Local governments in New York have benefitted from a torrent of federal aid and rebounding sales tax revenue to supercharge their coffers and budgets for the coming years — a welcome relief after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But mayors in cities large and small across the state also acknowledge the public health crisis has been punctuated by growing concerns over violent crime.
"Our partners in Albany play a big role in helping us address violence both from a policy perspective as well as from a funding prospective," said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
Walsh was among the hundreds of local government officials in Albany on Monday for the annual winter meeting of the New York Conference of Mayors. Local governments have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, and most recently deal with a resurgent rise in cases from the omicron variant.
Still, budgets are for the most part full. Record sales tax has been reported in counties across the state.
"We're on solid financial footing today. What we need to do is make sure that continues for years to come," Walsh said.
And yet questions over crime — and how to tackle it — remain. Public safety has generally been considered a large city problem, especially one for New York City as Mayor Eric Adams ran on a campaign platform of strengthening public safety.
But the concern is also one that resonants in smaller cities in upstate New York. It's led some cities to consider ways of alternative policing, including providing more services to low-income residents.
"You do need some counseling, you need some support, you need to create stability within the families," said Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy. "It's housing, it's food security, it's those things that make a big difference."
Like Adams, McCarthy is also in favor of revisiting the state's bail laws that largely ended cash bail requirements for people who are facing misdemeanor and some felony charges.
"You have to give some discretion back to judges when they're evaluating a case and what is best not only for society, but the individual who has been accused of committing many times what are serious or repeat offenses," he said.
The contentious debate surrounding New York's law ending cash bail requirements could last to June. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday said time is needed to work through the specifics. The legislative session wraps up in early June — giving lawmakers a potentially long runway to negotiate the issue with Hochul.
But top Democrats in the state Assembly and state Senate have indicated they do not want to make significant changes that have been key to criminal justice advocates for years.
"We need time to work out details, but my priority is to make New Yorkers as safe as we can," Hochul said.
The Hochul administration has sought to tackle the rising in shootings and violent crime through a mutli-state task force. But Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin echoed Hochul — suggesting officials want to take their time on the bail issue.
"We're talking to legislative leaders, we're having conversations, we're looking at the data," Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin said. "We want to be thoughtful on whatever do or not do on this front.