Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh’s new budget is a definitive win for local business owners.

Walsh introduced his 2018-2019 budget earlier this month. The total budget comes to $286.2 million, which is down $6.8 million since last year, and it includes $11 million from the city’s rainy-day fund.

There may be some critics who consider it fiscally irresponsible to take money from the rainy-day fund, but the controversy evens out, as Walsh’s budget is intended to prevent a property tax raise. Walsh has previously said he considered raising property taxes one percent, but that would only generate $300,000, which isn’t enough to balance the budget.

John Petosa, a professor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, said keeping property taxes the same is crucial for Syracuse residents.

“Keeping taxes consistent will allow businesses in Syracuse to continue to invest in their people, their products and their facilities,” Petosa said.

Walsh’s budget will address the current needs of the city, preventing future tax increases or expense cuts, Petosa said.

Safety is another key topic addressed in the new budget, which allocates $20,000 for increased security. While that might not sound like much, it could be a great first step to revitalize the city and protect local businesses.

Paul Valenti, owner of local doughnut shop Glazed & Confused, said increased security would create a more positive perception of the city’s downtown area. He added that people who live in suburban areas of Syracuse are often deterred from living in and visiting the city because of its crime rate. He supports Walsh’s initiatives because he said increased security will help Syracuse businesses make their customers feel safe.

The budget also includes a $47,000 increase for economic development, an $85,000 increase in environmental maintenance and city beautification and a $135,000 downtown assessment fund. The money for the downtown assessment fund would be used to support the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, a not-for-profit management organization with a mission to revitalize the city.

Merike Treier, executive director of the committee, said her organization “100 percent supports the mayor’s initiatives.” Treier said these initiatives will help to keep up with demand of residents and businesses.

Environmental maintenance and city beautification are crucial to business owners attracting customers. Treier said cleaning up the streets could have a tremendous impact on the economy of Syracuse.

The Downtown Committee of Syracuse will use these funds to enhance the city by bringing in additional crew members for city beautification, picking up trash, hanging flowers, marketing the farmers’ market and developing other long-term projects to make Syracuse a nicer place to be.

These initiatives are a great start to Walsh’s first term. His popularity is commonly attributed to his commitment to local businesses and his promise to cut through the red tape to make the city a better place to do business.

By the looks of this new budget, Walsh is actually putting money where his mouth is. Even in the government, it takes money to make money.

Patrick Penfield is a freshman management major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at fpen2021@syr.edu.

Published on April 25, 2018 at 8:29 pm