Albany City Hall. Photo: Navya Sriramaneni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Albany’s Common Council has until Nov. 30 to pass a 2027 budget. If it misses that date, the plan Mayor Dorcey Applyrs submitted Oct. 1, with its 15% property tax increase, takes effect as written.
That deadline framed Monday night’s meeting of the council’s Finance, Assessment and Taxation Committee, the first of two this week. Chair Meghan Keegan told members there was no way to cut the budget further “without eliminating substantial components of the city’s workforce,” Spectrum News reported. She said the proposal counts on at least $8 million in revenue that doesn’t exist, and as much as $16.7 million in the worst case.
The committee meets again Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall with public comment, and a public hearing on the budget is set for Nov. 16, according to the council’s agenda center and local coverage.
What the plan would cost a homeowner
The mayor’s $257 million proposal pairs the property tax increase with a new half-cent city sales tax, new fees and $9.1 million in cuts, WAMC reported when it was released. On a home valued at $250,000, the tax increase works out to about $280 more a year. The budget also leans on $20 million in additional state aid for 2027 and another $20 million for 2028. Ten employees would be laid off, and leaving vacant jobs unfilled would save $2.3 million.
The full numbers are in the city’s 2027 proposed budget book.
Because the levy increase exceeds the state property tax cap, at least nine of the council’s 15 members have to vote to override the cap. The council can amend the proposal, but its options are narrow. Council Member Ginnie Farrell told Spectrum that about 73% of the city’s spending goes to staff and that the council itself can’t make staffing cuts. Smaller items have come up for possible cuts instead, including summer youth programs and cultural events such as Tulip Fest.
There is also a dispute over which document the council is working from. Applyrs says she sent a revised budget Oct. 6. Keegan has said the budget was due Oct. 1, so the council has to work from the original, though amendments can bring it closer to the later version.
Why the city is here
Two recent reports from the state comptroller’s office put Albany’s gap for 2026 at $26 million and ranked it the second most fiscally stressed municipality in New York, WAMC reported. The 2027 gap was projected at about $35 million before the mayor’s changes.
The current year is tight too. The mayor’s office is borrowing $10 million short-term to cover payroll and plans to repay it in February with sales tax money already expected for 2026, Spectrum reported. Bids on that loan are due Nov. 12, and it is scheduled to close Nov. 24.
Some of the ideas that would bring in more money need approval from state lawmakers. Applyrs has floated a tax on hotels and short-term rentals, which would require state action. The council’s commuter tax request ran into the same wall at the Capitol last month.
Homeowners who want to see how a levy increase could hit their own bill can start with their exemptions. Our guide covers who qualifies for Basic and Enhanced STAR.
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