Mayor Lovely Warren Proposes Budget Focusing on Public Safety

Yesterday, Mayor Lovely Warren presented her budget proposal for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. For this proposal, public safety and raising equity among citizens are some highlights of the key elements of the budget. Warren stated that the $560.8 million budget keeps the property tax levy at $187.6 million. There are also no added fee increases for water, refuse, and parking. For the average homeowner, they will see a property tax decrease of about $36. Commercial property owners will likely see tax bills lower than those in 2019.

Rochester is looking to direct some funding away from the Rochester Police Department and toward agencies that can better handle some aspects of their current workload. Mayor Lovely Warren stated; “ I want a police department that is truly focused on keeping our city safe, not one whose mission is divided by doing work better done by others. That’s why this budget invests our resources differently so RPD can be focused on reducing crime and violence.”

Source: 13 WHAM