Rochester City Council finance committee chairman Malik Evans said that financial trouble on the state level will make crafting the city’s budget more challenging.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 20% of state aid to municipalities like Rochester may be cut due to shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Evans also said that shortfalls in the city’s tax collections will affect its budget.
That’s why Evans said layoffs and furloughs are on the table for city employees. He also said that the city will weigh which programs are essential, like snow and garbage removal, and which can be trimmed.
“As we get ready to do the city’s budget, it will be much more difficult because of the challenges
the state is experiencing,” said Evans. “We’ll have to look at things that are must-do, nice to do, and we’ll have to look at it through that lens as we go through the budget process.”
Mayor Lovely Warren is looking for input on what the city should spend its shrinking budget on in a survey on the city’s website.
Warren is preparing to deliver her budget proposal during the second week of May.
