand and I'll recognize you and you can come up the podium. But there is only one person at this point that signed up for the public session to talk about local law number two. of 2026 that's what this is for if there's anything else you can talk about you can talk about it at public session after this one all right so uh the first person up is a brandon walker come on down good evening good evening counselors city mayor city attorney city clerks

I'll keep my spiel short and sweet. I know tonight I think comes out the proposed budget for next year for the city of Oswego. The biggest thing I want or I would like everyone to do is to really look at the budget in whole. what's going in it, what's coming out of it. I understand things go up, things rarely come down. I can understand one, two, 3% proposed. Anything outside of that, to me, I feel like is a question that needs to be called to really look at the budget. A lot of people here in the city of Oswego, fixed incomes, retirements, disability people, are already burdened with already paying more with what's going on in the world. I feel like, at least in my mind, If we look at it better and see where we can save a little bit more, we can help people here more in the city of Oswego. So thank you and enjoy the evening.

All right. As I said, that's the only person that was signed up. Is there somebody else that came in and didn't sign up that would like to speak? Yes. Come up to the podium. State your name.

Alexis Phelps, spelled P-H-E-L-P-S. I apologize. OK, good evening, Mayor Corradino and members of the Common Council and my counselor, Ward Thompson. I'm a full-time student, a full-time worker, and a Ward 7 constituent. This is actually my first city council meeting. But under my constitutional rights, when decisions are being made that directly impact our lives, I believe it's essential to speak out. As young people, we're the ones helping to fund and build a better tomorrow for generations coming up behind us. I'm here tonight to urge this council to vote no on resolution 254 and reject law number two, which would override our state property tax cap. In my professional work as a domestic violence advocate for Oswego County opportunities, I work in a community that has served, sorry, in an organization that has served this community for 60 years. OCO operates entirely on grant-based funding. Now, I understand that a nonprofit and a municipal government are two completely different entities, but I feel if a nonprofit operating on grant funding can stretch every dollar to serve the most vulnerable, then a municipality a government built for the people and by the people can certainly show that same fiscal discipline for the taxpayers it was created to serve in fact we see positive examples of it on tonight's agenda like resolution 259 accepting state grant funds for the animal shelter expansion or resolution 260 for the downtown mural grant That's the exact funding model I and other Ward 7 members, I believe the city should be doubling down on. And actually, I'm going to cut this part on the record, only because you said only to talk about Resolution 254 right now. Let's see, overriding the tax cap should never be treated as a routine administration step. It was designed as an emergency measure, an absolute last resort. Yet tonight, you're being asked to grant blanket authority and exceed the cap before the public has even seen a finalized line by line budget. So help the community understand this decision. As a student, worker, and renter, I see the financial pressure building across our community every day. Between rising utility bills, inflation, and everyday living costs, working families and students are being stretched really thin. When property taxes go up past the statutory limit, landlords and complex housing don't absorb those costs. They pass them directly down to the tenants and do rent hikes. Furthermore, we cannot isolate city decisions from SUNY Oswego. The university isn't just a campus, it is the economic engine of our region. But firstly, they are members of our community. By driving up the cost of living and renting in town, Resolution 254 directly harms students, faculty, and campus workers. And when renters and students have less disposable income, they look outside the city for housing. The small businesses, restaurants, and shops on our West First Street, Bridge Street, and surrounding communities suffer too. New York State established the 2% tax cap specifically to protect taxpayers and force local governments to prioritize spending. Asking residents to pay more without first providing a line by line where the grant has been applied for and every internal cut has been made is simply unfair to the people who power the community. Under state law, pushing this override requires a 60% supermajority. That means it only takes three council members voting no tonight to hold the line for SWGO taxpayers. When election season comes around, every candidate promises to protect working families and keep costs down and exercise fiscal discipline. But campaign promises aren't based on the trail. They are judged by the votes cast right here on this floor. And residents, renters, and young voters are paying attention tonight. Councillor Thompson and the members of this council were watching how every member votes and when the next election cycle arrives the taxpayers of Oswego will remember who voted to protect their budget and who voted to bypass them. Please vote no on resolution 254. Thank you.

Okay uh one last time anybody else would like to speak? Yes in the back row.

Can you hear me okay? Okay.

Put the microphone a little closer.

Oh, no. Okay, I'm breaking it.

Don't break it.

How's that? Can you hear me? Yeah.

Okay, we have our IT guy coming over.

That's good. I'm sorry. Thank you. Can you hear me now? Perfect. All right. I just wanted to say that I know that the tax cap, the overriding, is something that's procedural. It's done every year. I believe you did it last year, the year before, the year before. The county does it. Almost every municipality does it, and it's kind of like a Band-Aid, a safety net. And it's... It doesn't mean that your taxes are going to go up, but there's so many different things that factor into it, and it's not just what your tax base is. And when you talk about property taxes, you're talking about all different kinds of things, your generic tax rate, all that. I just wanted to say that whether you support it or not, Don't raise our taxes, that's all.

Okay, one last time. That was the last person that spoke at this session. Is there anybody else that has changed their mind and wants to say something? We've got a couple more minutes. If not, I need a motion to adjourn. Candidate Councillor Meyer, please call the roll.

Councillor Eschling?

yes Councilor Lutensack yes Councilor Fitzgibbon yes Councilor Meyer yes Councilor Plunkett yes Councilor Thompson yes Councilor Kennedy yes that meeting for the public hearing is over now it's uh 7 20 we're five minutes into the public session but uh we can start that uh right now public session uh begins It's 720. I have six people signed up, and the rules are very simple for this. No profanity, no name-calling, no personal attacks, and please try to keep it to a five-minute time limit. The first person signed up is Eva Corradino.

