Steve Thurston (2021)
Democrat Dillon Moran, right, at his launch party for Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts. Current Commissioner John Franck introduced him.
Dillon Moran, a Saratoga Springs Democrat, kicked-off his campaign for Commissioner of Accounts in the city’s election Monday evening at Henry’s Bar on Phila Street. He told those to cheers that under his watch he would stop a real estate reassessment plan that he said would favor large developers over local residents.
He said the pandemic hit commercial properties hard and devalued them, and it brought people from cities to the region, driving up residential prices. If anyone but him is elected, “You're going to be reassessed...The tax burden will shift to our residential communities.”
He acknowledged that taxes may go up, but raising taxes and shifting the assessment will sow confusion and make it hard for people to understand what their contribution is.
“I will not in any way shape or form change the property assessments,” he said.
Again to cheers, he said he would extend outdoor dining for three years. Temporary outdoor dining began as COVID relief allowing some Saratoga restaurants to turn sidewalks or parking spaces into dining space. The rule has needed to be updated regularly. He would work to extend it for three years, allowing restaurants to plan for its use, he said. Administration of this falls to the Accounts Department as part of its business licensing functions.
He would also work to temporarily close certain streets—such as Phila, Caroline and Henry streets—to vehicular traffic in the Putnam Street area during certain days and times, such as on weekends during dinner hours. It would give the area a plaza-like feel similar to the popular Church Street area of Burlington, Vt.
A chemical engineer by training, Moran said he views risk management, one of the functions of the department, differently than an actuary or accountant might. He has an eye toward infrastructure risks.
He ran in 2019 for Commissioner of Public Works, a race he lost to Anthony “Skip” Scirocco.
Moran said that at the time he brought up failing systems and the need to protect against the risk.
“I was called a fear monger,” on the debate stage, he said, adding that the city had a water main break this July. “Because of my infrastructure knowledge, I know that we have a lot of problems in this community that are going to rear their head again.”
He leveled much of his ire at City Hall in general.
“I think we all understand what’s at stake here in the town,” Dillon told the 30 or so people gathered on the rooftop bar. “We have a government that’s not only not listening to its citizens, it’s actually lying to its citizens.”
He cited a spate of fox bites in the area and said the city was not forthcoming on whether the fox had rabies—"The answer is ‘Yes,’” he said—then mentioned the water main break, saying that to learn anything, “You had to look at Facebook to learn what was going on.”
He added that communications needed to be improved.
He was introduced to the group by John Franck the current commissioner of accounts who is stepping down after 16 years.
Franck wished all three in the race luck but supported Moran.
“To me, this is clear cut, this should be the next commissioner of accounts, Dillon Moran,” Franck said.
In an interview after his speech Moran said the commissioner of accounts can help in the police reform issue that is roiling the city now by looking at policy and procedure. The commissioner of accounts is not a tactical person who makes day-to-day decisions for the police on the ground, but one who helps makes decisions at a policy level, Moran said. For him, that is a risk management issue and he cited again his background working in industry.
"The time for amateurs in these offices is over," Moran said.
The Accounts department requires that the commissioner becomes a certified assessor in New York. He faces Samantha Guerra and Angela Rella.