Property tax increases, lead service line replacement and the transformation of the city’s Northside neighborhood are part of the preliminary 2025 budget proposal shared by City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers on Friday.
The $109 million preliminary budget plan, which has been sent to the Common Council for review, includes the general fund of approximately $70,726,203 million.
“We have put forth a responsible budget to address the city’s challenges and to ensure the city continues to get a stronger financial footing after being mired in deficits for far too long,” Flowers said in a statement.
On Monday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m., the Common Council will have a public hearing on the budget in the Common Council Chambers.
“There is more work to do to ensure the city can provide services, modernize aging infrastructure and maintain an adequate workforce,” Flowers said.
The preliminary budget’s tax increases: What to expect
With the 2025 new proposed tax rate, property taxes would increase for homeowners just over 9%. This is estimated to be an additional $18.20 per month for a homeowner who has an average $300,000 assessed property value.
The average assessed home, water, sewer and sanitation rate increases are estimated to go up an additional $9.61 per month.
The City of Poughkeepsie also follows the homestead tax option — an option for localities to establish two separate property tax rates, homestead tax and non-homestead tax, according to the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services.
The homestead tax allows for a lower tax rate for residential property owners, and the non-homestead tax is a higher rate for all other property owners.
Under the proposed budget, the homestead tax rate would rise to $10.83 with a $0.73 increase per $1,000 of assessed value on the property. The non-homestead tax rate would rise to $13.93 with a $0.17 increase per $1,000 of assessed value on the property.
For reference, in 2018, the city’s budget included a homestead rate of $13.29 and a non-homestead rate of $17.72.
Why taxes may increase
Flowers’ budget cites a $1,742,954 million increase in employee and retiree health care costs, $821,965 increase in mandatory pension contributions to the NYS retirement plans and $164,086 increase in Workers Compensation benefits costs as factors in tax increase.
Mandates, discretionary increases including around $1.7 million salary increases, and the end of American Rescue Funds are also factors Flowers said play a role.
Investments toward infrastructure and special projects
Regarding the budget’s impact on infrastructure in the City of Poughkeepsie, funding would be allocated toward replacing lead service lines, modernizing the water service along South Avenue and Franklin Street, improving street paving efforts, and replacing the Garden Street Bridge over Fallkill Creek, which is expected to commence next spring.
Additionally, there would be plans for renovations of Spratt Park Pool House, following the construction of the Pulaski Park Pool House, which opened this year, along with structural repairs to the century-old Hooker Avenue Fire Station building.
Flowers’ budget also takes into account strategic initiatives or special projects for the City of Poughkeepsie, including a partnership with the Poughkeepsie Housing Authority to develop a transformation plan for the city’s Northside neighborhood, focusing on Thurgood Marshall Terrace and Martin Luther King Jr. Garden Apartments.
More: Poughkeepsie’s proposed Business Improvement District: The plan, location, costs
Furthermore, Flowers wants to maintain funding levels for the Youth Services Division, increase funding for the downtown business district improvements, and provide a clear zoning blueprint to attract developers for more housing and employment options.
The preliminary budget also plans to address building on the city’s designation as one of the state’s first “Pro-Housing Communities,” and doubling down on homelessness efforts, by increasing police patrols in prevalent areas as well as mitigating quality of life issues.