Yonkers receives $55M in state aid; city council set to vote on proposed city budget
A final public hearing was held Thursday night in Yonkers.
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Yonkers will get $55 million in assistance under the state budget, as the city mulls a tax hike.
A final public hearing was held Thursday night in Yonkers.
"The budget is actually quite good for Yonkers," said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano.
The Yonkers budget contains no cuts to municipal services or active workforce and maintains funding to Yonkers Public Schools.
The total budget for the city and the Yonkers School District is $1.57 billion. The proposed tax hike is a 5.25%.
"We're going to have some cuts, but we should be able to do so without laying any bodies. We won't see any cuts to first responders, police, fire, or sanitation," said Spano.
A final public hearing was held Thursday night. Community members came out to address their concerns.
"You just keep raising the taxes, raising the water bill, and raising the sewage. And what are we getting for that? Nothing," said a Yonkers resident.
"Please, please keep the schools open," said another Yonkers resident.
The Yonkers City Council president says even with state funding, School 21 will close.
There were also three proposed changes to the configuration of some of the elementary schools.
"Two of them are still going to lose their middle school classes as a way of right-sizing the school district. Also, we were able to save about 20 teachers' jobs that were facing layoffs due to cuts," said City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy.
And when it comes to the proposed 5.25% tax hike, "Our likely number will land at 4.75% as of our last meeting. So, we're not going as high as the 5.25," said Collins-Bellamy.
News 12 was told that the number isn't official yet. City council is set to vote on the budget on Friday.
