Mayor Walsh Announces Spending Cuts and Program Changes for FY26

Elimination of the Cadet Program

$490,000

Eliminates the entire program, intended to recruit and prepare young people for a career in law enforcement in the face of an historical low population of incoming officers; will negatively impact the department’s ability to provide services for years to come.

Reduction in Overtime

$425,000

Reduces and/or eliminates police details including: City Parks & Pools, Armory Square, Dangerous Panhandling, Neighborhood Watch meetings, Dirtbike/ATV, Racing, Fireworks, Downtown Proactive, Clinton Square Ice Rink, etc.

Elimination of Shotspotter

$450,000

Eliminates funding for the program intended to detect gunfire, particularly those unreported and further hinders efforts to curb gun violence.

Reduction in Liberty Resources Partnership

$500,000

Eliminates a significant partnership in the department’s alternative response initiative. The initiative was a core component of the national “Re-imagining Police” campaign.

Elimination of 10 SPO’s(Special Police Officer)

$350,000

Eliminates the positions for retired officers to serve in SPD operations including criminal investigations and patrol.

Elimination of six Community Service Officers

$252,000

Eliminates six positions intended to assist police officers at a time when officers’ capacity is increasingly strained (parking tickets, ordinance enforcement, etc.).

Elimination of the Police Athletic League Assistant Director

$97,500

Eliminates additional capacity to administer the program intended to foster community partnership by bringing youth and police together.

Elimination of two Parking Checkers

$70,000

Eliminates two positions whose daily activities result in enhanced safety and revenue generation.

Reduction in Interfaith Works Partnership

$75,000

Eliminates Police-Community dialogues which have contributed to better relationships between SPD and community members in helping to build trust, so officers can more effectively perform their jobs.

Elimination of Tip411

$20,000

Eliminates the application that receives anonymous tips from the community on potential criminal activity.

Miscellaneous

$809,365

The remaining Budget Cuts will be distributed through SPD’s operational costs.

Reduction (33%) in funding for professional services related to Transportation planning

$1,140,689

Drastically reduces future traffic calming projects, traffic studies, bike and pedestrian safety improvements, and delayed implementation of the City’s Vision Zero initiative.

Reduction (41%) in funding for disposal of construction debris and street sweeper debris

$115,077

Disposal costs are set and cannot be negotiated; once limited funding is exhausted, department may need to cut staffing positions

Reduction (15%) in funding for disposal of trash and debris

$600,874

Tipping fees paid to OCRRA are fixed; once limited funding is exhausted, department may need to cut staffing positions in Sanitation

Reduction (21%) in funding for salt for snow and ice removal

$324,092

Salt is critical to ensuring public safety; once limited funding is exhausted, department may need to cut staffing positions.

Reduction (33%) in funding for automotive repairs

$500,000

The City has invested resources in revamping the department’s fleet; deferral or delay of repairs will set back progress made and hinders department’s ability to meet the public safety need.

Reduction (20%) in funding for fuel

$521,148

Fuel is a fixed cost that cannot be negotiated; once limited funding is exhausted, department may need to cut staffing positions

Reduction (44%) in funding for staff performing litter picking and similar functions

$92,387

Hinders the City’s efforts to keep neighborhoods clean through litter pickups, brush removal and removing illegal setouts

Reduction (20%) in staffing for street repair to fill potholes and road paving

$98,880

Limits City’s ability to repair potholes in a timely manner and threatens to undermine the progress made in paving significantly more miles of streets in recent years.

Elimination of positions (plumbers, electricians, carpenters) necessary for summery festivals and events

$305,022

Delays in event set up and increases the likelihood City will be unable to meet the needs of event organizers in timely manner. Threatens public safety should a concern arise during an event without staff on-site to resolve immediately.

Reduction in overtime for sworn officers

$1,000,000

Limits the department’s ability to deliver services relative to public safety including additional support at structure fires, public education and engagement (smoke and carbon monoxide detector installations), after-hours code enforcement, command post at large-scale events, specialized training, etc. Sole purpose of overtime will be to answer calls from 911.

Delayed maintenance and replacement of technical devices and tools critical to public safety

$300,000

Hinders department’s ability to maintain tools for operationsincluding equipment for Haz Mat, radios, investigations, Opticom, emergency medical responses, etc.

Deferred maintenance on fire stations

$225,000

Postpones and/or limits necessary repairs to facilities resulting in reduced efficiency and compromised equipment critical to public safety.

