End Of Utica's Budget Year Approaches

It's no secret that money is tight for many cities in our area and it's no different in Utica. Mayor Palmieri issued a memo, just last week, ordering all city departments to stop any unnecessary spending through March 31st; the end of the budget year. As of now, the city is running over budget for accounts in several departments, the majority coming from the Fire Department's overtime budget. But the city budget director says these overages will shrink as the budget is cleared up through charging other accounts.

"The city doesn't have any margin for error this year because of our depletion of fund balance over the past 3 years. We have a number of accounts that are running deficits right now but on the flip-side, we have many more accounts with sufficient balances left. The public at large should not be alarmed right now," says Peter Fiorillo,Utica's Budget Director.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will be in Utica tomorrow morning at 10 to release a fiscal profile of Utica. He'll be joined by Mayor Palmieri to discuss his report and the challenges the city is facing.