OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz takes notes Monday during a meeting of the Common Council's Finance Committee. Behind her is Chris Pinkowski, a former city fiscal affairs officer attending the meeting as a spectator.

Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz is set to propose two different budgets in a few weeks.

City Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak reported the news during a Dunkirk Common Council Finance Committee meeting Monday. She said one proposed budget will tax up to the state constitutional limit and cut no services. The other would tax only to the state Legislature-imposed cap – and would cut services.

“I can’t tell you what the cuts would be,” Luczkowiak said.

Treasurer Mark Woods was asked to explain the difference between the constitutional limit and the tax cap. He said the constitutional limit is 2% of an average of all property values over the last five years. The Legislature’ tax cap, Woods said, is a calculation of how much revenue can be increased from the previous year’s budget.

Wdowiasz attended the meeting but said little. She sat off to the side, not at the conference table, stating it was the Common Council’s meeting.

She did speak up when Luczkowiak said that gifts and donations to various community organizations will be removed from the new budget. “I’ve talked to every group that gets a donation from the city and told them we can’t do it this year,” Wdowiasz said.

Luczkowiak and Woods also spoke about external audits of the city’s 2022 and 2023 budgets. Elma firm Drescher & Malecki is handling the audits.

“Everything they’ve requested so far, they’ve received,” Luczkowiak said. Woods said auditors have been in City Hall the past three weeks.

A “hiccup,” according to Luczkowiak, is that the Dunkirk Local Development Corporation and the city Industrial Development Agency haven’t been audited since 2021. There are Requests for Proposals on those audits for the two organizations.

Luczkowiak said audit information for 2022 is “in the process of review.” She hopes both the 2022 and 2023 audits can be finished by year’s end.

The audits are important components of the state government’s Fiscal Recovery Act. “Bottom line is, (the state is) waiting for us to finish the 2023 audit so they can work through and certify our debt,” Luczkowiak said

The fiscal affairs officer offered to answer whatever questions she can about the city’s financial situation. “Come in and see me,” she said. “I’ll show you everything you want to know.”