Albany City Commissioners passed a new budget Tuesday night.
The two main things you need to know: there will be a property tax increase and the future of the Flint Riverquarium could be in jeopardy.
The Albany Civil Rights Institute and the Flint Riverquarium both hoped to get funding from the city. Only one of them was approved.
The Civil Rights Institute asked for and was granted $50,000 for the next year, but city leaders asked for budget updates from the museum throughout the year.
City Commissioners previously said they would provide $150,000 for the Riverquarium if the attraction entered into a management agreement with Chehaw. But Tuesday night, the director asked for $250,000. Commissioners turned down that request.
"I was not surprised," said Commissioner Pike. "They were not able to provide us the exact information that we were looking for. It is not a no vote. We are just going to put this on the backburner until we can get some more information to make an intelligent decision."
Without money from the city, it's not clear whether the Riverquarium could stay open.
Commissioners say they will continue to work with the Riverquarium to see if they can support the attraction, but, the budget passed tonight does not include any money for it.
Commissioners say the Riverquarium needs to work harder to become self-sufficient.
As for that tax increase, it's a 1.33-mil hike.
That works out to an extra $106 a year on a $200,000 home.
But that could be adjusted some when commissioners formally approve the millage rate later.
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