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The Syracuse Common Council approved the use of $532,000 in American Rescue Plan funding to move about 750 users to Microsoft 365 in an effort to modernize city software over three years.

While the proposal passed, Councilor Michael Greene said he was hesitant to award the contract to Microsoft because of the lack of attention the company has paid to Syracuse.

Microsoft claims it has been slow to implement the new software because of the pandemic, Greene said.

The council also held an agreement with Syracuse University to provide maintenance services for Thornden Park and sidewalks on Ostrom Avenue until a later meeting.

The agreement, which will be introduced when the newly-elected council reconvenes next year, would have the city agree to continue maintaining university sidewalks without assessing new fees, stripe the sidewalks near the park on Ostrom Avenue, have Schine Student Center and South Campus serve as training rotations for police cadets, aid the university in the permitting process and provide an additional code inspector for the university area.

Under this agreement, which was initially introduced in October, SU would increase its contributions to the city from $1 million to $2 million from the 2022 fiscal year through the 2026 fiscal year. These payments are a part of the University Neighborhood Service Agreement Advisory Committee, which has facilitated the contribution of funds to the city since 1993.

Though the agreement was not passed during the Monday meeting, Greene would like the UNSAAC contributions to be separated from other provisions in the agreement so they can be distributed more quickly to the communities, especially on the Eastside, that need them, he said.

Other business:

The council agreed to a lease with the Syracuse Select Sports Complex to hold events for the Syracuse Police Athletic League. The lease will cost no more than $9,240.

The city settled two cases with Verizon regarding damaged electrical duct boxes and conduit lines from June 2018 and March 2019. Each case was settled for $17,500, respectively.

The council also amended the budget relative to the Syracuse City School District by increasing the general fund operating budget for the city by roughly $12 million.

Published on December 20, 2021 at 5:56 pm

Contact Danny: ddamron@syr.edu | @dannyamron_