Syracuse City Auditor emphasizes better communication with the public

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion gave a convivial presentation on the 2025 budget this afternoon. Marion joked and winked from behind an emblazoned podium, while giving tight commentary on the takeaways from his office's yearly report:

"Our biggest drivers of revenue are sales tax, property taxes, and state aid. Those make up 80% of our revenue-- and those are areas that the City of Syracuse doesn't have much control over."

"Our biggest cost drivers are police and fire," he says. Nodding to the 10% increase to this year's budget: "Next year's budget will be smaller as [American Rescue Plan Act] spending is reduced-- and that's the federal aid we got from the pandemic."

Auditor Marion displays charts from the 83-page report (entitled "Making Dollars and Sense") next to his smiling face. He breaks in between phrases to let the soundbites breathe.

Marion is known outside of Syracuse for his push to unfreeze New York State funding fed to cities through the Aid and Incentives for Municipalities program-- AIM. In another report, submitted ahead of budget discussions in Albany this year, Marion bristled against the state's inaction on AIM funding, the value of which has not increased since 2012-- despite economic upheavals from successive state and federal administrations and the COVID pandemic, and despite increased pressure on Upstate New York to provide for a growing population. It was part of a wave of similar sentiments, echoed by the New York Conference of Mayors among others; when the budget finally passed, New York increased its AIM funding to Syracuse by $5 million, and increased the program's size by $43.4 million.

"We need to keep going back to them and fighting for that year after year in the future. And don't worry-- I will be fighting for it," says Marion.

He would like allies. Marion closed his remarks by insisting that the people's houses be made open to those people.

"We need more information to make it clear how these decisions are getting made and how resources are being allocated. Better activity indicators-- or, the departmental explanations of how revenue's being used and how staff is being allocated-- would be improved. Better explanations of how contracted services are used. Organizational charts of how departments are laid out would make a difference. "

He then took another aim. "The Common Council each year does one public hearing that they advertise through the legally required means to advertise it. And while, yes, that checks the box, and that is temporarily satisfactory, we need to do more to get the public's views on what's happening with the budget [...] The budget is the City of Syracuse's budget-- it's the people's budget. And we need to make sure that the people's voices are clear and heard throughout the process."

Another pearly smile, and Marion opened the floor to questions.

"Who wants to play 'stump the auditor?' Go! Go for it."

Video by Dennis Harmon, edited by Westbrook Shortell. Segment produced by Lane Russell.