Troy BID Assessment Increase Cleared Council on a Negotiated Compromise

On December 1, 2025, Mayor Carmella Mantello announced an agreement between the City of Troy and the Troy Downtown Business Improvement District for an approximate 7.7% assessment increase, structured to keep the BID operational and not compromise the city's 2026 tax cap. The proposal was acted on at that night's City Council meeting alongside the 2026 City Budget. The case is the cleanest available 2026 example of a BID assessment increase that was negotiated to a compromise rather than imposed on a contested vote.

The negotiating posture matters. Mantello's public framing was that the increase preserves the BID's small-business support, downtown event programming, and quality-of-life crews while remaining inside the city's tax-cap envelope. BID Executive Director Olivia Clemente's framing was that the increase reflects a productive partnership and a community fight to ensure the BID's future. Both framings are visible in the Council majority's public statements supporting the agreement.

For BIDs in upstate New York and in cities with comparable tax-cap regimes, the Troy case is a reference point: a 7.7% increase, justified through documented service value, negotiated through public city-BID partnership rather than through a contested renewal vote.

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Whether the FY26 budget produces measurable service improvements that the BID can document at the next assessment review.

Source

City of Troy Mayor's Office press release, December 1, 2025.