The recommended minimum for unassigned funds is two months' operating expenditures, which for Hudson is $2,623,614. Calculating according to the requirements of New York State Comptroller's Office, Hudson's unassigned fund balance at the end of 2025 was $1,409, 849. Commenting on the situation, Morris said, "If that was being looked at by the comptroller, there's a very good likelihood that in next year's report of cities under stress, with those numbers, that we will be considered a city under stress."
Morris also told the Council that "in the first pass" of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment's review of the budget for 2027, there is a more than $1.5 million gap between projected revenues and requested expenditures. In the past, such budget gaps have been closed by taking money from the fund balance. It appears that won't be possible this time.
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A number of us have been harping on this issue for a long time . . . seemingly to ourselves. It's high time the Council heard it. Let's hope they take it to heart.
ReplyDeleteThe silver lining here is that the City will be forced into a hard look at its expenditures and revenues. Increasing property taxes will only raise rents for the vast majority of renters and further exacerbate the stratification of Hudson society. Fiscal responsibility may actually take hold for the first time in a long time. A property reval would be the first place to start so at least we're on an equitable footing.
The key is of course to control spending but, at the same time, the City has to consider its revenue sources and figure out a demand-neutral method of increasing revenues without further burdening property owners.