Auburn officials laid out the clearest picture yet Thursday of the city’s worsening budget crisis, warning that dozens of positions could be eliminated, services reduced and long-standing community amenities scaled back as leaders scramble to close a major financial gap before the next fiscal year.
The discussion at Thursday night’s Auburn City Council meeting underscored the scale of the challenge facing city government. Officials described a proposed budget that would eliminate positions across multiple departments, cut equipment purchases, shift operations in-house and rely on new revenues and state aid adjustments to stabilize finances. Residents packed council chambers, many focusing their comments on public safety staffing, taxes and the future of Casey Park Pool.
At the center of the presentation was the proposed general fund budget, which includes what officials described as an 8% tax levy increase. City staff said that would translate to roughly a $109 increase for the average Auburn homeowner following the citywide reassessment.
The most significant reductions would come through staffing cuts.
Officials said the current general fund budget includes 273 full-time employees and 46 part-time employees. Under the proposed spending plan, that number would fall to 243 full-time employees and 18 part-time employees — a reduction of 30 full-time and 28 part-time positions.
According to the presentation, the reductions would include eliminating 13 vacant positions, seven positions through retirements, one position through resignation and nine currently staffed positions.
“The largest and most concerning impact in this recommended budget is the reductions to department salary lines,” City Manager Lisa Haynes said during the meeting. “We’ve already been feeling the impact of vacancies that we have held through this current fiscal year, and the loss of additional positions will have an even greater impact on our operations.”
The city also removed all planned police vehicle purchases from the Auburn Police Department budget, while other departments eliminated equipment requests, including a mower purchase from the Department of Public Works budget.
Officials acknowledged the budget increasingly depends on restructuring services and bringing some work back in-house to reduce costs, despite concerns about already-thin staffing levels.
Public safety became one of the meeting’s most emotional topics.
Residents repeatedly referenced concerns about potential cuts to police and fire staffing. Auburn Police Union President Mike Bufano delivered one of the strongest remarks of the night, urging council not to reduce officer positions and criticizing what he described as hostility toward law enforcement.
“Please do not lay off our officers or cut positions,” Bufano said after describing the department’s call volume and staffing pressures.
Others questioned whether labor contracts and rising public safety costs are limiting the city’s flexibility during the budget process. One resident argued the city’s firefighter contract could make broader reductions more difficult and ultimately shift the burden onto taxpayers or other departments.
Residents also pressed officials about Auburn’s larger structural financial problems, including population decline, inflation, healthcare costs and state aid.
Dan Herling, an Auburn resident who has spoken frequently during the city’s budget process, urged leaders to identify broader regional or state-level priorities residents could rally behind.
“Auburn will continue to face external pressures, including inflation, health care costs, limits on local revenue and changes in the job market,” Herling said.
The future of Casey Park Pool also emerged as a major issue.
Several residents pleaded with the city to keep the pool open this summer, calling it one of the community’s only affordable places for children and families to cool off during the summer months.
City officials said the problem is no longer strictly financial.
Haynes said the city recently became aware of a Department of Health inspection issue related to deteriorating concrete around the pool, creating what officials now believe is a liability concern that prevents the city from safely opening the facility this summer.
City Corporation Counsel John Rossi later told council opening the pool despite the reports would go against his legal advice.
The city now plans to pursue repairs later this year with hopes of reopening the pool next summer. In the meantime, officials said they are discussing alternatives with the YMCA, including potential access to pool facilities there.
Council members repeatedly signaled that the current budget situation cannot continue long-term.
Councilor Jimmy Giannettino said the city must begin planning immediately for next year’s budget cycle to avoid repeating the same crisis.
The proposed budget also relies on several moving pieces that are not yet finalized, including a pending recreation-related contract expected to help stabilize the city’s newly separated enterprise recreation fund.
Council is expected to continue budget discussions in the coming weeks before adopting a final spending plan.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].