For the first time in recent history, the city of Syracuse is starting its budget year July 1 without a deficit. A record infusion of state aid eliminated the need to use $20 million in reserves to balance the budget. Common Councilors made the adjustment official Thursday during a special meeting. Finance committee chair Corey Williams said closing the budget gap and maintaining the fund balance has many benefits.
“We can invest it, we can make money based upon interest, it helps maintain the credit rating, and it puts our city in a really solid position to be able to look at the upcoming fiscal year and years beyond to make sure that we maintain the trajectory that we're on," he said.
A higher credit rating means the city can borrow more money at lower interest rates. Deputy Mayor Corey Driscoll said starting with a balanced budget is a great first step toward achieving fiscal sustainability.
“It gives us a temporary reprieve, a little breathing room to identify additional ways to control costs and those additional sources of revenue in partnership with the council, ways that we can try and close that budget deficit," she said.
The city typically starts its fiscal year July 1 with a deficit but ends the year in the black, Driscoll said, which makes this a significant change. In all, the state allocated nearly $107 million in aid to Syracuse.
