At a glance
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment opened its review of the city's 2027 budget, one department at a time. First up were the Common Council's own budget, the City Clerk, records management, animal control and vital statistics, then code enforcement after a break. Members agreed to cut the Council's legal counsel line from $30,000 to $25,000 and to close out the last $4,750.14 in the tourism board reserve, and one member said the city should not use public money for event grants to programs the city does not control. No final budget was adopted; this was a working session, and the board said it would meet again Wednesday.
The Council's own budget
The session began with the Common Council's budget. The largest change is a drop in health insurance buyouts for council members.
Key points
- The personal services line pays the council president and members, health insurance buyouts for members covered elsewhere, the video conferencing technician and a part-time secretary.
- The secretary's pay rises from $15.38 an hour to the $16 minimum wage.
- Four people currently take the buyout. Last year's budget had set aside $50,000 for buyouts because it was unclear which new members would take city insurance.
- The top line for personal services is $97,240. Last year's figure was garbled in the transcript.
- Video conferencing is budgeted at 8 hours instead of 12, which a member said tracks actual use.
Last year's personal services total was garbled in the captions ("129 40"), so it is not given here.
Council supplies, printing, code books and conferences
Smaller Council lines were adjusted, and a laptop the clerk uses to take Council minutes was moved into the Council's budget.
Key points
- The clerk's six-year-old minutes laptop, estimated at up to $2,200, moves from the clerk's equipment line to the Council's.
- Materials and supplies drops from $1,500 to $1,000 because the account still has money in it.
- Printing and advertising stays at $8,000. It pays for legal notices and the printed code supplements the city must buy each time a local law passes; about $6,912 remains this year.
- A member asked whether the code supplements still have to be kept on paper. The clerk will look into it.
- The conferences line was trimmed on the expectation that fewer members will attend.
Council legal counsel cut to $25,000
Members agreed to lower the Council's legal counsel line from $30,000 to $25,000.
Key points
- About $15,000 has been spent over seven months, roughly $2,000 a month, with two months of bills not yet posted.
- Nothing is budgeted for a charter commission, which a member said was tabled.
- A member asked whether the outdated minutes-tracking system could be opened to others so past resolutions are easier to find. The clerk said indexing has been behind since 2023.
- Moving the city's tech support to the county's process came up again as a possible saving. One member said they had heard differing opinions.
Event grants would end; tourism reserve closed out
The line that funds citywide event grants has nothing budgeted. A member said the finance committee wants to eliminate it, and the board added the tourism reserve balance instead.
Key points
- The grants, awarded through the finance committee, were funded last year with $30,000 taken from the tourism reserve.
- A member said it is a gray area to use public funds for programs the city does not control, and would like to eliminate the line from the budget this year.
- The tourism board reserve holds $4,750.14, which must go to a tourism-related purpose. The board added $4,750 to the promotion line to close it out.
- A member said whatever the money funds should be closely tied to the city deciding what the program is.
- $2,200 moved into the Council's equipment line from the clerk's
- $4,750 added for promotion, closing the tourism board reserve
- Council legal counsel reduced from $30,000 to $25,000
City Clerk's office
The clerk walked through supplies, phones and software, and asked for a promotion for a long-serving employee.
Key points
- Supplies rise to $2,500; the account has $349 left this year.
- A new copier lease costs $183 a month plus copies, less than last year's lease.
- The time-accrual software is outdated; a member hopes 2027 is the year payroll moves to ADP.
- The clerk asked the board to promote a 12-year employee to senior account clerk, with her roughly $1,400 parking stipend removed first.
- A salary figure on the clerk's sheet was entered in error and corrected in the room.
One way to calculate the $2 raise
A member said departments calculated the new union contract's $2-an-hour raise in different ways, and that a single method will be sent to all of them.
Key points
- The raise should be the same dollar amount for everyone working the same weekly hours.
- Clerical staff work 37.5 hours a week; DPW staff work 40.
- Many departments used 2,080 hours a year, which a member said is not accurate for a calendar year.
Records management, animal control and vital statistics
Records management and animal control are unchanged. Vital statistics other expenses were trimmed.
Key points
- Animal control stays at $10,000. Jimmy Delaney has agreed to stay on as animal control officer another year; about $6,500 has been spent this year.
- The vital statistics line pays for safety paper, software and postage for mailed records.
- Other expenses for vital statistics were reduced; the exact new figure is unclear in the transcript.
Two different figures were mentioned for the vital statistics cut, so neither is given here.
The vital records vault is full
The clerk said the fireproof vault for birth, death and other vital records is out of room, and shared a quote for more storage.
Key points
- A fireproof storage unit is quoted at $2,293 plus $430 for setup. A four-drawer fireproof cabinet is quoted at $7,000 and may not suit fragile records.
- The quote came after budgets were due and is held for 60 days.
- The board held off adding $3,000 to next year's budget. The clerk will look for money in this year's budget first, and a member offered to help find the rest.
- Members discussed moving historical records into the old vault, whose door no longer works but has a locking grill, if the state archives allow it.
Code enforcement
After a break, the head of code enforcement presented. Staff costs rise; most other lines stay flat.
Key points
- Personal services was approved at $146,521 for 2026 and amended to $173,756 so two part-time officers could overlap with a new full-time officer. Both left before the hire, so less was spent; $98,944 has been spent so far.
- The 2027 request is $161,224, including a $10,000 raise for the department head.
- The new full-time officer's starting salary is $60,000.
- Equipment stays at $3,000 though $571 has been spent this year. Members asked for an itemized list of planned tablets, software subscriptions and a data plan.
- Materials and supplies ($5,206 spent this year, budgeted at $10,000) was discussed at $9,000.
- The department head asked for a work phone for the second officer; previous officers used their personal phones.
The closing summary says the telephone line came down by $1,000, while the discussion before it focused on materials and supplies. Check the recording before relying on either.
New rules for moving money between lines
A board member explained new, looser rules for departments moving money between budget lines.
Key points
- Departments could previously move up to $500 on their own. The member said the first tier is now $1,000, by email to that member's office, though was not certain whether it is $1,000 or $2,000.
- Transfers up to $5,000 need a short resolution signed by two of the three board members.
- Anything above $5,000 goes to the full Council.
- The session ended with the board saying it would meet again Wednesday.
The captions jump from 42:18 to 56:38 during a break.
About this page
FUTURE HUDSON is an experiment in civic engagement: every public meeting of the City of Hudson since January 2026, transcribed and made readable, so any resident can follow what the city is deciding without attending every meeting. This page covers one meeting; see the full archive.
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