Kraham’s plan would have reallocated Community Development Block Grant money for two emergency response vehicles and new firefighting gear. On Aug. 27, the council deadlocked 3-3 on the plan, as Councilwoman Kinya Middleton, who represents the second district, was not present at the meeting.

At a Sept. 8 work session, Councilwoman Rebecca Rathmell, who represents the sixth district, offered a new proposal after speaking with community members and the president of the Binghamton Professional Firefighters Association Local 729. Her plan would draw $141,000 from the city’s general fund, which Rathmell believed was the “most appropriate source” of funding.

“The city’s general fund, like every municipal general fund, is designed to cover essential services when unexpected expenditures or budget shortfalls come up,” Rathmell said at the work session. “And one of the most common uses of any general fund is public safety.”

Under this proposal, the fire department would receive almost $217,000 less than Kraham’s initial ask, with the funds to be used only for purchasing the requested gear. Kraham must now approve the funding.

Rathmell told the Press & Sun Bulletin that she encouraged Binghamton City Fire Chief Alan Gardiner to request funding for the emergency vehicles in the 2026 budget and that the council would approve the proposal.

“The turnout gear is a critical need in order to maintain the fire department’s compliance with National Fire Protection Association regulations, but CDBG was not the appropriate source,” Rathmell said at the work session.

Deputy Mayor Megan Heiman told Pipe Dream that the city’s Community Development Advisory Committee met last week and recommended that the originally proposed funding of $357,685 be transferred to the fire department.

In a statement to WBNG, Kraham said the city council’s plan “falls short of meeting the department’s equipment needs” and would risk the public safety of City of Binghamton residents.

“I’m once again asking that Council approve the full funding for the Fire Department, without any further delay,” Kraham said. “Our first responders — and the residents they serve — deserve that.”

Rathmell and other city councilmembers criticized Kraham for proposing to reallocate Community Development Block Grant funds instead of spending them on affordable housing development. In an Aug. 28 press conference, Kraham said the money in question “was not allocated for housing” but was unspent funds for administrative costs and salary lines that cannot be recouped.

Rathmell said the city has over $700,000 in unspent Community Development Block Grant funds. While she acknowledged the city faced “threats of recision” from the federal government, she thought it was “disingenuous” for Kraham to argue that the funds must be spent now.

“[There is a] difference between this funding sitting there for six years and this council having a month-and-a-half to consider, in light of timeliness concerns but also very critical affordable housing needs locally, how to appropriately spend this money,” Rathmell said. “That’s if we had an administration that was committed to collaboration rather than one that just throws resolutions out and hopes we don’t have the time to figure out alternatives.”

At the meeting, Rathmell discussed two bills that would appropriate Community Development Block Grant funding toward two initiatives addressing local housing issues. Her first plan would modernize affordable housing units built before 1985 to address the health and safety concerns of tenants. According to the January 2024 Broome County Housing Needs Assessment, the average age of local affordable housing development buildings is 40 years old.

Rathmell said she felt this issue went unaddressed by the Binghamton Housing Authority. Last month, BHA tenants created a petition and threatened a rent strike in response to unsafe living conditions.

The other bill would establish a “proactive code rehabilitation assistance program” to assist rental property owners in addressing health and safety issues that are identified during the Proactive Rental Housing Inspection program, which is being considered by the council.

The proposals were sent for further review at a later planning committee meeting.

“I will only add that the question remains unsettled, and neither of the presented spending proposals is likely to move forward, which would seem to present the opportunity and need for a compromise solution,” Councilman Robert Cavanaugh II, who represents the third district, wrote in an email.

Held on Thursday, the panel, “The Unexpected Gift of Conflict: How Intergenerational Trust Powers Transformative Change,” centered around the potential for intergenerational cooperation to transform conflict into opportunities for change. It was the first of three public presentations that I-GMAP plans to host as part of its visiting practitioner program, where atrocity prevention practitioners visit the Greater Binghamton area for one week and engage with students, faculty and the local community.

Prelis is the director of children and youth programs at Search for Common Ground, an international conflict transformation organization. He has 25 years of experience in leading global efforts to build intergenerational collaboration and trust in over 35 countries, successfully co-leading advocacy for three United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for youth needs to be centered in conflict mitigation. In 2017, he received the Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Support for his work.

“Young people, people in their teens and twenties, play a really key role in promoting human rights and in building more peaceful, more just societies around the world,” Kerry Whigham, founding co-director of I-GMAP and an associate professor of public administration, said. “And that’s a really important message for our students to hear, especially because it shows that all over the world, young people and students have been key in transforming societies and making them more just and more peaceful. Hopefully that’s something that can inspire students today, when we’re living through some really difficult moments nationally, but also globally, when it comes to human rights protections.”

The panel began with a land acknowledgement honoring the Oneida and Onondaga nations. Prelis then opened the talk by discussing his upbringing in Sri Lanka, a country that suffered through civil war from 1983 to 2009.

During this time, Prelis explained that he witnessed both the horrific atrocities and courageous acts humans carry out during conflict. He described watching one of his friends be killed during the conflict, which led him to choose not to avenge his murder. These experiences led Prelis to become an advocate for conflict resolution.

Prelis highlighted the importance of viewing conflict beyond the surface level to grow, reflecting on how it can be an “unexpected gift.”

“If you only see the conflict as an ugly thing that is dangerous and bad, then you’re only going to see more bad things,” Prelis said. “But if you see the silver lining in it, no matter how ugly it might be, then we are able to also see through these processes and see the possibilities as well.”

Prelis also compared conflict to a controlled fire that can awaken individuals and prompt them to focus on crucial societal issues. When conflict turns violent, however, it can spiral and become detrimental to society.

During the talk, Prelis listed areas where the median age of the population was younger than 20, like Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median age is 19, and the Sahel region of Africa, where the median is 15, both as of 2023. He then highlighted a large gap between these medians and representation in government, saying that only 2.7 percent of government officials worldwide are under 30. This can create discrepancies in perspectives between the population and the government, he said.

Prelis explained the importance of interconnectedness, arguing that youth voices can be built in a network with other aspects of society. Despite their differences, all people across different demographics and age groups desire an improved society and can work together with a shift in understanding, Prelis said, and that these coalitions will grow stronger as trust is built over time.

When asked by Pipe Dream how young people can implement these ideas into the local community, Prelis outlined four things for students to keep in mind: they should highlight the youth aspect of the issue; welcome discussions with older generations; recognize that change and trust building do not occur overnight; and the importance of laying the groundwork for change.

“The door you open today, more people will come and continue to open and widen [the door] and open the windows in the room for more people to benefit from it,” Prelis said. “Your legacy is making sure the door is open for the others to come after you.”