KINGSTON – Kingston Mayor Steven Noble and City Comptroller John Tuey have proposed a plan to the common council to cut $1.6 million from the city’s 2020 budget as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lost revenue as a result.
With businesses closed, sales and property taxes, fees, permits, and other income is expected to be dramatically reduced.
The mayor has proposed a three-part plan as the fiscal situation emerges.
Initially, they are proposing budget cuts, a hiring freeze and overtime pay reductions to keep expenses down in hopes that the pandemic doesn’t linger for months on end.
If it does, further cuts may have to be made, Noble said.
“We believe the low-lost impact is about $3 million; however, if this drags on longer and we have even deeper recession-like impacts to our growth, we could see up to $5 million where we would then have to enact even deeper budget cuts but this is for at this point we are being cautiously optimistic about our financial future but we recognize that with this plan cutting the city budget right now is the most important thing we can do,” the mayor said.
If the pandemic continues, the mayor said there could be temporary layoffs and if here is a high-loss scenario, there could be “far-reaching permanent layoffs along with severe cuts to city services.”
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com