Schenectady City Council clashes over police OT, touches up language in $103M budget deal

SCHENECTADY — Tensions flared between a factionalized Schenectady City Council Sunday over a cut in law enforcement overtime less than a week after the council approved the budget.

The special meeting was arranged to allow City Council members to vote on language adjustments in the city’s newly adopted budget. But council members argued over a portion of police funding, another chapter in what has been an ongoing conflict between the council’s white members that make up its moderate wing and members of color who make up its progressive wing.

Councilwoman Carmel Patrick, who previously OK’d the $130 million budget deal last Wednesday, voted against the new modifications. During the meeting, Patrick said she was always uneasy with $256,161 in police OT cut from the city’s original proposal.

She also expressed frustration with Council President Marion Porterfield after Porterfield told CBS6 on Oct. 28 that police don’t halt crime, but “simply handle it after it’s done,” and part of her remaining statement appeared incomplete.

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“I disagree completely with that statement,” Patrick said at the meeting. “And I understand how civilian positions like the [police] information processing specialist also can help prevent crime before it happens by providing crucial data for investigations.”

“And I hope this isn’t the beginning of a trend by the council’s majority to defund the police,” Patrick added.

“Defund the police” is a slogan popularized by the Black Lives Matter movement. It often references slashing or reallocating funds for law enforcement, and has been pejoratively referenced by pro-police groups.

Councilman Damonni Farley maintained that Patrick’s remarks were a “dog whistle.” He added that the discussion centering around overtime misrepresented overall budget figures.

“I think that it’s a very slippery slope,” Farley said. “I think that using statements like ‘defund the police’ is disingenuous and misleading.” He added that overtime was one of the most significant reductions.

At $23,166,713, the department’s forthcoming budget is the largest police budget in Schenectady history, according to city administration. More than 10 additional officers are expected to be brought on board next year.

Councilman John Polimeni pointed out, however, that the overtime cuts are more significant than per usual and at this point, given index crimes up 30.6% from a five-year average, having less overtime is dangerous. He claimed that his opposing colleagues have previously run campaign ads to “defund the police.”

“Who suffers the most from these cuts, however?” Polimeni asked during the meeting. “History and research tells us the most marginalized are the ones most impacted. These are the same people our colleagues are always most concerned with, but I guess that’s just lip service.”

Patrick, Polimeni and Doreen Ditoro, the council’s white members that make up its moderate wing, are often at odds with the council’s members of color who make up its progressive wing, which includes Porterfield, Farley, Carl Williams and John Mooterveren.

Porterfield, after the Sunday meeting, claimed that members of the moderate wing appeared uninformed on the session’s purpose and instead of addressing the agenda, sought to engage in “political theater.”

The Sunday amendment session marked the end of what has been a tense budget process since the City Council drafted changes at odds with Mayor Gary McCarthy’s fiscal priorities — particularly alterations impacting the city’s reliance on federal COVID-19 relief aid for support. Before concessions were made on both sides last Wednesday, McCarthy intended to veto the council’s counter proposal.

The current negotiated package, which passed last Wednesday 5-2, included water and sewer fee increases cut twofold and trash fee increases rejected entirely from the mayor’s original proposal. But McCarthy prevailed in his bid to keep taxes flat, a must-do in order to use funds provided under the American Rescue Plan Act.

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Under the terms of the final agreement, the budget includes $8.2 million in ARPA funding and $3.4 million in surplus funds to bridge the budget. The City Council’s original proposal called for using more of the city’s fund balance in lieu of tapping ARPA funds.

McCarthy has previously noted that the city’s budget hasn’t entirely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the council’s original move to withhold ARPA funds from the budget would’ve led to a fiscal crisis during the 2024 fiscal cycle.

For unrestricted appropriations, $6 million remains of the city’s $16 million. The city originally received $52.9 in ARPA funding, most of which has been spent in recent months on city projects.

Ditoro and Polimeni opposed the first plan. Polimeni, who sits on the three-member finance committee, said he’s still concerned with the city’s handling of ARPA funds. The councilman has previously accused elected officials of using the federal cash pool to fund pet projects of political allies.

Polimeni suggested that the council’s original budget plan wasn’t a compromise.

“The only reason the budget was changed from the proposed budget our colleagues put forward was that the numbers just didn’t work,” said Polimeni.

McCarthy, who wasn’t at the Sunday meeting, said that the budget will probably be amended later on to include contractual agreements with the Schenectady Police Benevolent Association.

Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or at [email protected]

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