Mayor Fact Check

Fact Checking Mayor Mantello Administration

1. Mayor Mantello said the Annual Financial Report (AFR) is the same as the 4th Quarter Financial Report for 2024.

THIS IS FALSE — the City Code requires a presentation of the 4th Quarter Preliminary Financial Report during the February meeting of the city council, and a final report by April 30. The AFR and Quarterly Reports are two separate documents; one is submitted to the State Comptroller’s office, and the other to the city council. The mayor stating otherwise demonstrates a troubling misunderstanding of basic municipal finance. 

Additionally, the mayor’s remarks directly contradict her previous statements from the March 2025 council meeting. An excerpt from the Troy Recordis below:

Steele said … they still hadn’t received the charter-required preliminary Quarter 4 report for 2024 that was due at the February finance meeting. The final Q4 report and the Q1 of 2025 report are both due on April 30.

Mantello said the council would get that report in the next two to three weeks, but the Annual Financial Report — also due April 30 — takes priority.

2. Mayor Mantello and some Republican councilmembers continue to blame the prior administration’s comptroller for mistakes in the 2023 AFR and delays in filing.

THIS IS FALSE — Mayor Mantello hired an outside consulting firm in 2024 to assist with “closing the books” for the 2023 fiscal year and file required reports with the State Comptroller’s office. The mayor later terminated her administration’s contract with these consultants for filing inaccurate reports with the State. The administration subsequently demanded repayment from the firm for their work.

More importantly, the 2023 AFR cannot be completed until the city’s books are closed in March 2024.  The prior administration’s comptroller left office at the end of 2023. 

In the simplest terms, completing the 2023 AFR was the Mantello administration’s responsibility.

3. Mayor Mantello claimed the 2023 AFR was filed in early 2025 with no issues.

THIS IS MISLEADING — as noted above, the 2023 AFR was initially filed by the Mantello administration with the State Comptroller in mid-2024. However, it contained inaccurate information and had to be withdrawn and corrected by a different outside financial firm. This cost taxpayers additional tens of thousands of dollars to fix.

The final deadline to file the corrected 2023 AFR was Dec. 31, 2024; the administration missed the filing deadline (http://eepurl.com/i7Tf8E) and eventually submitted the document late.

4. Mayor Mantello appeared to indicate the 2024 AFR would satisfy the legal requirements to provide the council quarterly reports for fiscal year 2024.

THIS IS FALSE — as noted earlier, the AFR is a separate financial document from the quarterly financial reports. For more than 15 months, the Mantello administration failed to provide timely financial reports to the council as required under the city code.

5. Mayor Mantello claimed the administration has been “very transparent” about the status of the city comptroller.

THIS IS FALSE — the city council Democratic caucus was not notified of former City Comptroller Jack Krokos’ resignation until after his departure from the city workforce. During the month of March, the council attempted to schedule a public meeting to discuss the city’s quarterly financial reports with the city comptroller but the mayor denied access to staff.

6. Mayor Mantello stated the 2023 audit and bond rating shows the city is in strong financial shape.

THIS IS MISLEADING — Neither the bond credit rating or 2023 audit reflect the fiscal conditions during the period beginning January 2024 when the Mantello administration began their term. 

The 2023 audit covers the Madden administration’s final 12 months in office prior to the start of Mayor Mantello’s term.

Additionally, the city’s current bond rating reflects the city’s financial condition during the Madden administration; in fact, the last ratings review was November 2023. 

The completed 2024 audit will provide a clearer sense of the city’s financial condition.

Without quarterly reports, the public is being kept in the dark about financial issues that impacted the city during the last 15 months, including:

• More than $300,000 spent on outside financial consultants to help run day-to-day operations of the Finance Department and complete financial analysis and reporting requirements;

• More than $184,000 in overdue rent-related charges went unpaid for 2024; the city’s landlord filed a notice of claim for the back-owed rent (http://eepurl.com/i-9OZg). The mayor published a bizarre campaign-style video attacking the city’s landlord while denying the city’s financial obligations under the current lease negotiated by the mayor and approved by the city council

• A late payment of $84,000 for city hall rent for 2025;

• A late payment of $241,600 for interest on existing debt;

• Overestimated revenues for the 2025 budget;

• Failure to budget for an $1,000,000 annual payment for emergency dispatch services (9-1-1) provided by Rensselaer County;

• The sudden elimination of the city’s peak ambulance service shift in April 2025 due to lack of funds in the budget;

7. Mayor Mantello stated that critical questions from councilmembers about the city’s finances is hurting the city’s ability to hire a qualified city comptroller.

THIS IS FALSE — the City Council confirmed both of Mayor Mantello’s city comptroller candidates in bipartisan votes, and approved a salary increase to $150,000 to attract qualified talent.

Additionally, the mayor stated communities across the state are having difficulties with finding qualified comptroller candidates, and the issue is not limited to Troy. Claiming that critical questions from councilmembers about the status of Troy’s budget and spending is deeply problematic and seeks to undermine the checks and balances of the legislative branch.