Kate Wdowiasz

Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz tentatively plans to release proposals for a 2025 city budget Friday.

Wdowiasz spoke on the issue at a Common Council meeting Tuesday, in response to a question from Councilor Natalie Luczkowiak about the budget.

“I don’t know the exact time yet. Everybody will get a notification when I am ready to present. There will be a press release and a press conference, and we will have the two budgets, hopefully by this Friday,” Wdowiasz said.

The “two budgets” she referred to will be a spending plan that taxes up to the state constitutional limit and cuts no services, and another proposal that taxes to the Legislature’s cap and does cut services. It will be up to the Common Council to approve a final budget.

Councilor Nancy Nichols later stated that Wdowiasz talked about her budget plans to a media outlet without first disclosing them to council.

“I was really kind of upset as a councilperson that we didn’t get some kind of a blurb first, when potentially it could be given to the council for review,” Nichols said. “It’s very upsetting, when we’re supposed to be working as a team, that we didn’t get that info first.”

“I believe you’re wrong,” Wdowiasz replied. “I believe I’ve said numerous times I wanted to present by mid-September, and I believe in our last executive session I told you what my plans were. This has not been a secret. I said by mid-September. My schedule is on for mid-September. I don’t know that I could have made that any clearer.”

“I was just taken aback and I wasn’t sleeping at those meetings to hear you say that,” Nichols said. “I was just surprised that we as a group did not know…that both possibly would be ready to present.”