Why is Schenectady City Hall Cutting While Metroplex Spends?
Why is Schenectady City Hall Cutting While Metroplex Spends?
All across Schenectady, residents are being told the same thing: the city has to cut back. City Hall is pinching pennies, cutting overtime for workers, scaling down services, and even reducing youth programs that give kids safe places to learn and grow.
At the same time, Metroplex continues to pull in a slice of the county sales tax and pour it into projects that often look more like luxury developments than community necessities. Upscale storefronts and high-profile investments get millions in subsidies while basic neighborhood services are put on hold.
It raises a simple question: why are families and city workers asked to make sacrifices while Metroplex continues to spend freely? The half-percent sales tax that fuels Metroplex could be returned to all municipal governments in Schenectady County. That money could help Rotterdam, Niskayuna, Glenville, Duanesburg, Princetown, and the City of Schenectady itself balance budgets without slashing programs.
Cutting youth programs and city services may make the numbers work on paper, but it leaves real people behind. It means kids without safe after-school options, slower emergency responses, and less support for neighborhoods that need it most. Meanwhile, Metroplex funds ribbon cuttings and luxury projects that serve a narrow audience.
If we are serious about fairness, the conversation should not be about whether residents can tighten their belts further. The conversation should be about why Metroplex gets to keep siphoning off tax revenue while local governments scramble to keep the lights on.
What is Metroplex?
Metroplex is the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority, a public agency created in 1998 to promote economic development. It raises revenue through a dedicated half-percent county sales tax, generating millions of dollars each year. Instead of going to city or town budgets, that money is controlled by Metroplex and directed into development projects, subsidies, and infrastructure aimed at attracting businesses and investment.
