Newburgh City Manager’s Proposed Budget Slashes Tax Rates

NEWBURGH – Newburgh City Manager Todd Venning has submitted a FY2024 budget proposal to the City Council that reduces the property tax levy, cuts tax rates for a fifth consecutive year, and includes a 12% increase in public safety spending. A public hearing on the manager’s proposed budget is scheduled for November 13th, with City Council action scheduled for November 27th.

In addition to reducing the tax levy and slashing the homestead tax rate 17% and the non-homestead tax rate 29%, the FY2024 City Manager’s proposed budget continues Newburgh’s $100M infrastructure improvement plan with a 20% boost to public works spending, including $1M for paving and road resurfacing; implements new collective bargaining agreements, including a 28% increase in police officer salaries; and reduces the use of fund balance in line with the multiyear financial plan.

City Manager Venning’s proposed FY2024 budget reducing the property tax levy while boosting public works and public safety spending is the latest achievement in a series of recent recognitions of the City’s fiscal excellence.

City Manager Todd Venning: “My 2024 budget proposal reduces the property tax levy and slashes tax rates for the fifth consecutive year while continuing the City’s $100 million infrastructure improvement plan and increasing public safety spending 12%. Our focus on expanding the tax base and cultivating alternative revenue sources from parking and the hotel occupancy tax has reduced the City’s reliance on property taxes to fund capital projects and operational expenses. In partnership with the City Council, my administration will continue to expand the local economy and maintain the open and transparent budgeting process that is returning the City to prosperity.”

In September 2023, the City of Newburgh became one of three cities in New York State to receive Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s top score for fiscal health in four consecutive years. The City improved its environmental stress score for three consecutive years before the designation was removed this year.

In June 2023, the City received North America’s most prestigious award for state and local government budgeting: the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, conferred by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).

Also in June, the City was awarded the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the first time in its history. The GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

In August 2022, citing the City’s strong management team, Moody’s Investor Services upgraded the City of Newburgh’s credit rating to A3 from Baa2, and awarded the City its highest governance rating of “G1” – including its highest ratings for institutional structure, policy credibility & effectiveness, and budget management.

The FY2024 Manager’s Proposed budget is another step forward in fiscal transparency and community-centered government. After a months-long process that included two weeks of public hearings where each City department presented budget requests to the City Council, the proposed budget is now available for resident review in a web-based, mobile-friendly digital budget book on the City’s website: https://www.cityofnewburgh-ny.gov/184/Citys-Annual-Budget.