Hi, everybody. Eva Corradino, Seventh Ward. I'm here today representing Promotion and Tourism Advisory Board, who also runs the Visitor Center. And every year I give a brief little blurb on how things are going at the visitor center. So here it is. We've been operating since August of 2019 minus the COVID years. During the COVID years, that same space did get used though, however, for community things like vaccinations, Blizzard Bucks, things like that. For the past two years, well, I guess three if you count this year, the county is helping staff it so we are able to go beyond our usual three days of one to five, I'm sorry, of four to seven and have afternoons. So they work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday noon to five there as part of their work day. They bring their computers and they work out of the office. The county also is paying for the internet down there. So the county really is a partner now the past few years in this endeavor. Because we promote the whole county. Of course, we try to focus on the city, but we promote the whole county. This year, as of August 8th, we've had a little over 300 visitors into the visitor center. Of course, many of them are from Oswego, Oswego County, the neighboring counties. But beyond that, we've had people come in and actually sign in from 17 different states. I don't think you need me to name them. including though like Washington State, which was a new one for me, and from three different countries, Brazil, France, and unfortunately only one family from Canada. It's a sign of the times that we're not getting the Canadian visitors that we used to get. Why do these people even come to Oswego? It's because we have so much to offer. A lot of them are coming to visit family, They're here for weddings, reunions, things like that. They come to Harbor Fest. There are people who come and plan their trip to be here for Harbor Fest. They also come here because of everything that goes on at SUNY Oswego, whether they're bringing their kids in or they're here for family days or their children are in athletic programs or the arts. People are coming and we're happy to be able to be there in that center and offer them smiling faces and ideas of what they can do with their free time. So that's basically what we do. In addition to the tourism aspect, the space does get used when we're not open for visitor center. It does get used at other times of the year. It's a great spot for the holiday history shop from Thanksgiving to Christmas. And it gets used during block parties. This year for 13126 Day, it was kind of a hub for those activities. It's been used by the Maritime Museum for training of boat pilots. It's been used by the police department. County Youth Bureau has used it before. And it's available. And sometimes I think we need to get that out there, that this is a free and safe space with Wi-Fi that people could use when it's not busy as a visitor center, that it is there for the public's use. So. I just wanted to give you a little update on it as our season is kind of starting to wind down. But August is still a busy month for us. Thank you.

In the interest of full transparency, I do want to admit that the woman that just spoke is my wife. And she is a non-paid volunteer for the city of Oswego and has been doing that for probably ten years. So thank you for all your work in doing that. The second person signed up is Chris Novak.

Good evening, I'm Chris Novak, I'm a Oswego County resident in Ward 1, and I'm also a county legislator for District 16. I spoke in May at the common council meeting to express my deep concern about video surveillance technology being used in Oswego without public input or knowledge, and without consultation with the city's common council. Since then, the number of cameras has greatly increased, and still we don't know the price tag. Flock automated license plate reader cameras build a continuous searchable surveillance network that tracks citizens without warrants. Agencies can query location trails to obtain sensitive personal details such as medical visits, political protests, or religious attendance without judicial oversight. Flock cameras aren't normal traffic cameras. They record and track every car that comes in view and catalogs the make, model, color, license plate number, bumper stickers, and even scratches. This information is uploaded to a nationwide database that law enforcement agencies with a flock contract can search with few regulations or oversight on how they use what they find. Theoretically, Flock retains info for 30 days. However, its own terms and conditions state the company may access, use, preserve, or disclose plate data if it has, quote, a belief that such access is reasonably necessary to comply with the legal process. However, there's no explanation of who determines that belief or necessity. This data can easily be misused. In May in Dayton, Ohio, an audit revealed data from cameras had been searched more than 7,000 times for immigration enforcement purposes. Searches that are explicitly prohibited under that city's policy. In California, unbeknownst to the police department, a statewide lookup setting was active on 97% of the city's cameras. And over a 12 month period, more than 250 agencies, including several federal agencies that never signed a data sharing agreement with the city conducted approximately 600,000 unauthorized data searches. Flock claims that the cameras don't collect personal identifiable data. And that is not accurate because since license plates can be matched through a DMV registered user through DMV. They are identifiable. Also, internal documents be real. The company is building a product to connect flock data, plate data, with data brokers offering people lookup services, enabling police to, as they put it in their paperwork, quote, jump from license plate reader to person. It's clear this surveillance tool can be weaponized and abused. ICE and Border Patrol have used Flock to go after immigrants without warrants. Kansas police used data to pursue a man who wrote an op-ed that was critical of the department. A Colorado police officer wrongly accused a woman of theft based on a Flock hit and refused to look at evidence proving her innocence. A mother and her children were held at gunpoint because Flock cameras wrongly flagged the car as stolen. As we come together here to question rising tax rates in our city, I ask, is this citizen surveillance system what we should be spending our tax dollars on? Thank you.

All right, the third person signed up is a Colin Seeley.

Good evening, Council. Good evening, Mayor Corradino. I'm reaching out to you today just to follow up on Resolution 249, which is in regards to the Community Health Outreach Fair. I just wanted to clarify some information. I know I presented on this last week, but there's a few things that came up I wanted to follow up on. The main thing is, while the main effort of this event is to help share resources with the community that they wouldn't be able to get access to, healthcare providers, social services, and the like, by having our materials be in other languages, such as Spanish and Russian, the event's not going to solely have only those languages. It's going to have more languages, and it's going to have our traditional English language material, so anyone can get access to these resources, because that's ultimately our goal, is to promote as many people getting access to resources as possible in the community. So I just wanted to clarify that before the vote, and thank you all for your time.

Okay, number four on the list is Akal Zinzar.

Hello, can you hear me okay? My name is Kyle Zuntars. I'm a mental health counselor at SUNY Oswego and I'm in the seventh ward. I'm here after the vote to still talk about what just happened. Concerning the vote to override the state cap, I wonder why this is being done before we even know what the budget proposal is. I know the response is going to be, this override doesn't mean that you're going to raise our taxes. But the simple fact that you could approve the override communicates that you are willing to and that you probably expect to, if not now, at another time. Is there a reason that raising taxes is possibly needed that we haven't been told about? Because that transparency is deeply important for our trust in government. If we don't know why you could potentially raise our taxes, then what do we do? That's what causes outrage. That's what causes people to be upset. So when it happens, nothing has been communicated. And then people are struggling. Transparency and listening to the public matters deeply. So I'm gonna make a guess just by my own data collection. This data comes straight from the city of Oswego budget documents that you can find on their website. The Oswego Police Department has received increased funding every year since 2018. Their budget has skyrocketed from $4.2 million in 2018 to $7.3 million in 2025, an increase of 74%. My guess is that is a trend that will continue. Is this due to the various lawsuit settlements for cops who violated community members' rights and others who have abused their power to stalk and harm women? Is this to help pay for high-tech drones they use to surveil the community and harass groups coming together for peaceful vigils? Is this to help install the automatic license plate readers at every entry point and exit point of the city? on main roads throughout the city without any public comment, public hearing, or city council input? Is this to help fund the $24 million high tech station the Oswego Police Department has asked for? Will we know what the money is used for? At the same time, Veteran services went from $1,000 funding to zero. Programs for the aging stayed consistent at $2,200 from 2015 to 2025. And the mayor's salary jumped to six figures after reducing during COVID. Maybe instead of giving money to protecting cops and creating a Big Brother surveillance state, we give money to veterans struggling with substance use disorders. We house the unhoused. We create pantries where people can access food. And we provide ways to lessen the burden of poverty. I'm wearing a shirt that says, homelessness is a policy choice. And when we spend tax dollars recklessly without prioritizing people in the community and make life unaffordable, these are policy choices. They increase people being unhoused. And speaking of useless spending on high tech gadgets, I just want to follow up on my questions here. I spoke with Councilor Thompson who said that there will be more information coming. I asked a bunch of questions about the surveillance cameras and I haven't heard back on the details of that. So I appreciate you looking into those. Look forward to the answers. I do want to note that more and more cities around the nation are canceling their contracts with ALPR systems. as error rates as high as 71% have been reported, which means wrongly ticketing people, people being ticketed in funeral processions, which happened in Syracuse, for running red lights, and people being accused of crimes when they are not even in the same state the crime took place. This will only create more overtime expenses for people having to correct these errors, as well as to pay out settlements for unjust harm. more hassle for Oswego residents. Have these recent events been considered? I look forward to hearing back.

