Council Democrats Previously Warned Mantello Administration About Failing to Budget for Annual 911 Contract
Less Than $500,000 Left in Budget’s Contingency Line for 2025 Ahead of Union Negotiations
Mantello Administration Failed to Pay $184,000 in Rent for 2024 (http://eepurl.com/i-9OZg)
Troy, New York (March 4, 2025) - Council President Sue Steele and Councilmembers Katie Spain-McLaren and Aaron Vera issued a joint statement on a $1.04 million budget transfer from Mayor Mantello to address a significant gap in the city’s 2025 spending plan for costs associated with 911 emergency dispatch services. The Democratic caucus warned the administration in October that failing to budget for the city’s annual contract with Rensselaer County could create a massive shortfall in the budget’s contingency fund.
“The administration dismissed our concerns over the missing $1 million in the 2025 budget, claiming the contingency fund would cover the expense. Five months later, the administration requests a massive budget transfer to pay for this contract. This leaves insufficient funds—less than $500,000—for other potential expenses, including settling labor contracts with our city’s valued union employees.”
Last fall, Council Democrats highlighted the missing $1 million from the budget. Administration officials later claimed they planned to negotiate with Rensselaer County to lower the cost for providing 911 services to Troy. The Democratic caucus immediately sent a joint letter to Rensselaer County seeking clarification on the city’s contract with the county for emergency dispatch services (http://eepurl.com/i1ion-/).
According to a Times Union article published on October 18, 2024, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin was unaware that the Mantello administration planned to not pay for emergency dispatch services in 2025, and only learned of it through news reports (https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/rensselaer-county-executive-steve-mclaughlin-s-19838892.php). An excerpt from the article: “While Troy and the county are set to begin negotiations on the county continuing to provide 911 dispatch services to the city, McLaughlin said he believes the city’s payment for the service is correct as the city makes more use of it than any other municipality. The county executive said he learned from media reports of Mayor Carmella Mantello’s budget proposal not to pay for the service.”
The overuse of the contingency fund to avoid honest and transparent budgeting is the latest misstep in the administration’s mishandling of the city’s finances. For more than 14 months, the Mantello administration has struggled to manage the city’s budget and fiscal operations. Since January 2024, the city has used outside financial consultants costing taxpayers more than $300,000. The administration’s first city comptroller resigned following months of late and inaccurate quarterly financial reports and an improperly filed audit with New York State (http://eepurl.com/iS6YcM).
The three-member Democratic caucus noted:
“The administration continues to prevent the city council from doing its most important job for 14 months: fiscal oversight. We have no idea where the city is financially due to the administration’s failure to complete required financial reports to the Council, New York State, and the federal government. This may warrant a formal public inquiry per Charter C-16.”
Last week, Troy residents learned the Mantello administration failed to pay $184,000 in rent for 2024. The city’s landlord filed a notice of claim for the back-owed rent (http://eepurl.com/i-9OZg).
“The council has a duty to taxpayers to ensure public funds are used to benefit the entire community,” Steele, Vera, and Spain-McLaren added. “This requires access to information on the city’s finances—something that the administration has denied since January 2024.”
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