Benjamin C Lapham for 4th Ward

10/09/2026

Some thoughts on the Glens Falls budget process.

What you see happening in Saratoga (see link), Albany, Schenectady, etc was happening in Glens Falls. For my first four years on the council, we had wasteful budgets prepared by a mayor who increasingly relied on find balance to fill the gaps.

Last year mayor Collins advanced a budget that was more than $3 million out of balance (planned expenses over planned revenue). Mayor Collins justified it by saying the city always takes in more than it plans and that the city was sitting on a fund balance greater than $10 million.

I was concerned about these figures. I had not seen the mandatory audit from the prior year. I was also concerned that many expenses were being paid through a one time stream from federal funding that was not ongoing. The state began an OSC audit late last year.

Fast forward to the Palmer administration and we discovered how poorly the city had been managing its finances. Immediately , the mayor created a Finance and Audit Committee chaired by Council member Dan Donohue we learned payments were missed or late to many creditors. Mandatory reporting was not done. The controller was replaced. The new controller and assistant controller began searching through the wreckage. The auditors brought up many defects and historic poor practices. The committee recommended an RFP for contracting with an outside form for forensic financial discovery.

Ultimately the city determined our actual fund balance is more in the neighborhood of $4.5 million. Had the city not acted to reverse course the consequences would have meant missing grant payments and needing to take millions in additional debt.

I want to acknowledge and praise the work of the mayor, the chief of staff Steve.Thurston, controller Wendy Baird as well as all the staff of the city who have sacrificed time and comfort to avoid this disaster. The financial cliff is real. It is all around us. And by the good work of so many people in a short amount of time, we averted driving off it.

The city’s finance commissioner says a tax increase is needed to address an “underlying structural imbalance” in the budget.

10/03/2026

This week Dr. Palmer submitted a budget for consideration by the Common Council. We will be working closely with all the departments of the city to review the proposal.

We also were informed by the city's controller that fund balance currently sits at about $5 million based on updated figures shared with the office of the state comptroller and considering all compliance measures and generally accepted accounting practices.

I want to take a moment to stress that this is the first budget presented to the council that attempts to present a balanced budget.

Let that sink in.

Furthermore, the city's controller and deputy controller have been in crisis mode since replacing the prior controller. Compliance was not met. Filings were missed. The city had to pay late fees to the state, town of Queensbury, and contractors.

Through tremendous expression of effort the city has stemmed the bleeding. I believe we are set for a period of manageable pain. We are right-sizing the city expenditures to revenues as the mayor repeatedly has been stating.

I am extremely grateful for the team that is working for the city and proud that the city's focus is on providing value for the tax payers, residents, and visitors to Glens Falls.

02/14/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1aBPxNTS5J/

Adjust your commute!
Wednesday, avoid Sherman Avenue near Glen Street if you are commuting through.
Glens Falls will be working on a sewer line repair at 8 Sherman Ave. on WEDNESDAY FEB. 18, 2026, starting @ 7:00am.
The roadcrew will need to close Sherman Avenue from Glen St. west to Elm St. to all traffic excluding emergency vehicles until the repairs are completed around 3:00pm pending any complications.

01/31/2026

Dear Governor Hochul,

I am Benjamin Lapham and I represent the fourth ward at Common Council for the City of Glens Falls. There is a project being developed in the neighboring town of Fort Edward for a solar installation by Boralex corporation.

The proposed project has significant impacts on grasslands vital for the habitat of the short aered owl, an endangered species. I am concerned that DEC is not able to protect this habitat because somehow the office of renewable energy siting seems to have preference.

I will say, the city of Glens Falls has been trying for longer than the four years I've served on the council to site an array of solar panels on a site that previously was the city's dump. I have never heard any representative of ORES weigh in on our efforts to develop on state owned brown space area. Why are they preempting DEC on private working farmland? I think we need to push pause and reassess our priorities.

Respectfully,

Benjamin Lapham
Fourth Ward Common Council
City of Glens Falls

01/18/2026

Glens Falls MLK Jr. Day Observance

01/04/2026

Question to fourth ward residents. Would you attend a 4th ward update 4 times a year? If so, would you attend it at the library? City Hall? Elsewhere? Please let me know.

01/03/2026

01/03/2026

My mission for 2026 is to serve our city with integrity, transparency, and respect for every resident. I am committed to listening to our community, protecting our neighborhoods, supporting local businesses, and making thoughtful, fiscally responsible decisions that strengthen our city today while preserving its character for future generations.