Kyle, I did want to just make one comment. You were wrong in one of your statistics. The mayor's salary, I think most of the counselors know, the mayor's salary has not changed in probably 20, 25 years, and it's $40,000 a year. So... Well, I understand your confusion. That's why I thought I would correct that mistake, and also for the viewing public. If I was getting a lot more money, I probably would be driving a nicer car. So the fifth person on the list is Alexa Phillips again.

Sorry, just a quick correction. It's Alexis Phelps, but thank you. So I just wanted to touch on some of the other resolutions that are being talked about tonight. One that I'm just confused about, and I guess maybe the wording on the agenda isn't that clear, but it seems that resolution 257 is about considering the people's opinion. before 259 and 260 go on the floor. So I guess I just have some questions why we're not considering the voice of the people or even considering putting the vote of thinking and listening to the people as a debate question and passing that as a resolution. But I, at least as a seventh ward constituent, can stand behind voting yes for resolution 259 and for resolution 260. I just wanted to voice those questions that I don't think are necessarily as black and white as they should be released to the public, I guess. Thank you. Thank you.

Just a point, if you have any questions, you can always make an appointment and come and see me. I'm here from 9.30 to 5 every day.

Perfect.

I work overnight shifts on 12 a.m. to 12 p.m. And if I have to, I will have special hours on Saturday if you need.

Okay.

Perfect. Thank you.

I appreciate you letting me know that.

Okay. Thank you so much. Okay. All right. The last person signed up is Carol Thompson.

First I want to say I think it's great young people are getting involved in government and I hope more will follow suit. I also want to thank the mayor for Very quickly responding to my request to fix the portraits of our past mayors, DeWitt, Clinton, Little John, a very important part of the United States history. And twice mayor in 1849 and 1850 is listed once correctly by name. And one incorrectly on the second portrait as AJ Little John, to which there's no such person and there's never been no such mayor. So I really appreciate you and City Clerk Mark for taking this very seriously. I know these plaques under the portraits were up in the 80s when I was a college student and So like 40 years, 50 years, I think it's time they did get corrected and I appreciate it. Okay, that said, and I've said this before and I'm going to say it again because I swore, I vowed I'd never come here again. Never in my three decades as a news reporter have I encountered a council quite like this. You're almost halfway through your eighth month in office. You've debated hydrant pating, which is a good thing. I'm glad that's happening. And 988 signs while residents continue to deal with potholes, deteriorating infrastructure, my sinking road, public safety concerns, and the rising cost of city government. But what I find particularly ironic is that this council is now proposing to add two more public comment sessions each month under the banner of listening to the people. And it's laughable. In my opinion, this has been the most unresponsive council I can remember. Some of you can't be bothered to respond to constituent emails, and at least one counselor has chosen to block and even mock a constituent simply for expressing a different point of view. Before creating additional opportunities for public comment, It might behoove the council to first demonstrate a willingness to engage with the public through the avenues that already exist. You say you want to listen to the people, yet when debating the placement of 988 signs, you were unwilling to seek input from a broader group of stakeholders, including psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses. And you never spoke with someone with expertise in tourism. Yet placing numerous 988 signs around our waterways can send the wrong message about our community. And that was a concern that deserved consideration. I foiled the entire email chain regarding the sign placement, and if those emails are an indication of how those decisions were made, it appears much of the process involved primarily two people. And if transparency is so important, why wasn't the public shown what the signs actually looked like before the locations were discussed and recommendations were made? In all my years of covering local government, I have never, not once, heard residents complain that they were denied the chance to speak during a public comment period or public hearings. While I have repeatedly heard complaints that emails go unanswered, phone calls are not returned, and conserves receive little or no response from the officials elected to represent them. Yet again, you want to give them more opportunities when you already have them. The issue isn't whether there's been a lack of opportunities, the issue is whether you're listening. If the council intends to move forward with this proposal, there are practical questions that deserves answers. Will this new public comments period occur before the committee meetings are called to order or after it adjourns? Will it stick primarily to city business and business that this council can address? If it's held beforehand, what time will it begin, given that the committee meetings are scheduled to start at 6.30 PM? And if it's limited to 15 minutes prior to the meeting and each speaker is allowed five minutes, that would only allow three people the opportunity to speak. How does that meaningfully increase public participation? If ten residents show up, who gets to speak? And who will you decide doesn't get to speak? Are you going to hold a lottery? Will you just limit if ten people are here to 90 seconds each? Or will they need to show up early just so they can sign up? It just seems like. These issues are brought up without giving them full consideration. Meaningful public engagement is not measured by the number of microphones placed before the public. It's measured by whether elected officials generally consider what they hear before decisions are made. And I think some of you don't listen. You know, this is kind of like Charlie Brown waiting for the great pumpkin. We've been waiting almost eight months for you to take care of the issues that matter to the residents. Because you drive these roads and there's potholes everywhere. The sidewalks are terrible. And take care of what matters. Our taxes that we can't afford an increase. Because you've spent so much valuable time doing things that matter, yes. But you haven't made time for the other things. Thank you.

