ALBANY, NY – Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan presented her annual testimony regarding Governor Hochul’s FY 2026 Executive Budget Proposal to the New York State Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees on Tuesday, February 4. Mayor Sheehan was joined on a panel with Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.

A copy of Mayor Sheehan’s prepared testimony and a recording of Mayor Sheehan's remarks can be found by visiting https://www.nysenate.gov/calendar/public-hearings/february-04-2025/joint-legislative-public-hearing-2025-executive-budget

Mayor Sheehan utilized the opportunity to thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to make Albany's Capital City Funding "recurring." Mayor Sheehan also reiterated Albany's case for making both Capital City Funding and the Empire State Plaza PILOT payment permanent, and once again requested both payments increase annually by the allowable levy growth factor – also known as the tax cap – each year.

Mayor Sheehan also reminded State Legislators that New York State owns more property than the City of Albany’s entire taxable property base – property valued at approximately $7.3 billion. If even half of the property New York State owned in the City of Albany was taxable, Albany would receive more than $33 million in tax revenue – $16 million more than the State is currently obligated to pay the City of Albany under State Public Lands Law. Put another way: New York State's current payment to the City of Albany is just 0.3% (less than one-third of one percent) of the value of the property the State owns in Albany.

Mayor Sheehan also expressed the importance of Governor Hochul's transformative proposal to invest $400 million in Downtown Albany — what would be the single largest investment by New York State in Albany's Downtown since the creation of the Empire State Plaza. Mayor Sheehan called on both the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly to include the proposal in their one-house budget proposals. 

Mayor Sheehan highlighted the reality that the State of New York has their corporate headquarters in the City of Albany. Mayor Sheehan also reminded the New York State Legislature that the majority of the workforce in the City of Albany are State employees who work here but live outside of our city limits. The other post-COVID reality is the shift to work from home policies that allow a significant percentage of the State workforce to work anywhere but Downtown Albany part of every week. That is a challenge for Albany's restaurants and small businesses because on any given day only half the workforce is at their offices. Mayor Sheehan urged New York State to help the City of Albany deal with this new reality by utilizing the $400 million to reimagine our Downtown, convert empty offices to residential units, and create more amenities that will attract people Downtown. 

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