Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has submitted a 2020-2021 budget that she says closes a $64 million revenue gap while keeping all police officers on the street and maintaining critical city services.
Warren says the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shutdown have hit the city’s revenues, boosting the budget shortfall to more than $64 million. Sales tax revenues are expected to drop by some $24 million or 15 percent from last year, and state aid is expected to be cut by more than $17 million.
Warren says the top priority named by citizens in budget forums was maintaining police and other key services. To make that happen, the city is tapping its rainy day fund, and will be proposing what the mayor calls a “modest” property tax increase. That means an increase of about $133 per year for the average household.