Common Council revised fiscal budget, STEAM school plan over summer
The Syracuse Common Council revised its fiscal year 2026 budget and updated its STEAM high school initiatives, among items. Mayor Ben Walsh’s $348 million budget was vetoed, and counter-vetoed budget-cutting bills with a veto. Solange Jain | Senior Staff Photographer
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Over the summer, the Syracuse City Common Council passed decisions on finance, education and safety.
The council finalized Syracuse’s 2026 fiscal year budget with a $16 million cut to city services after a lengthy review process. The council also made plans for a new charter school, ensured job security and biker safety.
In May, the council vetoed Mayor Ben Walsh’s initial $348 million budget in May. Walsh vetoed the council’s revised budget. Then, the common council overrode Walsh’s veto, which went into effect on July 1.
The council worked with an accounting firm to revise the budget after Walsh’s proposed budget left the city with a $26 million deficit. In an op-ed for syracuse.com, Walsh said the council held no public meeting about the updated report, but held a “secret” meeting on May 2 to review the firm’s findings and plan its vote.
Walsh wrote that the council held the meeting after the public’s negative response to the council defunding the Syracuse Police Department, the Syracuse Fire Department and other public services.
On May 19, Walsh vetoed the council’s budget revisions in a letter to City Clerk Patricia McBride and asked for the letter to be sent to Common Council for its consideration. His reasoning for objecting included the council’s reductions to the SPD and SFD budgets and the 50% cut to the Department of Law’s funding.
“Respectfully, I do not support the Council’s amendments and significant reductions to the proposed budget,” Walsh wrote in a letter to the council.
Walsh objected to 45 of the Council’s budget amendments, letting 37 still stand. The standing amendments allow the council to maintain the city’s current tax rate and ensure job security.
In addition to finalizing its budget, the council also passed an update to the city’s traffic code, which now makes blocking a bike lane a traffic violation. Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion advocated for the passing of the ordinance with a unanimous vote of 9-0 on May 8.
In an Education & Human Development Committee meeting on Jun. 30, school and district officials discussed opening STEAM High School, a public charter school featuring a science, technology, engineering, math and arts-focused curriculum school.
STEAM High School, located at the corner of South Warren Street & East Adams Street in Syracuse, received a Career and Technical Education pathways certification from the state, said Erin Noto, executive director of career and technical education of the district, in the committee meeting.
CTE pathways allow students to complete specialized courses and receive hands-on experience in careers, including animation and business entrepreneurship. Completing the program equates to an advanced Regents diploma.
The high school received over 400 applicants for ninth grade and will open with 250 students in September. Noto said 90% of the school’s staff have been hired, including all seven CTE concentrations.
The high school is set to open in September after its planning began in 2016, making it the first regional STEAM high school in the state.
