Legislative Address, Finance & Regular Meeting
March 5, 2026 — Troy City Council
March 5, 2026 — Troy City Council
Good Cause Eviction (Local Law 1) passed 7-0 on March 5, making Troy the 18th New York State municipality to adopt these tenant protections. The mayor had requested a pause for an independent economic study; Spain-McLaren noted on the record that when she had proposed a housing study during the prior term, the mayor had said "absolutely not." The council voted to proceed. Mayor Mantello subsequently vetoed the law; the council overrode that veto 7-0 on April 9. Remote participation by videoconferencing (Local Law 2) also passed 7-0.
Council President Steele opened the session with the annual Legislative Address, covering transparency, housing, climate, public safety, infrastructure, and fiscal accountability. She noted that lead service line replacement had reached only approximately 178 lines in 2025 against the administration's own stated goal of 1,000 — an 82% shortfall — and stated that million-dollar borrowing requests with less than 24 hours' notice would no longer pass without full documentation.
The post-meeting forum was the first substantive council discussion of Flock Safety cameras. Twelve speakers called for contract termination, raising privacy, Fourth Amendment concerns, ICE data-sharing risks, and documented vendor misconduct in other municipalities. Their testimony preceded the larger community hearing at the March 19 Committee Night.
Committee process reinstated after years of being bypassed; remote participation enacted tonight; quarterly financial reports to be delivered per law. The administration's habit of dropping million-dollar borrowing requests with less than 24 hours' notice: "The days of that are over."
Good Cause Eviction receiving final approval tonight; landlord registry to be pursued; rental inspection and occupancy certification program to be advanced.
Climate Smart Community Task Force and coordinator to be established (Res. 36 and 37, introduced tonight for Finance Committee on March 19). The Sustainability Task Force had been operating without official appointment for over a year.
Lead service line replacement pace under the Mantello administration: "woefully inadequate." The 2025 goal was 1,000; the administration replaced only ~178 — an 82% shortfall. "At its current replacement rate, we would be lucky if we were finished within 20 years." Riverwalk Park North extension has $4M in new state funding to build on.
The city hall move proceeded on an "accelerated timeline with limited transparency." A lawsuit has been filed. The council called for full taxpayer cost transparency going forward.
A social media policy for city communications to be advanced; Steele directly criticized recent city hall social media posts that had crossed into unprofessional territory.
All items passed 7-0. Finance Committee vote: Res. 30 only. Regular Meeting: all items below. Votes verified against clerk's minutes.
| # | Full Title | Sponsors | Notes | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Res. 30 | Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into a Contract with ESI Employee Assistance Group for the Purpose of Providing Employees with an Employee Assistance Program | Steele (Admin.) | Continuation of existing program at same rate: $24.95/employee/year. Finance Committee only. | 7-0 |
| LL 1 | A Local Law Adopting the Provisions of Article 6-A of the Real Property Law to Make the Good Cause Eviction Law Applicable in Troy, New York | Spain-McLaren, Campbell-Cohen, Steele | Mayor requested a pause and independent economic study at the public forum; council voted to proceed. Mayor subsequently vetoed; veto overridden 7-0 on April 9. | 7-0 |
| LL 2 | A Local Law Amending Chapter 2 of the Code of the City of Troy to Add a New Article VII Authorizing Remote Participation by Videoconferencing | Spain-McLaren, McKee | Struber: improves access for parents, immunocompromised, those without transportation. McKee: enhances democratic process. Steele: modeled on pandemic-era council meetings. | 7-0 |
| Res. 26 | Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Saratoga County Animal Shelter | Steele (Admin.) | Spain-McLaren: shelter is far away; wants discussion on a permanent local facility. | 7-0 |
| Res. 27 | Resolution Commending the Troy Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians | Steele (Admin.) | Campbell-Cohen noted "meteoric rise" of Hibernians activity | 7-0 |
| Res. 28 | Resolution Proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month in the City of Troy | Struber, McKee, Favreau (Admin.) | Spain-McLaren noted some places still don't recognize Women's History Month | 7-0 |
| Res. 29 | Resolution Proclaiming March 2026 as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in the City of Troy | Spain-McLaren (Admin.) | Spain-McLaren: she and the mayor both have children with developmental disabilities | 7-0 |
| Res. 30 | Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into a Contract with ESI Employee Assistance Group | Steele (Admin.) | As passed in Finance Committee | 7-0 |
McKee: Protects residents from arbitrary eviction; still allows evictions for non-payment, lease violations, property damage; allows rents to exceed the cap to recover documented cost increases.
Campbell-Cohen: Thanked district volunteers for years of canvassing work. Noted the 30-year new-construction exemption.
Spain-McLaren: Noted the irony of the mayor's request for a housing study: at their one meeting during the last term, Spain-McLaren proposed a housing study and the mayor said "absolutely not." "Now all of a sudden when it looks like we are going to be able to pass good cause eviction, we now need to do a housing study."
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