UTICA, N.Y. -- Utica mayoral candidate, Joe Marino, held a press conference Tuesday to talk about his plan to raise revenue in the city with no new taxes if elected.
Marino says his ideas to raise revenue and reduce taxes are sales tax revenue sharing, providing non-emergency transportation services in the city, and creating an impound lot for the Utica Police Department.
He also says his plan includes cracking down on out of area landlords who are habitual code violators, lobbying for an increase in state aid, and creating a free municipal Wi-Fi system.
"This is sustainable, year after year revenue. It provides a regional approach to government, it provides transparency and codes, it provides non-emergency transport to increase your public safety, this is a real revenue package that the city of Utica deserves,” Marino said.
Marino says the estimated total amount of revenue with his plan would be $1.8 million.
Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri released a statement in response saying:
“My administration has vetted many revenue generating proposals. Some of which, we have found to be fiscally irresponsible and some we’re implementing, such as municipal Wi-Fi. We’ve acted upon a plan to grow business, the local tax base and partnerships. The result of our action is that we’ve put more than 600 properties on the tax rolls and our tax base has expanded by $28 million. We’ve added $6 million to the fund balance and improved our credit ratings across the board. Outlining plans is one thing, executing and delivering is another, and we’ve done both.”