LOCAL • INDEPENDENT • FREE Volume 14 •
Issue 43
• October 23 – October 29, 2020
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saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
Budget Shortfall:
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518- 581-2480
Recreation, Police & Fire All On the Chopping Block by Thomas Dimopoulos Saratoga TODAY
The new lobby outside Saratoga Music Hall, located on the third floor at City Hall, revealed in advance of a City Council meeting on Oct. 20, 2020. The entry to the hall is at right. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
Giving Back
Grace Firehock, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School, started Toga Toiletries to provide personal hygiene products to students in need. Photo provided. See Story pg. 16
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The newly restored Saratoga Music Hall opened to the public last Tuesday when it hosted a city council meeting that featured the first public hearing of the proposed 2021 budget. The proposed annual budget seeks to adjust to a near $7 million shortfall, due to what
Charter Change Insider
What You Need To Know What the Community is Saying: See pgs. 8 & 9 Insider: See pgs. 10 & 11
councilmembers referred to as “this COVID economy.” The 2021 proposal stands at just under $41.9 million, compared to the $48.7 million budget adopted late last year, for 2020. On the table: a 6% increase in property tax rates – which would increase the property tax payment on a home assessed at $200K by $6 per month, or $72 per year – as well as potential layoffs and budget cuts across all departments. See Story pg. 14