Leader says Common Council will ‘probably' override Syracuse mayor's requests to restore budget cuts
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Syracuse Common Council will 'probably' override all 45 budget amendment vetoes issued by Mayor Ben Walsh, the body's presiding president tells NewsChannel 9.
President Pro-Tempore Pat Hogan says 'I don't think so,' when asked if there's any hope the mayor's requested spending plan gets restored.
'We certainly did our due diligence through the whole budget process,' said Councilor Hogan. 'My councilors are pretty set as far as, like, deciding on how we're going to go forward and I think we'll probably overrule every one of his vetoes.'
The council is poised to vote as soon as it legally can: it's next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
Hogan's admission likely ends any hope Mayor Ben Walsh had at restoring the budget initially proposed that was slashed by the Common Council.
Mayor Ben Walsh formally proposed his $348 million budget to the Common Council on April 9. On May 8, without warning to the mayor, the council made $16 million in spending cuts in the form of 82 amendments to line items.
On May 19, Mayor Walsh formally objected to 45 of those amendments, asking the council to restore $13 million worth of spending.
Walsh said he was hoping to compromise by not vetoing all 82 amendments, instead asking to fully fund the police, fire, and codes departments.
Hogan reiterated Wednesday that while he's cutting how much city departments can spend, he's not telling them what kinds of programs or people to cut within their reduced budgets.
Hogan said it was up to Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile whether to keep funding gunshot-detecting technology or hire another round of police academy graduates as new officers.
Mayor Walsh said he's frustrated the council cut the city's ability to raise revenue.
'It's up to the administration, it's up to the departments,' said Hogan. 'We have to be cognizant of what programs they decide to get rid of. Programs that actually generate revenue, we probably shouldn't.'
When asked if that means Hogan will restore the spending cut intended to hire people to administer new enforcement of drivers speeding in school zones or passing stopped school buses using camera surveillance, he again said it wasn't up to him.
'I'm not running a city department,' Hogan said.
Hogan is running for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Syracuse against fellow Common Councilor Chol Majok and Ben Walsh-appointed Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens. Walsh has accused Hogan's cuts of being politically motivated.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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