No more police department? Ogdensburg unveils budget proposal

OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – Ogdensburg’s 2023 preliminary budget gives city lawmakers three options to make ends meet in the coming fiscal year:

1. Eliminate the police department to keep the tax rate steady; 22 jobs would be lost
2. Equally reduce staff and programs across all city departments, including police, fire and public works, to hold the line on the tax rate; 27 jobs would be lost
3. Cut 15 to 20 police, fire and public works jobs, which could raise taxes by 10 to 20 percent

Property owners currently pay $15.89 per $1,000 of assessed value. In other words, people who own a home assessed at $100,000 pay $1,589 in property taxes.

City Manager Stephen Jellie, who prepared the spending plan, says the city council “must strongly consider Course of Action #1 despite the unpopularity and likely public opposition.” He called the first option of eliminating the police department the “most efficient.”

Jellie dislikes the third option.

“It is not attracting new families to want to stay here and certainly the record is well shown is not attracting businesses. It is moving businesses out of the city,” he said.

However, Jellie prepared the proposed budget using the second option even though it’s “much less efficient” and “every service in the city will be impacted negatively.” He said “the prospect of revival for the city will be diminished significantly.”

More job cuts aren’t a surprise from members on the minority of council, seeing as Jellie has already slashed 30 positions in the last two years

“It’s just insane. It’s almost criminal that these people, the Skelly administration and the city manager working for them would do something like this,” said City Councillor Dan Skamperle.

He says the city’s department heads and the comptroller proposed a more balanced budget during preliminary discussions, but that was not taken into consideration.

City Councillor Mike Powers agrees.

“To the extent of what he is proposing, yes, I am kind of way out there thinking, wow, you didn’t put any effort into this,” he said.

Jellie projects a 26.5 percent decrease in sales tax revenue.

He will present the $11.9 million spending plan to city councillors Tuesday evening.

Jellie leaves the city manager position at the end of the week to take a fire chief’s job in Wyoming. Lawmakers might appoint an interim city manager during the meeting.

A final budget is needed by the middle of December.

See the proposed budget below:

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