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The pandemic has put extreme financial pressure on both the city of Syracuse and its residents. The Daily Orange spoke to the five Syracuse mayoral candidates about their economic priorities for the city post-pandemic.

COVID-19 and the economy

Syracuse cut $18 million from the city budget due to revenue losses, mostly sales tax. In total, Mayor Ben Walsh estimated $40 million in lost revenues in 2020 and 2021.

Federal funding has healed some of the city’s financial woes. Syracuse is on track to receive $126 million in federal funds in 2021, one of the largest cash injections in city history. Some of those funds have already been used to give back to local businesses, with an estimated $100,000 being given back to local bars, restaurants and theaters. But the question of where the funds will go remains.

What are your top priorities for where the federal funding will go? What are the keys to financial success post-COVID-19 for businesses and citizens?

Tom Babilon (R):

“One of the best things that the city can do with regards to helping economic development is just get out of the way. In Syracuse, compared to other municipalities, it’s so much more difficult to open and run a business in the city than it is in many of the suburbs. What we need to do is level the playing field.”

Khalid Bey (D):

“If we are smart about it, we have to spend the money where it provides a return on investment. Our housing stock is very important. When we spend one-time anywhere, we are in the same predicament a year or two from now needing money. We have to shore up our tax base. We have to improve our housing stock.”

Janet Burman (R):

“First, you have to recognize the role of city government in public safety and in providing basic city services. Our water system has been woefully neglected. Our response to the problems within the aging system are entirely reactive. I think this boost of federal funds should be used first to restore the necessary funding for police and fire, and secondly to address our infrastructure issues with water.”

Michael Greene (D):

“We need to recognize that a lot of the ways people work are going to be changing over the coming years. And COVID has shown that there’s an appetite for remote work, and Syracuse is really well positioned to take advantage of that because we have relatively inexpensive real estate and a lot of good quality life factors for people that used to work in New York City or Boston.”

Ben Walsh, Thomas Babilon, Khalid Bey, Janet Burman and Michael Greene all have different visions for Syracuse’s future. Here’s what you need to know about each candidate.
Read more about the candidates and their stances on key issues at the link in our bio. Graphics by @mayagoose

A photo posted by The Daily Orange

Ben Walsh (I):

“Without the federal funding that is coming through the American Recovery Act, (we) would be in trouble. That funding is a lifeline for us. It not only helps to make up for lost revenue from the pandemic, it helps put us back on that path toward fiscal sustainability and helps get us there faster. As we look to deploy those resources, we want to make sure that we have sufficient resources to balance our budget, to deliver services effectively and efficiently to fairly compensate our staff, but beyond that we have an opportunity to make transformational investments and really help us move the needle on some of the biggest challenges that have been holding our community back.”

Attracting businesses and job creation

Bringing high-tech jobs has been a priority of Walsh during his first term. He began the Syracuse Surge initiative, incentivizing the growth of both technology start-ups and manufacturing in the city. It has seen some success, with the expansion of the Tech Garden downtown and the JMA Wireless facility on the South Side, but critics say that it may be a poor use of city resources.

Has Syracuse Surge been successful? What are the next steps to entice economic investment in the city?

Thomas Babilon (R):

“I haven’t seen the success that (Walsh has) been looking for. I think it’s a great goal to get any kind of new business to the city, including high-tech business. We need high-tech business here, but I wouldn’t place a preference over other industries. We could have manufacturing, we could have warehouse facilities here, any kind of economic development that we can get into the city is good for the city and one part of that is just making it easier for (businesses) to be here in the first place.”

Khalid Bey (D):

“You have to put people back to work and in person. Eighty percent of government revenue is generated from the working individual. So anytime you have, as we have right now, greater than 7.7% unemployment, which is over 15,000 able-bodied people out of work, then you’re going to have a suffering local economy. You have to have a method for getting them their jobs is No. 1 for sustaining a single household and ultimately sustaining neighborhoods and communities.”

Janet Burman (R):

“I would take all the resources that are currently directed at bringing new businesses into the area and redeploy them in helping existing businesses. I’m concerned that (Walsh) has focused on (Syracuse Surge) to the detriment of other issues that should be a priority for the city.”

Michael Greene (D):

“I don’t think (Syracuse Surge has) been successful. I think, fundamentally, the way we look at development going forward needs to be a worker-focused economic development. I think we need to be making Syracuse a good place to live. And then when people want to live here, companies will come.”

Ben Walsh (I):

“Syracuse Surge is our strategy for inclusive growth in the new economy. How can we position Syracuse and central New York to be competitive for jobs, whether it be unmanned aerial systems, artificial intelligence, quantum computing? These are the jobs that are driving the new economy, even high-tech manufacturing. And when you look at where we’ve seen successes, we have been very proud of the progress.”

Published on May 5, 2021 at 9:47 pm

Contact Nick: [email protected] | @NickRobertsonSU