All right, that was the last person signed up. Is there anyone that did not sign up that would like to speak that's in the chamber? Going once, going twice. Okay, we're done with public session and we will begin the meeting after the- Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please call the roll.

Is that under the mayor?

Here.

Councilor Kennedy? Here. Councilor Ashland? Here. Councilor Lattensack? Here. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Here. Councilor Meyer?

Here.

Councilor Plunkett?

Here.

Councilor Thompson?

Here.

All present.

Thank you. We only have a couple items on the mayor's report. Number one, sort of like I did with Kyle a little while ago, this is a correction. I'd like to make a correction that something was said recently. I would like to take a moment to revisit what occurred last Monday at the conclusion of the Administrative Services Committee meeting. The councilor from the fourth ward chose to offer his opinion about adding a 15 minute public session to committee agendas, despite the fact that that topic was not listed on the agenda for discussion. In my ten years in city government, and in the more than 500 common council meetings that I have attended, the standard operating procedure has been clear. Items are discussed only when they appear on the published agenda. This practice exists for an important reason. It ensures that both the public and the counselors receive proper notice, have time to prepare, and can offer thoughtful and constructive input. On Monday, neither I or others in the room were aware that this long standing rule would be set aside and were not prepared to discuss it. Now keep in mind, there are rare occasions, and you might see them tonight, where we waive the rules and the item must be added to an agenda because it is time sensitive or critical. The topic raised last Monday was neither. The council stated that he brought the matter up under what he referred to as new business. Because it was supposed to be on the agenda, but it had been removed. At the time I was here, I did not believe that was accurate. However, because my administration is committed to full transparency, I felt it was necessary to investigate the claim. On Tuesday morning, I spoke with everyone in the clerk's office involved in preparing agendas. Each person confirmed that no request had ever been made to place this item on the committee agenda. Saying it was removed from the agenda was wrong. This is very troubling to me. Particularly because it is not the first time this year that a counselor has made a misleading public statement or a social media post. Providing inaccurate information as a city leader is not only irresponsible, it is unfair to the residents we serve. Our community deserves honesty, clarity, and adherence to the rules that govern this body. I strongly encourage all counselors to follow established procedures to ensure that any statements made in this chamber or to the public are factually correct. It doesn't take much time to make sure your statements are correct. Do your homework. We live in a society guided by laws and rules. As city leaders, we should model that respect for the process and for the truth and lead by example. Item number two. is probably what everybody's been waiting for. It's time for me to unveil my 2027 operating budget. I will ask the clerk to pass out what I'm about to read and they can follow along if they want. Members of the Common Council, The proposed fiscal year 2027 operating budget for the city of Oswego, New York is hereby submitted for your consideration. This budget is the third city budget that I have constructed since becoming mayor in January of 2024. In my 11th, including my eight years on the council, Since 2024, we followed a strategy of investing in our infrastructure and maintaining city services, all while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers. I believe that was a theme that was spoken earlier during public session. We must not, and I'll repeat that, we must not neglect city streets, sidewalks, aging equipment, or buildings. But at the same time, we need to be smart about the way we pay for them. Last year, I was able to propose a 2026 budget with a zero tax increase, and the 2025 budget had a modest 3.63% increase. Providing a zero tax increase every year, believe me, after 11 years, I will tell you, it is a difficult, difficult task considering all the factors that go into a city budget. This year's operating budget is comprised of the following. 42% personnel, 29% employee benefits, 20% contractual, 8% debt, and 1% equipment. The cost of everything has risen in the last 12 months. Increases in salaries, utilities, insurance, fuel, healthcare, retirement, and materials have all been contributing factors for the 2027 budget. Every year, like your own personal finances, costs never seem to go down. And we need to cover those costs with a balanced city budget. It is our responsibility. The strategic investments we have made in the past few years are beginning to provide financial benefits. The money we have spent to upgrade the high dam have resulted in additional funds that were used this year to help with the general fund operating budget. The power we produced at this hydroelectric generating facility has been sold on the wholesale market in the past. But a recent agreement I signed with NYSERDA will give us the ability to sell power on the retail market because of our new tier one rating. In addition to the sale of power at a substantially higher rate because it's retail, not wholesale, there are renewable energy credits and power production credits that we will earn increased revenue for the city. This would not have been possible without the money we invested and the plans we have developed in the past several years. Another investment I'd like to share with you. We recently made to convert approximately 3,100 city streetlights to LED fixtures. The old lights were a sodium vapor, which was a high energy user. This one change will reduce our yearly costs from $800,000 a year to 304,000. You'll see it in the budget. It's 304,000 in the 2027 budget. That is a reduction of 62%. Thanks to the continued commitment and hard work from all of our city employees and key personnel, we were able to control spending by finding inefficiencies, streamlining processes, eliminating waste, all while improving services. The 2027 proposed budget will fully fund all services we currently have. Let me repeat that, because this doesn't happen in all communities. The 2027 budget will fully fund all services we currently have. Whether you're picking up leaves, whether you're plowing roads, whether you're going on a tiki boat ride, all the services that you enjoy this year, last year, is in the budget for 2027. At the same time, We've had to make many difficult decisions as we crafted the 2027 budget. During my line by line analysis of all department budgets, which has taken over a month, month and a half, several questions came to mind. The first one is, is this funding request a real need or just a want by a department head? Also, if it is a need, can we delay or find other sources of funding like grants for it? I think this is the part Alexis will like coming up right now. Those questions were constant reminders of trying to be fiscally responsible to our citizens. A great example of finding alternate sources of funding is the Thursday concert series at Veterans Stage during the summer that we all enjoy. Prior to 2025, City taxpayers were paying the cost for that event. At my urging, we found a grant opportunity with Constellation to sponsor the venue, which has saved $50,000 over the past two years of city taxpayer money. We also received support from state representatives like Senator Chris Ryan and Assemblyman Will Barkley. Recently, Senator Ryan provided $300,000 to the Oswego Fire Department. I'm glad the chief is here. It was to replace air packs for our firefighters, which is critically important to make sure that they are safe when they protect us. Looking for grant opportunities is an important role for city government because every dollar we receive through grants is less taxpayers are responsible for paying. To that end, we hired Saratoga Associates for grant writing and administration in January, and they have helped us apply for millions of dollars in grants so far this year, and we will be hearing soon about our success on that. However, there is one area of concern. The Sewer Enterprise Fund. The account is trending in a negative direction. And the council must, and I say this, must make some decisions to help turn the numbers around. I proposed a plan for the fund to the previous council in December of 2025. And earlier this year, I tried again with the current council that's sitting here today. But there has been no substantive movement on this important issue. Developing a plan to stabilize the fund should be a priority for this council for the remainder of this year. The council cannot continue kicking the can down the road. Please focus on that. My budget calls for a slight tax levy increase of 2.97% compared to fiscal year 2026. The current 2020 tax rate of $10.376 per 1,000 of assessed value would increase to 10.745. And here's some examples on how the new rate will affect property owners. If you own a home that is valued at $60,000, Your 2026 taxes were $623. Next year, they will be $648, a difference of $25 for the whole year. Not for one month, not for a quarter, but for the whole year. And to push the math further, I divided that by 52 weeks. That works out to 48 cents a week. 48 cents a week. Let me share a couple other property values. $80,000 property, the amount going up is $30 for the year. That works out to 58 cents a week. If you own a $100,000 house, the total increase is $37. $37 on a $100,000 house. That equates to 71 cents per week. And lastly, if you're lucky enough to own a $200,000 house, you will pay $74 more next year, which is $1.42 a week. Much of the increase is attributed to retirement costs, 13% retirement costs went up. Healthcare costs went up 15%. Utilities, 10%. We were very fortunate on the utility front that we signed a three year agreement for fixed rates. That agreement ends at the end of this year. And as everybody knows, and who's had a utility bill for the past six, seven months, all utilities have gone up. We're anticipating a 10% increase in utilities. And then there's the contractual raises citywide. I think we all agree that our city workers deserve a fair wage, and there are contracts to give them that. Inflationary increases also put pressure on the city budget. As you know, we actually have several budget funds. The Sewer Enterprise Fund, the Water Fund, the High Dam Enterprise Fund, and the general operating fund for the rest of the city's needs. All those total $82,966,236, and it doesn't include $100,000 for the mayor. Trust me, it's still $40,000. When I received the initial budget requests from all the departments in early July, We were looking at a much, much larger budget and an unacceptable, huge tax increase. But over the last few months, we worked hard to overcome this obstacle and provide a fair and balanced budget, not only for the citizens of Oswego, but for the taxpayers and for the residents and the employees. The budget process is a long process. That started May 1st when I asked department heads to provide their budgets by June 1st. They had a month to put together their budgets. I would like to thank all the department heads who worked on their budgets and who met with me for adjusting the requests. So that it reflected the needs of the community, but at the same time does not burden our taxpayers. Let me repeat that. I want to thank them for adjusting the request so that it reflected the needs of our community but at the same time does not burden our taxpayers. City Chamberlain Deb Code and her staff were instrumental in compiling all the numbers and I thank them for all the efforts. Kristen in my office also was a big help as well. The decision now is in your hands. is in the hands of the Common Council on whether to accept this proposed budget or to amend it by resolution. Any amendments made by the Common Council by resolution to increase or decrease appropriations will affect the proposed tax rate. If any increase in the tax levy equals 5% or more, which is different from the 2% cap that everybody was talking about because the amended budget must be presented to a public referendum in the November election, and that is per local law. Should the amended budget be voted down in the November election, my proposed budget will become, by default, the 2027 operating budget. The Common Council will hold public budget workshop the week of August 17th, which will be run by the Budget Commission. I selected the members of the Budget Committee, just like I selected all the other members of all the other committees that the Common Council is involved with back in January. That committee is made up of Councilors Plunkett, who is the chair, and he has seven years of experience, and it was a no-brainer to put him as the chair because he's the only one that has the experience on the city budget, and he's been here for seven years, along with new councilors Meyer and Lautensack. Hopefully, the council will conclude the review of the budget, and it will be ready for a vote at the August 24th Common Council meeting. Any budget amendments must be sent to my office by noon on Thursday, August 20th, just like any normal deadline we have for committee meetings or council meetings. That's Thursday, August 20th by noon. Finally, and after months of hard work and focus, I, Robert A. Corradino, submit this proposed City of Oswego 2027 operating budget to the Oswego Common Council for consideration. The clerk will pass those out. Okay, that is the end of the mayor's report. Let's start with resolution 246, please.

