City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, May 4, 2011) – Mayor Thomas S. Richards announced today that the City reduced its 2011-2012 capital project spending plan — known as the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) — by $15.9 million as part of an effort to close a $50 million budget gap. The proposed CIP has been presented to Rochester City Council, which is responsible for reviewing and approving the Fiscal Year 2011-12 Budget.
Combined with savings from a mid-year budget cut of $2.8 million and $1.3 million in federal funds the City received for transitioning to national health care, the proposed savings amount to a total of $20 million, leaving the City with a remaining budget gap of $30 million. Because of the reductions, the projected budget gap compared to last year is no longer driven by capital expenses.
“As a result of listening to our citizens, customers, employees and managers, we have been able to reduce our budget gap significantly,” said Mayor Richards. “Budgets are about balance and investment. As we promised several months ago, we worked hard to reduce this gap before we set about reducing the workforce and cutting services.”
The capital spending reductions will cause a delay in certain projects in order to restore dollars to the City’s operating budget. The proposed CIP still provides a strong balance between infrastructure maintenance needs and new investments.
The total 2011-12 amount for the CIP plan is $91.5 million. This amount keeps the City within traditional debt limits. The City’s general fund cash capital allocation for the upcoming fiscal year is proposed to be $21.6 million for 2011-12 — $3 million less than the current fiscal year’s amount and $13.4 million less than originally planned. Partially due to customer feedback gleaned from four “Voice of the Customer” meetings, the City is proposing to defer major construction at Bulls Head Plaza until 2017. The plan also calls for putting off improvements to Manhattan Square Park downtown, the reconstruction of Seneca and Ridgeway Avenues and the redevelopment of the Broad Street Aqueduct until later dates. New York State grant funding for improvements to the Rochester Public Market winter shed saved the CIP plan an additional $2 million.
“While we are pleased we could cut the gap by 40 percent, $30 million is still a very big number,” said Mayor Richards. “We are now engaged in meeting that number with the goal of making baseline service cuts and tax increases as the last possible option.”
Projects that will continue include Community Development Block Grant projects supported by capital initiatives and improvements to the City’s spray parks as well as the City’s Focused Investment Strategy (FIS) initiatives. The largest item in the plan is the Midtown Rising development, which calls for $31.3 million over the next three years, $14.8 million of which is from state and federal sources. The City is also maintaining the schedule for the Port of Rochester Project, which will be a principal part of next year’s budget.
Essential transportation projects for the maintenance of streets, bridges and sidewalks and the maintenance of the City’s water system, including the federal reservoir lining project, are included in the plan. Most Police, Fire and Emergency Communications Department requests will also be fulfilled. The full CIP report can be viewed online at www.cityofrochester.gov/VOC2011.
The CIP and the entire FY 2011-12 Budget will be reviewed by the City Council during a series of public meetings and hearings in City Council Chambers in City Hall, 30 Church St. The schedule for these meetings is:
• May 12, 6:30 p.m.: CIP review.
• June 1, 9 a.m.: Day-long budget hearings with City Departments.
• June 7, 9 a.m.: Day-long budget hearings with City Departments.
• June 8, 9:30 a.m.: Makeup date for adjourned hearings.
• June 14, 5:30 p.m.: Formal public hearing with Rochester City School Board.
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News Media: For more information, contact Budget Director William Ansbrow at 428-6186.