If you compared small- and medium-sized Upstate New York cities, you might be shocked. Despite all our gnashing of teeth over the budget, financially we are in a unique and enviable position.
We’ve collected budgeting information for 19 cities, dated 2022. And we’ve charted and ranked them on several different measures — expenditures, taxes and fees, demographics and more.
Oneonta jumps out!
Our unrestricted fund balance was 59% compared to our gross expenditures.
In contrast, check these out: Kingston — 25%, Geneva — 23%, Glens Falls — 29%, Plattsburgh — 24%. Do you see the pattern here?
Successful cities invest a greater percentage of their savings in improving themselves than we do.
There’s an old blues song about the richest guy in the graveyard. Is that what we want to be?
Yes, we maintain a relatively huge savings account. But we’ve been nibbling away at it with each passing year, taking some, putting back a little, paying for the functions of government. We are in a spiral of increasing taxes and fees that will continue to challenge those who choose to live and do business here. On our present course, there is no end in sight.
I’ve been saying — and I am repeating here — WE NEED TO INVEST IN OURSELVES. We have the financial ability to do that.
I will be convening a meeting of an “Economic Growth and Sustainability Taskforce” in January. Among its charges will be the identification of strategic investments, collaborations and initiatives that will yield new funding streams, as well as new avenues of support for our quality of life.
An obvious and inexpensive investment we can make is in the continued expansion of our effort to transform our city into an engaging destination for visitors and residents.
Over the past two summers the reimagination of our town square, Muller Plaza, has been embraced as a place to relax, meet friends for coffee or lunch, have children play, splash and cool in the summer heat, and otherwise be entertained. Free early evening concerts drew dozens and Saturdays became a must-see mixture of vendors and performances, and the occasional drum circle.
In 14 weeks, FOR-DO counted 7,600 people who spent time in the plaza. (The agency maintains that data for grants funders.)
This activity is not just an upgrade to the quality of the downtown experience, it’s a potential “feeder” to a business sector that desperately needs the additional patronage. Our downtown businesses have rarely been more at risk, and the city must explore and advance any initiative that will change that dynamic.
However, a majority of our council has not been supportive of those efforts.
Approval for 2024’s efforts came months late and compromised our ability to deploy the full width and breadth of our placemaking strategies.
For 2025, the council has voted to discontinue it all. Although our total costs are just $35,000 and our investable and unrestricted fund balance is nearly $8 million, they see no value in the production and have cut all programming.
It’s hard to understand. To be clear, this means there will be no umbrellas, tables and chairs, no kids’ games, no jerk chicken BBQ, no oversized chess game, no splash pad toys, no cornhole, no vendors and no entertainment.
It also means there will be no one to provide community information and assistance, maintain the plaza’s cleanliness, or discreetly connect with our police when concerns arise. Instead, we will have an empty and uninviting hole in the heart of our downtown.
The cancellation of the contract with FOR-DO means that Club Odyssey, which relies on those funds, will have far less to offer the young adults they provide with a safe, alcohol and drug-free space.
We are pursuing a path that leads to a less vital, less welcoming city, and we need to change direction. Now is the time to support strategic investment. Oneonta’s renaissance depends on you.
Contact your council member. Today, if you can.