Approve minutes, common council meeting held July 27th, 2026.

Councilor Plunkett, Councilor Thompson. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Eschlein?

Yes.

Councilor Lattensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thompson?

Yes.

Councilor Kennedy?

Yes.

Approve 7-0.

Call resolution 247.

Appoint Commissioner of Deeds.

Councilor Kennedy, Councilor Meyer. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lautensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thompson?

Yes.

Councilor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

Call Resolution 248.

Approve use of public space national grid in order to utilize area located at 249 West 5th Street to install a utility pool between the curb and sidewalk.

Councilor Plunkett, Councilor Meyer. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Eschlein?

Yes.

Councillor Lautensack? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons?

Yes.

Councillor Meyer?

Yes.

Councillor Plunkett? Yes. Councillor Thompson?

Yes.

Councillor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

Call Resolution 249.

Authorize use of public space, Oswego County OASAS, in order to host the Community Health Outreach Fair in Brightback Park on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

Councilor Ashland, Councilor Laudensack. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Laudensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thompson?

Yes.

Councilor Kennedy?

Yes. Call resolution 250.

Approve use of public space, Susan McRarity, in order to host a block party on West 5th Street to be held on Saturday, August 15th, 2026.

Councilor Kennedy, Councilor Laudensack. Any comments? Please call the roll.

Councillor Ashland?

Yes.

Councillor Lonson? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councillor Meyer? Yes. Councillor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councillor Thompson?

Yes.

Councillor Kennedy?

Yes. Call resolution 251.

Approve use of public space, Christine Wells, in order to host a glow and flow event in Wright's Landing Marina in the Oswego Harbor on Saturday, August 15th, 2026.

Councillor Plunkett, Councillor Meyer. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councillor Aisling?

Yes.

Councillor Lautensack? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councillor Meyer?

Yes.

Councillor Plunkett? Yes. Councillor Thompson? Yes. Councillor Kennedy? Yes. Resolution passes 7-0.

Call Resolution 252.

Approve use of public space Easton-Lee in order to host a wedding at Brightbeck Park on Monday, August 10th, 2026.

Councilor Ashland, Councilor Thomson. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lautensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thomson?

Yes.

