City officials in Auburn are grappling with a $2.8 million budget gap as they work to finalize the 2025-26 budget ahead of a July 1 deadline.
City Manager Jeff Dygert and Comptroller Mary Beth Gleason discussed the budget challenges during a recent taping of Inside Government with host Guy Cosentino. They outlined a difficult financial situation driven by rising operational costs, aging infrastructure, and constraints on revenue growth.
Initially facing an $8.6 million deficit between department requests and anticipated revenues, city leaders have trimmed the shortfall through a combination of departmental cost-cutting, debt restructuring, and savings initiatives. However, Dygert noted that some of the city’s financial challenges are structural, stemming from years of deferred maintenance and vehicle replacement delays across departments.
“We whittle it down every year, but sooner or later, staying within the tax cap while maintaining services becomes unsustainable,” Dygert said.
Auburn’s proposed $50.8 million budget factors in modest sales tax growth and steady state aid, but officials have yet to receive final figures from New York State. The city assumed no increase in state aid over last year’s one-time bump, according to Gleason.
The City Council must decide whether to override the state’s property tax cap, which would require a public hearing scheduled for May 22. Staying within the cap would raise approximately $535,000—far short of the $2.8 million gap. A full tax increase to close the gap would require roughly a 12% hike, something Dygert acknowledged the Council is unlikely to support.
Instead, officials are pursuing other strategies, including offering an early retirement incentive to union employees. The goal is to replace higher-paid veterans with lower-salaried new hires, potentially generating significant savings. Still, Dygert said he expects only a handful of employees to take advantage of the offer by the May 15 decision deadline.
Other options being considered include scaling back recreation programs funded during the pandemic with federal relief dollars, adjusting service delivery frequencies, and possibly cutting part-time and even some full-time staff if necessary.
In addition to property taxes, residents could see other increases: the refuse fee is expected to rise sharply from $276 to $420 annually—a 35% jump—reflecting years of underpricing and rising disposal costs. Sewer and water rates are projected to increase by about 2% to cover the cost of maintaining infrastructure.
Despite criticisms when it was launched, the city’s ambulance service is now covering its operating costs, although it remains a financial challenge to collect full payments for services rendered.
Dygert, who is retiring at the end of May after 31 years with the city, said he is proud of Auburn’s progress through difficult periods, citing infrastructure investments and community partnerships, including upgrades at Falcon Park, as highlights of his tenure.
“I did the best I could, given the circumstances,” Dygert said of his legacy.
The City Council is expected to finalize the budget by mid-June, balancing the difficult choices of maintaining essential services while minimizing tax impacts on residents.
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