WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Looking down the barrel of what’s currently an 11% tax levy increase, the city of Watertown is weighing sweeping cuts to bring that number down.
City council has floated keeping the Flynn pool closed, completely cutting Zoo New York out of the Budget, and even eliminating the city’s refuse service. That’s a move Pete Monaco, who ran that refuse service years ago, is strongly against.
“Big number in 2024-2025. Now it’s going down the crapper, or it’s projected to do that. Now I guess the ball is in your folks’ court, or it’s projected to do that,” said Pete Monaco.
As the meeting began to wrap up, council member Robert Kimball suggested that some cuts could compromise taxpayers’ quality of life, saying they’d do more harm than good.
“I think we’re cutting a little too deep, and we’re missing the point, which is we’re not here to just keep the tax rates what they were before. You can’t have what you had 10 years ago for the same price. Prices are up. If you hadn’t noticed that, everyone else has. There are things that we should preserve in the city to keep the city a nice city,” said Robert Kimball.
Council member Doug Osborne, however, believes it’d be best to focus on the numbers.
“I get it. The cost of everything has gone up, but I think it’s our job to not add to that burden and to do our best ultimately to alleviate some of that,” said Doug Osborne.
The next budget work session will be held this Wednesday, May 6th, at 5:30 PM. An informal budget discussion will be held earlier that same day from 12 PM to 2 PM at the Flower Memorial Library.
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