Glens Falls 2023 Budget Passed

On the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving – November 22nd – the City of Glens Falls approved its $22.6 million dollar budget proposal. The budget was approved despite having two “No” votes; these votes against passing the budget came from Ben Lapham of the Fourth Ward, and Diana Palmer of the Third Ward. The budget was increased by $590,885 from the previous year. The budget passed by a margin of 4 “Yes” votes to the 2 “No” votes, and will go into effect as of January 1, 2023.

Ben Lapham (the Councilman for the 4th Ward) is a software engineer, and has been a Glens Falls homeowner for the past 10 years. In his Green Party profile, he states, “I want to see greater governmental transparency and less waste.” The 4th Ward extends from Broad Street and Hudson Ave to Horicon Avenue and Crandall.  “I still have concerns about the amount of money that we’re going into the fund balance for.” Lapham said. The city is budgeted to draw $1.6 million from the city reserve of $7 million.

Diana Palmer is the councilwoman from the 3rd Ward. Palmer is a Marriage and Family Therapist at True North in Glens Falls. Palmer is serving her second four year term on the Common Council. The 3rd Ward extends from Fort Amherst road to Washington Street and runs from Bay Street to Crandall Street. Among Palmer’s main concerns were legacy costs that now must be included in every future budget. 

Moving forward, Palmer would like to be part of the budget discussions. Palmer’s attempts to address the budget throughout the year did not lead to a discussion. “I want to have the discussion. And, I want to make it clear that we need to open this up next term. I’m not comfortable this year, because I don’t feel we’ve really vetted this.” Palmer said at a budget meeting earlier in the month. This is a concept that Mayor Collins supports: “It doesn’t hurt to have the conversation, let’s have it throughout the year” he said.  Increases to the budget include cost of insurance, fuel costs, and new employees in the police department. The budget also includes a 2% increase in property taxes, which amounts to approximately $218,662 total; real estate property taxes increases are capped at a 2% increase in a yearly budget. The Mayor did not vote on the budget.