Reduced funding for emergency medical & safety supplies

$167,000

Limits the department’s ability to have emergency medical & safety supplies on hand including personal protective equipment (PPE) such as fire safety boots and gloves, safety helmets, etc.

Reduced funding for technical equipment

$70,000

Reduces funding for communicative equipment critical for first responders, including portable radios and other required maintenance, including Plymovent equipment (mitigation to minimize vehicle exhaust exposure).

Reduced funding for automotive supplies

$42,500

Defers or delays the purchase of supplies necessary to operate the department’s fleet including tires, automotive batteries, exhaust systems, etc.

Miscellaneous

$635,000

The remaining Budget Cuts will be distributed through Fire’s operational costs.

Elimination of revaluation effort

$1,000,000

This ends the effort to perform revaluation of properties citywide and ensures the current inequity continues.

Elimination of three positions in Recreation

$151,177

Eliminates positions and hinders operations which may result in a reduction of current programming; eliminates any ability to expand youth programming.

Reduction for Forestry

$308,640

Limits Forestry’s efforts for hazard tree maintenance and CPTED projects to deter crime.

Reduction in Deer & Tick Management program

$50,000

Eliminates City’s ability to expand the program.

Reduction in funding for grass mowing

$50,000

Strains the ability to mow and maintain parks and fields utilized by constituents across the City.

Reduction in funding for lifeguard positions

$35,808

Valley Pool will close for July & August 2025.

Elimination of one shelter attendant at the dog shelter

$37,164

Further strains already limited staff caring for abandoned dogs.

Elimination of one Forestry Tech positions

$74,360

Impacts Forestry operations and limits ability to adequately maintain green spaces.

Elimination of one GIS Analyst

$58,648

Limits Parks’ ability to implement Cityworks software to ensure more efficient operations and workflows.

Miscellaneous

$143,015

The remaining Budget Cuts will be distributed through Parks’ operational costs.

50% reduction in funding for outside counsel

$869,067

Drastically reduces funding and resources dedicated to pursuing rental registry, inspection warrants, illegal cannabis and tobacco sales, negligent landlords; those resources will shift to defending the City against litigation instead of proactive enforcement.

Elimination of two Housing Inspector positions

$120,000

Eliminates positions and negatively impacts the ability of the City to help ensure safe, quality housing.

Reduction in 3^rd party permit review

$250,000

Drastically reduces the ability to expedite permit review thereby negatively impacting economic growth and development in the City. The estimated loss in revenue from permit fees is $1M.

Elimination of body worn cameras for code inspectors

$60,000

Eliminates the program intended to address concerns of staff to ensure safety and accountability during inspections.

Reduction in grass cutting for vacant lots

$90,000

Further hinders the City’s ability to deliver a service critical to quality of life.

Miscellaneous

$60,000

The remaining Budget Cuts will be distributed through Code Enforcement’s operational costs.

Elimination of two staff positions

$170,000

Eliminates two positions at a time when the City needs to expand staffing capacity, as noted in the recently completed FoxPointe report.

Reduction in professional services

$250,000

Limits ability to leverage external resources and experts, a necessary step given the limited city staffing capacity.

Reduction in “Other Services” budget

$250,112

Reduces IT’s ability to complete planned projects and respond to unanticipated issues, including efforts related to cybersecurity.

24% reduction in funding for software applications

$649,723

Eliminates software applications, despite the assertion in recently completed FoxPointe audit that each application is deployed effectively in city departments; more than double the suggested savings in potential efficiencies identified in the report.

Elimination of Trauma Response Team

$150,000

Ends the City’s working partnership with the Trauma Response Team which worked to engage with communities and neighborhoods, particularly following incidents of violence, providing aftercare to the victims and their families, most notably children affected and traumatized by gun violence.

Elimination of two staff positions

$110,309

Eliminates two positions and will impede department’s ability to effectively coordinate Dig Once construction including federally- and state-funded projects, process and approve permit applications in a timely manner, and other responsibilities, including the enforcement of the newly adopted road restoration ordinance, an effort to hold third parties accountable for damage resulting from street cuts.

Elimination of two positions (Personnel Specialist and Administration Specialist)

$96,000

Limits HR’s ability to deliver timely, efficient services to department heads, employees and retirees.

Miscellaneous

$1,877

The remaining Budget Cuts will be distributed through HR’s operational costs.

Elimination of Syracuse Surge Link Coordinator

$73,866

This position oversees the Syracuse Surge Link program and expansion, providing low-cost broadband service to neighborhoods; position elimination will hinder the City’s efforts, particularly in implementing the $10M NYS grant awarded to the City.