Councilor Kennedy? Yes. Approved 7-0.

Please call resolution 253.

Refer petition submitted by Darryl Fiffner, contract purchaser of real property located at 37 West Cayuga Street for a change of zone from a TN1, traditional neighborhood one, to TD, traditional downtown, to the planning board for an advisory opinion.

Councilor Lattensack, Councilor Meyer. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lattensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer? Yes. Councilor Plunkett? Yes. Councilor Thompson? Yes. Councilor Kennedy? Yes. Resolution approved 7-0.

Call resolution 254.

approve local law number two of the year 2026 a local law authorizing a property tax levy in excess of the limit established in general municipal law section 3c council fitzgibbons before we proceed with the vote i'd like to talk a little bit about

the problem that we found ourselves in. Point of order.

Yeah? Don't wait to get a first and a second. Yeah.

I wanted to do a second.

Okay.

All right. I recognize Councillor Fitzgibbons is the first, and Councillor Plunkett had his hand up as well. So now, Councillor Fitzgibbons, you're recognized to speak.

Thank you very much, and thank you for the clarification. I appreciate that. Before we proceed with the consideration of this I think it's important to put it in context of the public comments that we've received and the concerns a levy in excess of 2% represents to our community. First, I want to assure the public of our engagement, the fiduciary obligations that we have in the positions that we've been elected for. That has been from the beginning of our service. Six of seven at the council are new to this council process. We've come with different backgrounds and different skills and ability, all with an equal commitment to the fiduciary obligations that we're asked to serve. We came forward in our positions starting in February where we sought timely and relevant financial information based upon the law we speak of that we serve under, which is our charter. And our charter speaks of the obligation to serve us with the appropriate information that we can make good information, good decisions based upon the demands of our job and the community. The charter says, The city chamberlain shall render monthly reports of disbursements of each board and department of said city and the balances remaining of each fund at the end of every month to the mayor and to the common council. That was not taking place. From February 3rd, we sought that information, diligently. And persistently, on behalf of serving as the president of the council, I carried that voice to the administration. It was not heard. It was not responded to and it was not respected. We got disingenuous information that did not reflect that obligation that they had. It was only after persistent work. We're the comptroller's office who publishes an interesting guide for elected officials, which says financial oversight responsibilities of governing bodies. So people that take this job seriously and look to serve on behalf of the people we represent, these are the obligations that we have. And clearly in the obligations, we need to have timely and relevant information on a monthly basis. It was only concluded after the visit of the New York State comptroller's office, to which they issued an opinion in July. And to take a piece from that, it said, The Chamberlain shall maintain complete and accurate and up to date accounting records for financial activity including revenues and disbursement. And the Mayor and the Council should be provided effective oversight on regularly reviewing the financial records and reports. We reviewed the city's financial activity and records reported on April 26th to determine that the Chamberlain did not provide the Council with monthly budget actual reports or balance sheets. The necessary documents for us to make good judgment. So this is to give some underlying understanding of what we work with. Now let's talk about the 245. 245 is actually- 254. 254, and I thank you for the correction. 254 speaks of our ability to consider budgets in excess of 2%. Requiring a super majority based upon the ability with a super majority to accept the budget increase greater than 2%, up to 5% to which then, but let's not guess at what that says. Let's read the rules in our chart, because that's the law we all are to follow. And the charter says, It falls under another section of the charter which speaks of the responsibility of the mayor. Section seven, the mayor shall be the budget officer for the city. In the preparation of the city's annual budget, he shall consult a budget commission. He was so good to us to identify who those commissioners were. Raise your hand if you were on the budget commission. That's the budget commission. Also on that budget commission is the Chamberlain, the city attorney, and the mayor. The proposed budget shall be presented to the council no later than August 1st. Does anybody have a calendar? And for the fiscal year commencing the following January. The common council shall have until August 31st, Or the next business day to approve the budget. Then it immediately following the next business day thereafter, the budget shall consist to be considered the annual budget. Should the budget, this is the relevant measure that deals with what we're talking about tonight. We have in our constitution, in our law, a limitation of 5%. Should the budget have a tax increase of 5% or more than the previous tax year, then the budget shall go to public referendum in the year November, in the year's November election by operation of law. In the event that the budget cannot be presented at the general election, then they shall be held a special election at the earliest date. This is interesting. The Mayor and the Budget Commission shall establish a schedule for the budget requests from the various city departments and shall afford the department heads and other personnel the opportunity to discuss all budget requests before the presentation of the proposed budget. The night we're here right now is to consider The proposed budget. I'm going to ask my peers that serve on the budget commission, how were the meetings that you took part in on behalf of the budget commission? I'm going to tell you the answer. They were not confirmed. This is not the mayor's budget. This is our budget. This is the city of Oswego's budget. The priorities are set by the council in concert with the best interests of the city. So I would tell, my suggestion is, That the ability for us to consider, and it was said in the public sector, the ability for us to consider an excess of a 2% levy is a serious and grave thing to do. And we should be doing it under the most arduous review and consideration. Our charter and law calls for that. And gives great opportunity for that. We've been denied that. We've been denied that by a failure in administrative leadership. And we're seeing it played out tonight. We're the byproduct of that, tonight. And I would tell you, this is not an anomaly, this is not something that happened once. It's happened since February, the intersection of the comptroller's office to get relevant information, the slow walking of requests that we have for questions that we want to actively engage in the shared leadership of our community. to carry the opinions of our community. And the public session, that's a red herring because I think that the ability to listen to the public is something that we owe the public. And however we craft that, how we do that, I think that quite frankly is a purview of the council. That was within the confines of our meeting. And if someone wants to come to a meeting and speak to the rules that we have, that think that we should listen to the public less or have less opportunity. We will have that as a separate issue and we'll talk about that. But that's my opinion on this particular resolution. We are put in an unholy position to consider the dire circumstances of exceeding the 2% and the abject failure of leadership to get to this point without the right information.

Okay, can I have them, let me see, we already did a motion, so you wanna call the roll on resolution 254? Would I comment? More comments. Oh, is there more comments? We'll let him go first. Councilor Kennedy?

