Public Comments on Troy’s Q1 Financial Report
June 21, 2024
At the June 20 Finance Meeting, the Mantello administration shared its financial report for the first three months of this year. The presentation raised far more questions than it answered and ended abruptly during Council inquiry as to how 108% of the city’s annual insurance budget was spent in the first three months of the year without ever informing the Council or amending the budget.
Other notable disclosures from the night included – but were certainly not limited to –
The exhaustion of 52% of the Fire Department’s annual overtime in the first three months of the year;
A 275% jump in Q1 postage expenses;
Ambiguity about what budget line pays for City Hall;
A 93% drop-off in Q1 serial bond interest expenditures;
An extraordinary (218%) leap in general government support revenue attributed to revenue from demolitions.
The incompleteness and implausibility of the financial report are especially alarming given the city’s many recent bond resolutions and major contract negotiations alongside a very sudden rise in complaints about extraordinary fines and fees for downtown businesses and residents.
It is becoming abundantly clear that the administration is rushing the City Council to make major financial decisions without offering the basic information that they would need to do so well. What is very unclear is whether the administration is deliberately withholding that information or spending recklessly while flying blind themselves.
We strongly encourage residents to watch the incomplete financial report here: https://bit.ly/q1financetroy. Concerned residents should contact their representatives to demand a prompt, thorough, and public review of the city’s finances this year.
