In her first legislative address after winning the citywide post in November, Troy City Council President Sue Steele focused on increased communication and community engagement.
Since taking office, the Democrat has called for enhanced communication between the executive and legislative branches. Delivering the address Thursday, Steele says the council, particularly its minority Democrats, are often left in the dark.
“I'm ready to hit a reset button and hope we all consider doing so,” Steele said. “Let's start with more respect for each other and the positions we hold. Let's keep our residents first and foremost. Troy is stronger together and as elected officials, we need to communicate and cooperate.”
First-term Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello, the previous council president, maintains she keeps the council informed about matters concerning it.
Like the mayor, replacing lead contaminated pipes throughout the city is a top priority for Steele. Currently, just over 50 percent of the city’s lines have been inventoried.
Late last year, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation requiring municipalities to inventory all of their lead service lines by the end of 2024. Steele says reaching the next 50 percent of residents is where the real challenge lies.
“We have a very small window with a very large number of people who have who need to respond,” Steele said.
Steele highlighted efforts by resident Jona Favreau and her advocacy on lead pipe replacement, saying she hopes the city will lead the way in taking on the legal challenge of whether public funds can be used on private properties.
In line with Mantello’s commitment to making the city cleaner, greener, and safer, Steele says the city lacks accessibility.
“I really feel that strongly that our playgrounds should be accessible to people, the services we offer should be available to those who have sight issues, hearing issues, we really need to take a step back and take a deep dive into accessibility,” Steele said.
During the address, Steele and fellow Democratic councilors Katie Spain-McLaren of District 3 and Aaron Vera of District 4 introduced a draft social media policy meant to standardize the use of accounts such as Facebook, X, and YouTube maintained by city employees.
Steele says a municipal social media policy would protect city accounts from hacking and modernize its communication.
Mantello and Council President Pro Tem Thomas Casey say many of Steele’s proposals are already in the works through executive branch actions. Casey says the council minority’s proposed Housing Task Force lacks diversity. The proposal would allow a body of tenants, property owners, and community leaders to offer insight to help the city address vacancies, affordability, and quality. Casey says the city is not facing a housing crisis and contends city services would be strained by any housing expansion.
“When you look in Troy, almost all the old factories have been converted in the last few years,” Casey said. “If you look in the last six years, between completed projects, ones are in construction, and ones in planning, you're looking at over 1,400 brand new units in the city of Troy, mixed low income also. And we have 1,200 Troy housing units, and 900 Section Eight vouchers in the city.”
Steele also called for monthly updates from the new comptroller at the council’s finance committee meetings. Steele says the updates are necessary to keep the city out of the historic 30-year-debt it only recently climbed out of.