Yeah, so I wanted to echo a little bit of what Councillor Fitzgibbons had said. The charter is pretty crystal clear about getting the budget by August 1st. And again, checking my watch, it's August 10th. So nine days we've gone without considering the budget. And then now we have until pretty much August 20th to get any budget amendments so that's 10 days, not including weekends, or including weekends to get any kind of recommendations when we technically have until the 31st to do that. So, I mean, this gives us, we haven't had any information from the Chamberlain's office regarding any financial information. We haven't gotten any, we've gotten, request to do my homework, so doing that, and it's humorous that people are being accused to do their homework when we can't get the source material to do that homework. So I find it very funny that these things are being judged upon the council when the administration itself fails to do their homework. I'm always open to changing my mind on certain things. and listening to constituents and everything about this local law. But I came in here kind of thinking 50-50. Yes, no, I didn't quite make a decision. But after hearing, you know, the people, I can't go for this local law. So thank you.

Anybody else? Councillor Thompson.

Thank you. So we got a great starting point, it sounds like, of less than 3%. I know a lot of larger cities or other cities tend to get a starting budget a lot higher. So I would hope this council could work together over the next few weeks with the administration to get this well below 2%. I think it could be done if we work together and focus on what's important right now. I would say that we had eight months eight months to focus on tax savings initiatives. That was really not done. So I think we definitely missed the opportunity here. ways to raise revenue, other ideas. Instead, we spoke about issues that don't impact that, or at least not in a positive way. But what I would like to do is, since we just got the budget tonight, voting on this, I do have concerns about that. So my question is, are we able to table it for two weeks and vote on this and then budget on the same night?

The city charter is pretty clear on this.

In order to vote on a budget that overrides the 2% tax cap that's established by the state, the local law must be in effect. So you could not procedurally, there's just not enough time to adopt the override local law. the same night as you adopt the budget, because that local law has to be filed in Albany. It's effective upon filing, but that usually takes a couple of days. We would send the local law by express mail to Albany and have it hand delivered and filed. But it would be illegal, in my opinion, to adopt the local law override on the same night that you adopt the budget.

Okay.

Because we simply don't have that luxury of time.

So could we table it for a couple weeks so we could actually review the budget and then have a special meeting once it's approved sometime within that next week, by the end of that week for the budget specifically. Is that possible?

It's always possible. You as the council have the ability to call for a special meeting. It's just a matter of logistics and timing of that. But I would caution that we leave ourselves several days to, if needed, adopt that local law and then get it filed in Albany. and then consider the adoption of a budget. So you're going to need to be safe, in my opinion, about five days at least. And that's if somebody's going to hand carry, literally drive to Albany to file this local law. For context, and I know this is not a popular statement, But the state adopted this local law, the ability to adopt a local law, all municipalities from county to cities to towns to villages to school districts. In 2012, the local law gives those communities the ability to consider overriding the 2% tax cap if it's necessary. And people have mentioned this, but it bears repeating, that in order to adopt a budget that exceeds the 2% tax cap, two-thirds of the governing body must vote in favor of that. That two-thirds doesn't happen tonight. Right, that's the adoption of a budget that exceeds the 2% tax cap must be done by the governing body by a super majority, 60%. In my time as both city attorney and a municipal attorney since 2012, I've never experienced a governing board that has considered the tax cap local law and has voted it down. I have certainly seen where boards have simply not considered a local law and adopted a budget that held the line under that 2%. I've never experienced a situation like we are having here where we're debating whether to actually adopt a prophylactic measure that may be needed and perhaps likely not needed. I guess I won't give any more opinions, I'm just giving you the context. If you ask for my opinion, I'll give it to you, but it's your decision to make this evening.

I just wanted to point out that for the previous ten years, this is how we've done it. The council would get it the first or beginning of the second week of August. And I was on eight of those ten councils, and We weren't brain surgeons. There was no accountants on those various councils, and there were different members during the eight years on the council. We got the work done. When we got the agenda or the budget on the 9th or 10th or 11th of August, I've been working nights and weekends at home and if you guys have to take this budget, what I suggest you do, you take this home tonight and you start looking at it. And you look at it tomorrow and you look at it the next day and you look at it the next day. That's all we did when I was on the council. We looked at it and then during this whole week we would look at it. And then that following week, it's already been decided that there's going to be a budget workshop on the 19th, which is Wednesday. You've got nine days to review the budget, to talk amongst yourself, whether it's email, whether it's a phone call, and to ask me questions. I'm available. I've told you all the time. There's always an opportunity to talk to me about the budget. And previous councils had no problem in doing it within that two-week cycle. Again, this is the 10th, and we're looking to pass the budget on the 24th. It's two weeks and you just have to suck it up and you have to do some work and maybe work late. Ask my wife, I was working on it on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. I was working at it pretty much every night to get this thing finalized. And you have to do what you have to do because you signed up for this job. So that's what I'm saying is, I don't know why previous councils could do it and this council can't. I know the councilor, put your hand down for a minute. I remember you as a private citizen. It was at the December meeting. You stood up at that podium. I had proposed a increase in the sewer rates. You stood up there and I explained what my situation was, that I needed to raise rates on January 1. And I felt that the council that had been in place for two or more years had the information to make that judgment in December. You stood up at that council, at that podium, and insulted me, insulted me, and told me that I was saying that the current budget or the new council coming in wasn't smart enough to figure out sewer rates. You insulted me, and I didn't like that. And now, I'm hearing that this council is not smart enough to do this in two weeks. Which is it? Are you too smart or not smart enough to do the people's work in two weeks? Whereas ten councils before you, and maybe more, because I only go back ten years, they were able to get the job done in two weeks. So I don't understand why you need to table it without actually looking into this. It's not that hard, trust me. I've been doing it for 11 years. Counselor.

Yeah, thank you very much for an opportunity. First, I want to commend you for your hard work. I can appreciate and I can tell you feel deeply invested in this. The unfortunate thing, it doesn't conspire, it doesn't follow the plan that the city has for the development of the budget. It's good effort, poorly placed, because there is a plan that's in place. This work that you did leading up to this budget, the shouldering of preparing the budget should have been shared. by these fellow counselors who would have informed us and would have shared with us their efforts. They were handpicked at your request to be part of the budget process, which the charter clearly says they would be working side by side with you because it brings Dense of experience and you trust him with his judgment based upon his experience. He wasn't part of your decision making process.

We've got all week, all week. My schedule is clear. I can work with the budget commission all week. Read the charter. I know what you're saying about the charter. Do you also know that the state budget is supposed to be in by what is April 1 and it never is. So you can go on and on about what the charter says. The reality is that we have a budget. I've worked hard on it. It's a 2.9% tax levy increase. And just do your work and review it and then come back to me.

