A lot of people in Troy are no doubt asking "how on Earth did this happen?"
Troy city officials say the city's coffers ended 2016 with a $2.3 million surplus, after passing a 2017 budget that called for layoffs, service cuts, no municipal swimming pools, and last, but not least, a 14.5 % property tax hike.
"I'm hoping that it's not smoke and mirrors," said City Council President Carmella Mantello, who, like many, would really like to know why it happened.
Part of the answer; two different years and two different budgets.
"You don't know if you operated in a deficit until after the fact," said mayor Patrick Madden. "But we presumed that we could end up in a deficit situation."
Madden credits a mild 2016 winter, unexpected revenue sources, and one-time payments for the surplus, which he says will act as a "savings account" for bills that will come due this year
Mantello says she wants to look into hiring an independent auditor to look at the numbers.
photo: Getty Images