It has been two years since I agreed to apply whatever management and leadership skills I have to the greater good of my hometown. I was ran for and was elected to the City Council.

To be encouraging, for the first time in two years I am starting to see signs of hope that Geneva may be willing to attack its existential problems. We have a new mayor demonstrating true leadership and using his fiscal acumen to peel back the curtain on the financial challenges beginning to strangle both the City of Geneva and its surrounding towns. We have a new council that, thus far, has shown a willingness to double its monthly meetings and attend special efforts targeting finances, housing, as well as development and, eventually, charter changes that are needed to modernize our efforts.

Still, despite these signs of hope, Mayor Jim Cecere’s efforts are beginning to clarify the depth and complexity of local government challenges. It is not pretty.

Just recently, with Cecere’s direction, departing City Manager Amie Hendrix admitted that funding “status quo” services for 2027 would require a 20% tax increase for the City. That would be on top of municipal taxes that are nearly 50% higher than any other municipality in Ontario County today.

Clearly, not a choice any fiscal authority would advise.

Even in a high-tax state such as New York, Geneva’s fiscal challenges are daunting. In many ways, Geneva is a mini-Detroit, the famous “donut hole” of the rust belt. Detroit was a city abandoned by much of its population that moved to lovely, better-financed and lower-taxed suburbs.

In a micro-way, Geneva has followed a similar path. It was once the heart of a local economy that served the Seneca Army Depot, local industries and its colleges and workforce. Over the last few decades the city has lost population to........

© Finger Lakes Times