Oswego officials are looking at ways to deal with a loss of tax revenue during the coronavirus pandemic.
Oswego Village President Troy Parlier recently identified a series of “safety nets” to deal with a revenue shortage.
Department heads were asked to freeze all non-essential spending for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends April 30, he said, as well as look at cuts in their budgets for next year.
Parlier said the village might be reimbursed for some expenses incurred during the pandemic from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and there could be money coming from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package approved by Congress.
The village also has $743,827 in revenue from the sale of the old police station and $140,405 from the sale of the Firehouse Pizza property that it owned, he said.
“I feel we are in strong fiscal shape to weather this,” Parlier said. “If we feel a need to cut additional programming, we can start on a list of identified non-essential items provided by department heads that total $870,000. If we still need to look further, we can look at delaying or removing items from the list of capital improvement projects.
“I feel we are in a good position to weather the storm and provide all services budgeted for our community,” he said.
The village’s revenue it receives from the state is up to three months in arrears, so the true impact of the pandemic on March and April tax revenue will not be known until July or August, village officials said.
Parlier suggested the village proceed with the budget discussions and make adjustments later on.
“We should have a good idea of what is facing us by July. It’s a planning document, we can adjust on the fly,” Parlier said of the budget.
Trustee Pam Parr has been a chief critic of the proposed outdoor entertainment venue being discussed as part of the budget.
“I am concerned about perception as I am reality,” she said. “The fact that the music venue is still in there really bothers me especially when I look at some of the other things that are in there.”
She said that priorities need to be taken care of in light of concerns about future tax revenue.
“Any dime we can spend on road maintenance and repair should be done,” she said.
Parr identified Wolf’s Crossing Road improvements and traffic signal improvements on Washington Street at Main and Harrison streets as priorities.
“We do not have to cut to save something,” Parlier said.
Trustee James Marter suggested the village wait a couple of months to get a better idea of the impact of the pandemic on sales tax revenue.
“At this point in time we don’t have data to say what will happen. If it gets down to two months from now where we have to make a decision and we don’t have the money then it’s up for discussion,” Marter said.
It could be difficult to explain to taxpayers why an outdoor entertainment venue is at the top of a capital improvement project list, Trustee Luis Perez said.
“It would take some explaining to get them there. It doesn’t make it right or wrong. It’s an optics issue,” Perez said.
The village was donated land off of Orchard Road to develop a community space where people could gather for family-oriented events and charitable causes. Officials accepted the land donation on the terms that the entertainment venue would be completed in three years.
“Can I take a pass and still win across the finish line with this thing maybe one to two years from now when we get out of this pandemic? To the mayor’s point, the village may not need to wait. We just may forecast and land just fine. That’s my definition of optics,” Perez said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
