Peekskill Common Council Work Session - March 16, 2026
Peekskill Common Council Work Session – March 16, 2026
The Peekskill Common Council held a work session on Monday, March 16, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the Common Council Chamber. The meeting featured a detailed finance presentation on the 2025 budget-to-actual results, followed by multiple action items including street closures, a park design contract, summer camp bus rental, cannabis regulation updates, police program agreements, and council liaison reports. The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session for personnel matters.
Finance Presentation – Budget to Actual and Capital Budget
- Presenter: Toni Tracy, Comptroller, presented the 2025 adjusted budget versus actual results. The final revenue for 2025 was $54,709,838. After deducting a transfer tax set aside ($401,147) for firehouse debt and the planned use of fund balance ($350,000), the adjusted revenue was $54,658,691. Total expenditures, including $300,000 in encumbrances, resulted in a net deficit of $1,321,762.
- Revenue shortfall of $2,763,832 was driven by lower-than-expected interest/penalties ($534,302 short) and a combination of sales tax, mortgage tax, and cannabis sales tax ($852,079 short). Cannabis sales tax alone was budgeted at $575,000 but only about $200,000 was received.
- Expenditure surpluses of $1.4 million came from departments that ended the year under budget, partially offsetting the revenue gap.
- Balancing steps: The 2026 budget reduced revenue projections by $1,741,550 across interest/penalties, cannabis tax, fees, violations, and outside agencies. The city will continue quarterly reviews, monthly department head meetings, and pursue new PILOT agreements through the IDA. Councilmember asked about PILOT impacts; Comptroller explained payments are distributed among city, county, and school district.
- Councilmember noted the deficit is under 3% of the budget. Mayor emphasized transparency and proactive tracking.
City Clerk Items – Street Closures and Market Permits
- Farmers Market: Proposed for Bank Street every Saturday from June 6 to November 21, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, to be operated by the BID. Council approved; resolution scheduled for March 23.
- Esther Street Marketplace: A new initiative by the BID to activate downtown early, running April 4 through May 30 (coinciding with farmers market start) on Esther Street, with about 10 vendors per week. Council questioned impact on existing businesses; city clerk noted outreach to affected businesses, including Beanrunner (owner on board). Council expressed support.
- Cinco de Mayo Celebration: Application from Ruben’s Cafe for May 2, 1:00 PM – 11:30 PM, street closure 11:00 AM – 12:30 AM on May 3. Council raised noise ordinance question (currently 10 PM or possibly 11 PM; city attorney to verify). With sound curfew clarified, items will proceed to resolution on March 23.
Recreation – Depue Park Phase 2 Design Contract
- Presenter: Jonathan Zamora, Director of Recreation. Saratoga & Associates selected for professional services for Phase 2 of Depue Park. Contract cost: $183,200 (not to exceed). Total project is $2.4 million, with $1.6 million in grants and $975,000 city funds. This contract covers design development, construction documents, permitting, bidding, construction administration, and closeout. Councilmember asked about specifics; design will use prior community input and will include DPW and water department to avoid later issues. Resolution to be brought March 23.
Recreation – Summer Camp Bus Rental
- Due to YWCA’s proposal increase (asking $200,000 this year vs. no city ask last year), the city recreation department will run its own six-week summer camp in two three-week sessions at Woodside Elementary. One bus will be rented for $22,562 (down from two buses at $50,000+ in prior years). Increase per camper is about $5. Council asked about enrollment contingency; expected 125 campers per session. Early drop-off and late pickup are being explored. Hiring for camp counselors underway.
Discussion – FIFA World Cup Watch Events
- Recreation Director presented plans for community watch events during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Small gatherings (<1,000) don’t require FIFA license; some venues registered. Matches before 7:30 PM difficult to see; later matches (9-10 PM) may conflict with noise ordinance in downtown. Proposed using Pugsley Park, Esther Street, riverfront, and neighborhood center for earlier/indoor matches, plus youth skills pop-ups in Depue Park. Council expressed support, noting need for flexibility and community engagement. Team USA and Ecuador games expected to draw large crowds.
Planning – Cannabis Regulation Discussion
- Presenter: Carol Samuel, Planning Director. Building on February discussion, she sought council approval to refer updated cannabis zoning text to the planning commission and set a public hearing for May 11. Key points:
- Consumption sites: state has not yet issued regulations; current city code allows them where dispensaries are allowed but requires state license. New text restricts consumption sites to the same zones as dispensaries (C2, C1, M districts) until state rules are finalized.
- State distance requirement: 1,000 feet between dispensaries for Peekskill’s size. A new “public convenience and advantage” (PCA) category allows applicants to locate as close as 500 feet if approved by the state Cannabis Control Board. The proposed local text incorporates the 1,000-foot rule unless PCA is obtained.
- Parking: added requirement that applicants for parking waivers must provide proposed on-site parking layout or availability of nearby public parking within 500 feet.
- Councilmember noted that illegal cannabis sales are a challenge for licensed businesses. The zoning text restricts locations, not market demand. Councilmember asked about a dispensary on Highland Avenue (already permitted, in C3 zone, grandfathered). Council agreed to proceed with resolution for referral and public hearing.
