Syracuse Common Council Budget Hearing for Department of Code Enforcement - April 23, 2026
Syracuse Common Council Budget Hearing for Department of Code Enforcement - April 23, 2026
The Syracuse Common Council held a budget hearing on April 23, 2026, for the Department of Code Enforcement, part of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD). The hearing was chaired by Council President Paniagua and attended by Councillors Hudson, Nave, Caldwell, and Jones Rouser. NBD Commissioner Michael Collins presented alongside Budget Director Jake Dishau, Code Enforcement Director Ryan Shield, Assistant Director Bill McCann, and other staff. The department requested a total budget of approximately $5.6 million for fiscal year 2026-27, with projected revenues of $5.3 million, bringing the department close to self-sufficiency.
Discussion Items
-
Budget Overview and Staffing: Jake Dishau presented a largely flat budget with 85 total positions (51 city CSEA, 22 SURA, and temporary summer crew), one fewer than the previous year. A new SURA position for a commercial parking garage inspector was added due to state law requirements and poor garage conditions. Two lead-related positions were removed from the city budget as they are now fully grant-funded. Commissioner Collins noted difficulty hiring skilled plan examiners internally, relying on third-party contract reviewers.
-
Third-Party Plan Review: The budget proposed $541,500 for contracted services, up from $250,000, primarily for third-party building permit review. Dishau reported that construction valuation in Syracuse reached an all-time high of $430 million in 2025, with $100 million in Q1 2026. Since 2024, 105 large commercial projects have been reviewed through five qualified third-party firms, achieving same-day or next-day assignment and two-week initial review turnaround. In-house capacity could only handle a fraction of that volume. Commissioner Collins emphasized that internal recruitment for plan examiners has been unsuccessful due to private-sector salaries.
-
Revenue Projections: Building permit fees were estimated at $4.25 million, but Councillor Caldwell argued the figure is too low given major projects underway (e.g., Comstock, SDC, Parkside). Dishau explained that revenue forecasting is imprecise and depends on project closing dates. A new fee schedule, the first update since 1996, is being developed and will include zoning fees for the first time, potentially adding hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
-
Rental Registry and Code Compliance: Compliance with the rental registry remains at about 50%. Dishau cited challenges with tenants or landlords blocking access, and noted that the low base fine ($75) makes it cheaper for some landlords to pay fines than to complete costly repairs. Administrative warrants, which could force entry, require Corporation Counsel resources that are currently insufficient. Councillor Caldwell highlighted that 60% of Syracuse residents rent, and rental registry inspections are critical for fire safety and lead paint detection. The department has issued nearly 10,000 lead or deteriorated paint violations at over 4,000 unique properties since enforcement began three and a half years ago, with 80% resolved.
-
Lead Paint Enforcement: Two lead program positions are now 100% grant-funded. The lead program coordinator manages about 100 units per grant cycle. All code enforcement inspectors serve as frontline for lead violations during rental inspections and complaint responses. For high-risk areas, third-party dust wipe testing is required regardless of visible paint condition.
-
Mailing Notices: Councillor Caldwell raised concerns that violation and hearing notices mailed late in the week (Thursday/Friday) often arrive after weekends, giving residents insufficient time to respond. Dishau acknowledged the issue and committed to reviewing the mailing schedule, possibly ensuring notices go out by Wednesday. He also advocated for a citywide customer relationship management system to enable auto-text and email alerts.
-
Staffing Voids: The director of zoning, Zetong, resigned effective the day after the hearing. The position is posted. Dishau noted three vacancies for plan examiners and needs for one additional permit office staff and one zoning staff beyond the existing SURA positions (all currently filled).
-
Other Revenue and Cost Recovery: The department does not receive credit back for BA fines (estimated at $1 million total including taxes) or for emergency demolition cost reimbursements (e.g., a recent smokestack takedown where the owner is expected to pay). The $750,000 demolition budget covers residential fire-damaged properties.
Key Outcomes
- The Council received the department's budget proposal and asked detailed questions about staffing, revenue, and enforcement programs.
- Commissioner Collins committed to presenting a new building permit fee schedule and zoning fee proposal for Council engagement before the fiscal year start.
- The department will review the mailing schedule for violation and hearing notices to improve timeliness.
- The Council indicated interest in strengthening rental registry enforcement, including possible adjustments to BA fine minimums and increased Corporation Counsel resources for administrative warrants.
- No formal vote was taken; the hearing was part of the budget review process.
Meeting Transcript
That's not BZA in us. That's not us. I thought it was in a correction thing. He said enough. Yeah. Oh, we got holes at 11. What we got at one? Oh. What we got? We got one class. Which one is it? We took it off. We took it off. Yeah. But we got 12. Office of the situation. Good morning, everybody. I just hot mic. It's 11 a.m. So we will get started with our budget hearing for the Department of Code Enforcement. I'm joined today with by Councillor Hudson, Councilor Nave, Councillor Caldwell, Councillor Jones Rouser, President Paniagua, City Clerk sitting back over there, Jake Dishau, Michael Collins. So whichever one of you wants to start off. That's roll. Sure. I'll kick it off and then turn it over to Jake. So uh Michael Collins, Commissioner for the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development. We have three budgets. Last week we did the budget hearing for the planning sustainability budget, uh the uh neighborhood and business development proper budget. Uh this is the largest of the three budgets, so this is this is code enforcement. So I just want to recognize uh along with Jake, we've got Ryan uh Ryan Shield, our director of code enforcement, Bill McCann, our assistant director of code enforcement. I see um uh Jessica Brandt and Terry Bliss are uh directors and assistant director for permitting um and then Michelle Sapansky, our uh deputy commissioner neighborhood development and our amazing budget team that keeps us looking organized with everything we've got in front of you guys. So uh a big thanks to all of them for being here, but also their work throughout the year. Um and with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Jake and we'll walk through uh walk through the budget and be able to uh do our best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Michael. Um good morning, everybody on the council. Um I'm gonna skip some of the stuff that uh we spoke in depth about at our committee meeting like a week and a half, two weeks ago, but um I'm gonna kind of just jump right into the budget, but if there's anything else that uh you want to stop me on at any time, uh feel free. So um going through the budget, our positions are fairly flat compared to last year. Uh if you look at our uh CSEA union positions, uh there's one additional one, but that's kind of it's really not a new one because we added a position was on Surah Um for a specific reason for a plans examiner. So it's showing plans examiner two going from six to seven positions, but that was in the Surah line last year, and it's back in the city CSEA line this year. Um so it's really the same, even though the numbers slightly different. Uh our temp services, that's our summer crew. Um for those that have listened to me talk uh enough at these over the years. That's where I started as a high school student throughout college. Um and have remained since. Um and they do grass mowing uh and they help with miscellaneous projects uh throughout the summer. It's typically high school and college aged uh students uh working those positions. Um continuing down going into Surah, that's also relatively the same. Um it's actually two less than last year. Um there were uh a couple of changes. Um we have the need to add a garage uh inspector, commercial parking garage inspector.
openpublica.com