Last week, Mayor Noble introduced the proposed 2027 budget for the City of Kingston. The big headlines are that the property tax levy will increase by 6.9 percent, and the budget increases spending by 10 percent. Noble pitched the new budget and tax increase in its most atomized and benign way by saying, “If you calculate the new tax rate versus the old tax rate, the difference is $9.35 a month in terms of what people will pay more. And so, for that $9, we believe that the services that are delivered by the City of Kingston are worth it.”

That doesn’t sound that bad – that’s just the cost of a latte frappuccino at Starbucks – you can go without that, right? But that's $108 a year more for an average homeowner in Kingston. But it's on top of last year’s 9.87 percent increase, and the year before that, an increase almost as large. And on top of increases by the county government, as well as big rises in Kingston fees, tickets and various licensees and applications, these hikes are really starting to pinch.

After years of living large and launching a wide range of public benefits, services and amenities, and giving staff big benefits and pay increases, City Hall is now confronted with the prospect of hitting the brakes. Mayor Noble will have to get frugal, even though the voting public expects even more from the government. The reality is, the mayor is politically checkmated by powerful unions and well-organized activist groups, nicely funded by a certain local billionaire. They continuously watch his every step to see if he will waver in his commitments to their agendas. And don’t look to the city’s Common Council – they’re stuck in a form of “empathy paralysis” – unable to say “no” out of fear someone will call them heartless. That’s not leadership, that’s enabling.

For all the fear expressed about gentrification for the last 15 years – aggressively injected into the public discourse by virtue signalers and non-profit agencies that benefit mightily from public taxes and largesse – we now know that “gentrification fears” was code for “more money please.” The shouts of no-gentrification were ignored anyways, but many pet programs got funded. And poverty, homelessness and substance abuse remain as high as ever. In fact, an argument could be made that Kingston’s generosity was a dinner bell ringing far and wide, attracting more of the vulnerable. The result? The failures of Kingston Motel and Samadhi Center, and spikes in demand at People’s Place and elsewhere.

Speaking out for the vulnerable makes us feel better. But who is championing the middle class, and why should we care?

When the middle class shrinks or hollows out, the economic, political and social structure of an area shifts dramatically. The social consequences of this cannot be overstated. The middle class drives consumer spending. When middle-income households have less disposable income or slide into lower-income brackets, overall retail, housing and service demand weakens, slowing broader economic growth. Public services like local public schools, roads, transit and healthcare systems rely heavily on middle-class tax revenues. A smaller middle class reduces local tax yields, leading to underfunded public infrastructure. As wages fail to keep pace with the rising costs of housing, higher education and healthcare, many middle-income families rely on credit cards, auto loans or student debt just to maintain a standard middle-class lifestyle. Very importantly, economic insecurity often breeds social conflict, lower trust in public institutions and political polarization as voters on all ends of the spectrum look for scapegoats.

Another huge property tax increase hurts the middle class the most. The nurses, teachers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, technicians and tradespeople, basically anyone making from $40,000 to $100,000 a year. You’ll have to do with less. No frappuccinos for you! Only Folger’s and frozen Lender’s Bagels now! The middle class’ fate is sealed – you either slide into poverty (and then maybe government will support you), take on another job or move away, as one local pol deadpanned to me this weekend when asked what the solution was on budgeting. Even though the middle class will take the brunt of the rise in property taxes, it impacts all of us. Renters will end up paying more when landlords’ property tax bills rise. As the city spends more on raises for all city employees, park expansions, more bike programs, more lawyers and fancy new street signage, the city’s hollowed-out middle class is left holding the bag.

It’s clear to me that Kingston, Ulster County and even New York State has yet to fully grasp how precarious the world is right now. The world is possibly sleepwalking into World War III, artificial intelligence has jumped the shark, open corruption is a lifestyle and corporations operate like kleptocracies. Bessie, there’s a storm a-brewing, and our local government is in La La Land. There is no imagination beyond getting past the next election.

The biggest gobbler of budgets these days is in personnel and benefits. It’s costing the city of Kingston $45,000 per employee for health insurance. That isn’t gold-plated – that’s diamond-encrusted! The average per-person price for health insurance in New York overall is around $9,325 to $9,589 annually. This should make your head spin. By the way, just the other day in Sullivan County, their legislature unanimously voted to change employee health insurance plans from fully insured, fixed monthly premiums to self-insurance plans – giving the county more control over spending without changing the structure of employee benefits. Ulster and Kingston should look at this and other ways to control spiraling insurance costs – doing nothing is unsustainable.

For the record, not all local governments are seeing huge jumps in their local property taxes and spending. Some have severely restricted new spending and kept tax rises modest. The towns of Hurley, Shandaken and Saugerties are set for very modest property tax increases of less than 3 percent. It can be done.

So, how can Kingston save money? First of all, the public needs to be prepared and educated that times are changing fast and there needs to be some serious belt-tightening. There needs to be a true freeze on hiring, and open positions should not be filled unless deemed critical. Control overtime. Seek out shared services and equipment with surrounding towns and county, such as EMS, public works, fire and perhaps even police. We might consider outsourcing to public-private partnerships for various services like water treatment or facility maintenance. And we should regularly re-bid contracts – periodic competitive bidding prevents locked-in, inflated rates with long-term suppliers. The city could also sell old equipment and unneeded assets to bring in cash.

The one bright light in both Kingston’s and Ulster County’s budget has been sales taxes. For a sector that’s received so little support or attention – business development – the city and county are reaping growing rewards by literally doing next to nothing. Now imagine what could happen if they really put some effort into growing our local economy. What if we rolled out the red carpet for good fitting businesses? Helped prospective business owners navigate the thicket of approvals needed? Find ways to cut deals and invest in our community? Sales tax revenues could rise much faster, and cover much of the rising costs of local government. Some of this work is done by the city’s director of community development, but we have few metrics to measure the impact of the work. Maybe some of the new occupancy tax revenues could fund a city effort to specifically grow local business or relocated businesses here.

We need to plant the seeds for future growth now, and maintain a thriving middle class. In the meantime, we can’t keep spending our way through tough times at the expense of our dwindling middle class.