Mayor’s office budget holds steady; celebrations funding moved and Lebardo Center utilities tracked in mayor’s line

Deputy Mayor Megan Hyman presented the mayor’s office portion of the proposed 2026 budget and described modest increases limited mainly to personal services and utilities tied to the Lebardo Community Center on the North Side.

Hyman told council the mayor’s office requests cover salary adjustments for four positions and higher gas, heat and electricity lines related to the city-owned Lebardo Community Center, which is leased to the United Way for programming. “Not much changing this year,” Hyman said; she highlighted the personnel and utilities items as the principal changes.

Members discussed a larger celebrations budget page that the mayor’s office controls. Hyman said the celebrations page increase for 2026 is mainly driven by a $50,000 sponsorship for LUMA that had previously been funded from ARPA and by a new $15,000 request to support a Binghamton Philharmonic event tied to the national America250 commemoration. Hyman said some event sponsorships and community event support historically managed by other departments have been moved or are overlapping between offices; council members discussed whether those event lines should be consolidated under one department for clarity.

Council members also discussed the concept of lowering barriers for small community events by exploring the city’s capacity to provide general liability coverage or other insurance support for small-scale events; Hyman said that idea could be discussed further with Economic Development.

A motion to close budget pages 16, 17 and 51 passed by voice vote; the transcript records the motion, a second and a unanimous “Aye” with no recorded opposition. The council left the celebrations page (95) open for further discussion and possible adjustments with Economic Development.

Why this matters: the mayor’s office budget shows no large new spending lines beyond personnel and utilities, but the reallocation of event sponsorships and the larger celebrations line shift funds (including a $50,000 LUMA sponsorship and a $15,000 Philharmonic item) between departments and may affect how community events are administered and funded.