Assistant Corporation Counsel Brian O'Brien told the Schenectady City Council that if the council wants to exceed the statutory tax cap it must follow the city's local-law process and secure supermajority approval.

O'Brien said the local law would have to go through the city's standard local-law procedure and that the council would need a supermajority to approve an override of the tax levy. He also told the council that, separately, the budget containing the higher levy would itself need to be passed by supermajority.

The legal explanation came during a package review of the proposed budget. O'Brien said the law department has drafted an example of what an override local law would look like and offered to walk the council through the steps and timing required before a final vote. He asked to discuss details with the council at the next meeting so the Law Department could present the precise language and the exact vote threshold required.

Council members asked follow-up questions about timing and what paperwork the council would need to adopt an override. Staff said they would circulate the draft language and that the Law Department would attend a future meeting to explain the sequence of actions.

Why this matters: a decision to exceed the tax cap would change how the city levies property taxes for the coming year and requires clearer internal coordination (draft local law, public notice, and the supermajority votes on both the local law and the budget). The council set follow-up with the law department and finance staff to clarify the formal steps and schedule.