Poughkeepsie’s Mayor Marc Nelson delivered his State of the City Address after a little more than three months in office. Nelson also holds the title of city administrator, the post he held under former Mayor Rob Rolison who was elected to the New York State Senate and left Poughkeepsie City Hall. Nelson said that Poughkeepsie is embarking on a major effort to pave roads, replace or rebuild at least three road bridges, upgrade the sewer system, replace water lines and upgrade parks.
“The city’s aging infrastructure has been a problem for years,” Nelson said. “$30 million in sewer work, probably $40 million in lead-line replacement work, and the list goes on and on. These are not projects that the city can fund on its own, either by taxes or by borrowing. We’re going to need partnerships from other levels of government.”
Nelson said that the city has worked diligently to reduce a $12.3 million general fund deficit and he expects it to be down to zero when the 2024 budget is created later this year.
“Reducing our deficit and rebuilding our fund balance hold the key to restoring our investment grade quality bond rating, which will lower our cost of borrowing,” Nelson said. “This is particularly urgent given the economic challenges caused by inflation and rising interest rates.”
Nelson announced that the city will support and help implement a Downtown Business Improvement District (BID). He said that previous efforts at organizing a BID failed largely because there was a lack of financing. Nelson said that the city would cover the first-year costs of a BID, and in the second year the city would contribute half of the cost of the BID’s operation. After that it would be up to members of the BID to fund the organization themselves, relying on the special taxes property owners in the BID agree to remit. The city would collect the taxes and forward the money to the BID.
“The formation of the business improvement district will give voice ”“ and funding ”“ to our community so that decisions aren”™t made solely by City Hall, but by all the stakeholders of the district,” Nelson said.
Nelson emphasized the importance of housing for Poughkeepsie’s future growth.
“Anyone paying attention has seen the patterns throughout the Hudson Valley and knows that we need housing of every type and at every price point,” Nelson said. “I am proud to say the city does more for affordable housing than any other municipality in Dutchess County by far.”
Nelson said that Dutchess County plans to invest $8.9 million in fresh funding of affordable housing projects throughout the county and three projects would be in Poughkeepsie. He also had praise for nonprofits that work to increase the affordable housing stock. He said that he soon would bring to the City Council proposals to transfer vacant parcels to the Dutchess County-Poughkeepsie Land Bank.
Nelson said that the city will be spending more than $6 million to improve city parks and has worked with partners that include Dutchess County, Scenic Hudson, and New City Parks to make significant upgrades that new benches, trees, basketball hoops, resurfaced courts, new lighting at Pershing Avenue Park and at Malcolm X Park and the installation of two soccer pitches at Pulaski Park.
Nelson announced that the city will be putting $140,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to grow and nurture the arts community and make the city more of an arts destination. He also pointed to the city”™s increased capacity to help youth including the creation of a Division of Youth Opportunity and Development He highlighted the city”™s collaboration with the Poughkeepsie City School District to create the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet that provides a structure for bringing together government agencies, community organizations that serve children, health institutions and other local stakeholders.
“The cabinet was formed in recognition of the fact that children spend 80% of their time out of the classroom and in the broader community,” Nelson said. “As such, we have embarked on a shared vision and cradle-to-career agenda for child and youth development throughout the city.”
Nelson summarized the state of Poughkeepsie in 2023 by saying, “Through dealing with cash shortfalls and Covid, through bolstering public safety and making park improvements, through guiding business growth and housing development, we as a city have faced extraordinary challenges these past few years and have endured. Undoubtedly, the city has momentum to thrive and prosper. Not even a global pandemic could slow us down for long.”