Executive – Governor Hochul’s SEQR Streamlining Letter
- Carol Samuel requested retroactive council approval to sign a letter in support of Governor Hochul’s effort to streamline the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. The letter deadline was the next day (March 17). She emphasized that site plan review authority remains, and the streamlining targets projects where full SEQR is unnecessary (e.g., clean water infrastructure, green infrastructure, parks, childcare centers on disturbed land). Council expressed support; resolution to be brought March 23.
Police Items – Handicapped Parking Removal and Stop DWI Program
- Removal of Handicapped Parking at 1217 Lincoln Terrace: Police Chief Renwick reported that the resident no longer needs the space and it is not regularly used. Council approved removal. Councilmember flagged similar spots on First Street and Decatur Avenue; chief will investigate.
- Stop DWI High Visibility Enforcement Campaign (HVEC): The city is eligible for up to $50,000/year in overtime reimbursement for participating in Westchester County’s Stop DWI program. An intermunicipal agreement covering October 30, 2025 to September 30, 2026 is required. No matching funds. Chief noted the program includes access to Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officers; Peekskill has two certified DRE officers. Council approved.
Council Liaison Reports and Concerns
- Councilman DeGucio: Attended Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting. There is an open seat. Upcoming events: Arbor Day (April), full moon walk at Depue Park, and MarthaPalooza.
- Councilman Fawcett: Thanked St. Patrick’s Parade Committee for March 14 event, including Irish flag raising with sister city Castlebar. Announced the Ecuadorian National Song Contest at the Paramount Theatre on March 15. New ladder truck arriving at firehouse on March 17.
- Councilman Rigger: Parks Advisory Council meeting postponed to March 24. Echoed praise for weekend diversity celebrations.
- Councilwoman Chair: Hasn’t met with HRC yet (meeting March 31). Housing meeting on March 19. Raised good cause eviction inquiries; City Manager Matt will meet with court this week to obtain data.
- Councilwoman Talbot: No report yet. Expressed interest in attending “Welcome Home Westchester” housing event in April.
- Mayor: Highlighted community diversity and proud weekend. Noted Deputy Mayor absent due to illness.
Key Outcomes
- Approved direction to bring forward resolutions on March 23 for: Farmers Market, Esther Street Marketplace, Cinco de Mayo (with sound curfew verified), Depue Park phase 2 contract, summer camp bus rental, cannabis zoning referral/public hearing, SEQR letter retroactive approval, removal of handicapped parking at 1217 Lincoln Terrace, and Stop DWI HVEC agreement.
- Directives: City attorney to verify noise ordinance curfew; police to investigate other handicapped parking spots; city manager to obtain eviction data from court; planning to prepare resolution for cannabis text; city clerk to advertise CAC vacancy.
- Next steps: Comptroller to return in April with first quarter budget review. Recreation to finalize FIFA watch party plans. Executives: council entered executive session to discuss personnel matters.
Meeting Transcript
The whole meeting for today, March 16th, 2026. We have a finance presentation this evening, as well as um about nine items, and then executive social uh executive session for discussion of matters concerning the medical financial credit or employment history of a particular person, persons, or corporation or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of particular person, persons, or corporations. So at this time, I'm gonna turn it over to our city manager. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Good evening. Uh, we do have a presentation about the budget to actual for um last quarter, and Tony Tracy, our comptroller is going to present information to you. Oops. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Good evening, good evening. So I have uh given you a packet for tonight, and it's for a review of the 2025 adjusted budget versus the actual results of the budget. And so there's a memo detailing the whole thing. Could you just make the screen bigger? Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry about that. It'll enlarge the type bit. Thank you. Okay, does that help or should I see? Much better. Okay. Okay. So there is a memo here for you, uh, and it's basically explaining how the budget ended the year. But rather than walk through that memo, I figured we can walk through it on the Excel sheet that's up here. That will be a little easier to follow for everyone. And I just have to go back one tab. Thank you. Sorry. Technical difficulty here. It was there, but I'm just trying to go back one pound. Okay. Sorry for the delay. So what we're starting with here, uh, summary of activity. So I have started up at the top of the page, and that number is a final revenue number for 2025, which is the fifty mil 54 million seven hundred nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight dollars. And the next thing we're doing here is the transfer tax, which was originally set up by resolution that it was to be collected for the amount of the debt payment on the firehouse. So the amount that I'm deducting here was received in excess of that debt payment for 2025. So we're taking this off of that revenue type total to reserve for the firehouse debt, the 401,147. And then that brings us down to an adjusted revenue number. The other thing I've taken out is the planned use of fund balance. So when we had built the budget in the fall of the year before, the city planned to use $350,000 worth of fund balance. So basically that's kind of a planned shortage if you want to look at it that way. So we're taking that out as well to figure out what the actual deficit is outside of that. So it brings us down to the $54,658,691. And then beneath that is a total of all of the expenditures for $2025. And it also includes a little over $300,000 of encumbrances, which are basically items that were purchased in 2025, but they have not been received and paid for yet. That amount gets added in to so that we have a total amount spent. So taking that into consideration versus the revenue, it brings us to the deficit of $1,321,762. So going beneath that, now what I did down here is to kind of break out, we have a revenue X a revenue deficit, I'm sorry, of $2,763,832. And where that comes from is in that little list above that. We have interest and penalties. We have a shortage there of $534,302. Interest and penalties really combines two items in this line of NREM penalties and interest.
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