In Saratoga Springs, $50,000 of city money has been set aside this year for a process known as participatory budgeting. The program allows residents to pick which projects proposed by fellow citizens should receive funding. But, the program’s fourth year may very well be its last.
The theme of this year’s participatory budgeting submissions was “year of the child,” and proposals ranged from field trips for local schools to an exploration garden.
Outgoing Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi explains how this year’s theme reflects the broader purpose of participatory budgeting.
“The idea here really is to do something where something serves all the residents of the city and impacts as many people as possible. When you have something like ‘the year of the child’ it allows for projects that wouldn’t have otherwise seen the light of day through the city. Because the people who come to the city often are advocating for issues that impact mostly adults. This was a way for children in some ways for advocate for themselves,” said Sanghvi.
But now, those who support participatory budgeting, which Sanghvi introduced to the Spa City in 2022, may have to advocate for the program itself if they want to keep it going in the future.
When Sanghvi, a Democrat set to leave the council after being elected this year to serve as one of two city representatives on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, first rolled out participatory budgeting, she envisioned spending a quarter of a percent of the city’s budget on the program.
This year, after an arduous budgeting process, that figure is closer to .07%.
“It became a contentious issue and that was all we could get approved for PB in this round. I think often times during election cycles people try to posture more and that’s just somehow how things shaped up,” said Sanghvi.
After a January special election, the current city council features an effective GOP majority for the first time in a decade.
Independant Joanne Kiernan is set to head the Finance Department in the new year. She tells WAMC it’s too early to commit to future cycles of participatory budgeting, especially as the 2026 Saratoga Springs budget will use roughly $1.7 million in fund balances to cover a deficit that’s arisen from stalling revenues and increased costs.
“In 2025 the budget relied on $3 million in fund balance and 2026 it’s projected to maybe use nearly $2 million. So, with this level of dependance on reserve it’s difficult for me to support launching new initiatives without a clearer understanding of our long-term stability,” said Kiernan.
And even this year’s participatory budgeting funding could be in jeopardy. While the $50,000 has already been set aside for the program, the council still needs to vote to approve the spending.
Sanghvi fears the council won’t provide the necessary approval.
“We spend $4 million on overtime for Public Safety alone and to then say, ‘this $50,000 is the piece that is grinding this $63 million budget to a halt’ is just foolishness,” said Sanghvi.
Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, who first won his seat in 2023 with GOP backing, said he’s not likely to vote to approve the spending.
“In my mind, I don’t think it’s fiscally responsible for us to take more money out of fund balance and to fund these projects that don’t have to do with certainly feeding people and housing people, I think it’s fiscally irresponsible. Not to say that these initiatives aren’t virtuous, of course they’re all virtuous, it would be a different analysis if we were in the black,” said Coll.
Mayor John Safford, a Republican, tells WAMC he’s also a likely ‘no’ vote. Republican Public Works Commissioner Chuck Marshall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democratic Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran says he’ll vote to approve the spending.
In the meantime, Spa City residents have until Friday to submit their votes on proposed projects. There are nine options to choose from, including funding field trips for local schools to visit the National Museum of Racing and a new kiln for Division Street Elementary.
One of the larger ticket items is $30,000 to expand the exploration garden at Pitney Meadows Farm.
Cass Skarka is the assistant manager of Marketing and Communications at the farm.
“At the moment it has been where our children’s programming has happened. We have a sunflower sprouts reading group that happens in the exploration garden. We have areas where kids are able to explore their senses, they are able to taste things and feel different plants and vegetables, fruits and berries. And with this participatory budget cycle we have used what it already is serving as and tried to expand it and make a plant to welcome in a larger group of folks and kids of all abilities and ages,” said Skarka.
The city council is set to vote on the funding at Tuesday’s meeting.
