This public hearing is relative to the annual estimate of the city of Syracuse and the City Syracuse City School District for the fiscal year 2020 25 through 26.

Thank you.

Before we continue, uh we have some people that would like to speak.

We're gonna give every each person three minutes to state your uh to speak, and then uh we you will be you will hear the phone ring and that'll be the end of your statement.

Okay.

So let's try and keep up with that.

And with that said, we would like to invite Evan Loving to the podium to open our meeting.

Good evening, counselors, Evan Loving Budget Director.

Um, thanks for the opportunity to just say a few words as we get started with public hearing.

Um, as you know before you for your consideration is the FY27 proposed budget.

It is a 354.5 million dollar general fund uh that includes ten million dollars in anticipated new state aid, modest increases in sales and property tax with no property tax rate increase, a four percent proposed water rate increase, and a budgeted use of fund balance of 20 uh 23.9 million dollars.

As you know, we've historically overperformed uh compared to our budgeted fund balance, and our anticipated fund balance at the end of FY26 is expected to be around 120 million dollars.

Funding for departments is relatively flat, aligning with uh inflation costs, increased costs are primarily with key priorities, including housing, plan review, and a proposed re-evaluation.

During this process, we sought to be proactive and engage departments, council uh as much and as often as we could.

Hopefully, that's been successful.

We will continue to work on incremental improvements to both the budget book and the budget process in the next few years, including my hope for a year-long budget process starting in July, where we can work on trying to find structural solutions to our structural challenges.

Um, I just want to thank you again for all your time.

I want to thank all the departments, my staff, and the mayor for her leadership.

And for anyone who doesn't know, the budget is available on our website at our budget page, and there is a copy on the back table for reference.

Thank you.

Thank you, Evan.

Avan uh has done a phenomenal job in putting this budget together for us to be able to view and review during the hearings that uh transpired all throughout these last months.

So thank you for your hard work and all of the department heads that had a handy night.

Thank you.

Also, we want to uh thank Kristen to be here with us.

She will be our stenographer today.

Um we move on into um okay.

The hearing.

So um the first speaker, Cliff Ryan Jr.

And Zay Zain Garnier.

Oh, okay.

I said that right.

Good evening.

Ryan R Y A N Jr.

J R Zane Z-A-I-M.

G-H-A-N-I-M.

Okay.

And I'll think thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

I stand before you to introduce a powerful opportunity for our city, an opportunity that supports local businesses, strengthens nonprofit organizations, and creates a sustainable economic cycle within our community.

The opportunity is Cavline.

A new digital advertising platform designed to help businesses and nonprofits increase visibility, attract customers, and most importantly, recycle dollars back into the local economy.

Businesses can no longer rely solely on foot traffic or word of mouth to compete.

Digital advertising has become one of the most essential tools for economic growth.

Yet for many small businesses and nonprofits in our city, effective advertising remains financially out of reach.

The cost of major ad platforms often drains resources away from the very organizations that need the most.

Cavline changes that.

Cavline is more than an advertising platform.

It is an economic support system.

It provides local businesses and nonprofits with affordable digital advertising solutions that helps them reach customers where attention lives today, online, on mobile devices, and through targeted digital engagement.

When our small businesses grow, they hire more people.

When nonprofits reach more supporters, they serve more families.

When local organizations increase revenue, those dollars stay circulating right here in our city.

That means stronger neighborhoods, that means more jobs, that means a healthy local economy.

This is what I mean by recycling finances within the community instead of watching local dollars leave our neighborhoods through outside corporations and advertising giants.

Cavline helps keep resources working for the people and institutions right here at home.

This is not just about promotion, it's about economic empowerment.

And um, let my guy finish.

Yeah.

Um, what we're seeking here today is as a partnership with the city.

Um, as a contractor, Cavline uh helps expand um access to digital marketing for underserved businesses, that's the main key.