Follow the rules.

I'm doing the best I can, John. Follow the rules. I'm doing the best I can.

Follow the rules. Doing the best I can. Obviously, we're here in a position as a byproduct. And I'm asking the council to step up. Not following the rules. The process was clear. You didn't follow it. So here we are.

You didn't follow the rules last Monday. So what am I supposed to do? You can break the rules and I can't?

No, no, no. If you read the charter, it also says the council can set rules for their own meetings. Have you done that? The council can set the rules for their own meeting. Have you done that? We were in the process of doing that. We were at a council meeting.

You didn't do it on Monday. Okay, we'll keep working on it, but thank you for your help. All right, anybody else before we take the vote? Yes, Councilor Lowndesack.

I'm just going to. Echo, I guess, or on yours. So theoretically, this is for the city attorney, if we voted on local law number two on the 24th, we have the 30th off, and we could vote on the budget, which would give us a week's time between the two if we needed it, correct?

Yeah, certainly. If you voted on the local law on the 24th, Correct. and then held a special meeting the next Monday.

Which we're off.

Which is, okay, right.

Plus it says 30th plus one day, so we could even do the first, correct?

Well, I think the 31st is a Monday.

Okay, so, yeah.

You certainly could do that.

Okay. That's an idea for you.

Yes, Councilor Thompson.

Thank you, Councilor. I think that would be the most logical step so that way we have a week or two to review what's been provided to us to see if it's even necessary. I'd like to try to stick with the 2% cap or less. instead of opening that up. So at least until we've at least put our eyes on the budget and at least looked at it over the next couple days. So I would like to actually make a motion to table this resolution for the next council meeting on the 24th. There would have to be a second.

Is there a second for this motion?

I'll second to have a vote.

We have a second. So, you need to call for a tabling of 254. Okay.

Councillor Ashland?

No.

Councillor Lattinsack? Yes, I'll give you yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons?

Yes.

Councilor Meyer?

No.

Councilor Plunkett?

No.

Councilor Thomson?

Yes.

Resolution passes. No. Councilor Kennedy?

No.

No. Okay.

Okay. Moving on to please call resolution 255.

Extend renewable energy systems moratorium.

Council Lawton-Sack, Councilor Thomson. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lawton-Sack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer? Yes. Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thomson?

Yes.

Councilor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

Call resolution 256.

Authorize Mayor to sign supplemental request number two from JMT of New York in the amount of $30,278.60 and further authorize the City Chamberlain to advance funds for same.

Councillor Plunkett, Councillor Lautensack. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councillor Ashland?

Yes.

Councillor Lautensack? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councillor Meyer? Yes. Councillor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councillor Thompson? Yes. Councillor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

Call Resolution 257.

Authorize City Chamberlain to complete a budget amendment in the amount of $46,000 to cover unforeseen high dam operational costs.

Motion, please. Council Loutensack, Councilor Meyer. Comments? Oh, Thompson.

I'd like to say, thank you again. I'd like to say that I don't think no one likes the cost right here. But it is a required cost. We don't really have much to say. But hopefully, as the mayor mentioned earlier, that we'll see a tenfold or more return, hopefully. So I just want to make that clear. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lautensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer? Yes. Councilor Plunkett? Yes. Councilor Thompson? Yes. Councilor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

Call resolution 258.

Waive rules of the common council to present resolution numbers 259 and 260 without committee consideration.

Councilor Plunkett, Councilor Thompson. Comments? Please call the roll.

Councilor Ashland?

Yes.

Councilor Lattensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councilor Thompson? Yes. Councilor Kennedy? Yes. Resolution passes 7-0.

Call resolution 259.

Accept $500,000 grant from New York State Companion Animal Capital Projects Fund and further authorize City Chamberlain to advance funds for the animal shelter expansion.

Councilor Lovinsack, Councilor Ashland. Comments? Please call the roll. Thompson?

I'll just comment. Since these didn't go through committee, I think a little bit of information is good. This is mostly to do required mandated upgrades. This is a great grant, $500,000, so thank you for economic development for helping out with that. And I think the DPW is also going to help with some of the savings on that for our side of the cost. So I definitely support this. This is a great amount of money for the much needed amount of money for that animal shelter.

Yep.

Please call the roll.

Councillor Ashland?

Yes.

Councillor Lawton said? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councillor Meyer? Yes. Councillor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councillor Thompson?

Yes.

Councillor Kennedy? Yes. Resolution passes 7-0.

Resolution 260.

Authorize participation in the charm grant program for a downtown mural.

This one I can provide some information. This is a mural that will be painted on panels that will be put on the side of 5 West Cayuga Street, which is integrative services building. I think we all probably know when you're going on First Street, it's on the right hand side. And this is one of the easiest grants, I believe. We don't have to put any money up front. We don't have to do any administration. The mural company, which is Mural Mania, will get paid directly from CNY Arts. So it's really a no-brainer. This would be an easy yes by everybody. So I just wanted to point that out. Can I have a motion, please? Councillor Kennedy, Councillor Thompson, any comments? Please call the roll.

Councillor Ashland?

Yes.

Councillor Lautensack? Yes. Councillor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councillor Meyer?

Yes.

Councillor Plunkett?

Yes.

Councillor Thompson?

Yes.

Councillor Kennedy?

Yes.

Resolution passes 7-0.

And I believe that, I didn't mention it, but that one is supposed to be up by the end of September. So we'll be able to see this mural in good weather before it snows. That was the last item. Is there any unfinished business to attend to? Yes, Councilor Thompson, or Councilor Plunkett, sorry. You've been busy tonight and I'm in the Thompson mode. Plunkett, you're up.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a quick note, as chairman of the 2027 Budget Committee, I would like to invite the public to our annual budget workshop on Wednesday, August 19th, beginning at 5 PM. You will have the opportunity to voice any questions, concerns regarding the upcoming budget. It will be held right here in the council chamber with department heads. And like I said, anyone can ask questions, comments, etc. That's all.

All right, very good. Can I have a motion to adjourn? Councilor Thompson and Meyer, please call the roll.

Councilor Eschlein?

Yes.

Councilor Lautensack? Yes. Councilor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Councilor Meyer?

Yes.

Councilor Plunkett? Yes. Councilor Thompson? Yes. Councilor Kennedy? Yes. Resolution passes 7-0.

Meeting is over. Drive safely.