Mayor Ben Walsh used his last State of the City address to tout wins in infrastructure, housing and neighborhood development while charting the steps his administration has taken toward fiscal sustainability. The mayor’s call for achieving fiscal sustainability comes as Walsh’s administration is set to draft a budget for the next fiscal year that is expected to carry a $20 million structural deficit.After brief remarks from Common Councilor Marty Nave and Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, Walsh gave his address at 5:50 p.m. on Thursday at Grant Middle School in Eastwood.The mayor’s speech claimed successes on infrastructure projects, housing and neighborhood development while presenting his own path toward the city achieving fiscal sustainability.InfrastructureThe city has started work on its new comprehensive plan, the Syracuse Comprehensive 2050 plan. The 25-year plan will outline improvements to roadways and sidewalks to be finished by 2050. The city is also  finalizing an action plan for its Vision Zero commitment, a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities or severe injuries. Walsh says the city will present the action plan to the Common Council in the spring.The city sees an annual average of 9 fatal and 126 serious-injury crashes, according to Walsh.Half of these collisions occur at just 25 intersections. The city will create new neighborhood greenways on Lemoyne Avenue, Hawley Avenue, and Caleb Avenuel. Walsh said greenways slow down vehicle speeds and provide space for bikers and pedestrians.According to Walsh, the Department of Public Works reconstructed 17 miles of road last year. HousingIn his previous State of the City address, Walsh introduced his Syracuse Housing Promise, a pledge to create “2,500 new units of quality housing completed or underway” before he leaves office. Walsh said the city is halfway toward its goal and on pace to fulfill his promise. “The number was important to put a stake in the ground and give us a number to work towards,” Walsh told reporters after the speech. “But the reality is, we know that we need more housing. If we can do more than 2,500, we’re going to do more than 2,500.”According to the mayor, progress is being made on the redevelopment of the Maria Regina campus, near Grant Middle School. Walsh credited New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and contractor Home Leasing for supporting the project, which he said will create senior housing.The city is also “on track” to complete the Resurgent Neighborhoods Initiative, which initially set out to complete 200 infill housing units. The plan focused on new construction of one- and two-family homes. Walsh said the city adjusted the goal to 240 units after the housing crisis intensified, but is still on its way to reaching its goal.On the South Side, a renovation of the former Lafayette Country Club is in a “predevelopment process,” Walsh said. The project will create roughly 300 market-rate single-family and duplex units in its first phase.Fiscal SustainabilityWalsh said that when he and city department heads created their vision for the city in 2018, they identified four goals:Increase economic investment and neighborhood stability Deliver city services effectively, efficiently and equitably Achieve fiscal sustainability And provide quality constituent engagement and responseOf the four, achieving fiscal sustainability has seen the least progress, but the mayor said he believes there is a path forward for the city to overcome its deficits.The city’s reserves will exceed $115 million for this fiscal year, according to the mayor.To balance its budget, though, Walsh said the city will have to delve into its reserves.“As long as we are in that position, we haven’t achieved fiscal sustainability,” Walsh said.The mayor insisted that he sees the potential for Syracuse to reach this aim.The city’s sales tax consistently outperforms expectations, and higher property values have produced increased property tax revenue, according to Walsh.A revenue enhancement advisory group recommended the city create new sources of funding. One of these recommendations, a city hotel room occupancy tax, will appear on the Common Council’s agenda for a vote next week.The Department of Assessment is preparing to conduct a citywide revaluation, which Walsh said is “unglamorous” but essential to maintaining equity in the city’s property tax collection process.A new process from the city’s Finance Department will now allow the city to manage taxpayer dollars better, the mayor said. Walsh also credited his administration’s Finance Department with “pressing forward” on the city’s payroll modernization project that began in 2021 and has so received $10.55 million.“This is a massive project that in any setting – public or private sector – takes multiple years,” Walsh said. “And while it’s expensive, it will provide critical tools to better control spending.”The post Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh talks infrastructure, housing, fiscal sustainability in last State of the City address appeared first on Central Current.