TROY – Former City Manager Steven G. Dworsky, a Democrat who led the city as its finances collapsed, resulting in an eventual state bailout, has died. He was 75.

Dworsky, of 25th Street, served as city manager for nearly eight years before leaving office at the end of 1993 as the Republicans took control of the City Council due to Troy's mounting financial crisis.

Dworsky died Friday in his car in the parking lot next to the U.S. Post Office in Watervliet, according to authorities. The cause of death was believed to have been a heart attack, officials said.

Dworsky, who taught at Hudson Valley Community College, was remembered by friends as fiercely loyal to the city and being a consummate insider with knowledge of political events as they were developing long after he was gone from City Hall. They said the long-time basketball fan gave political advice and provided insights into events. Dworsky grew up on Michigan Avenue, would live downtown for many years but eventually made his way to 25th Street where he lived for decades.

They recalled that he had influence on development of the city charter that led to the strong-mayor form of government and eliminated the position of city manager. They said no one knew more about the charter than Dworsky, even after it was rewritten.

Former Rensselaer County Democratic Leader Tom Wade recalled Dworsky as an impressive politician serving as a Troy councilman, county legislator and city manager. But it was his handling of the city’s finances as the tax base collapsed, revenues dried up and state aid withered that would determine how Dworksy was remembered.

Dworsky provided city services, without raising taxes and emphasized quick responses to residents’ complaints. This, however, was done as the fiscal decline occurred that would tear the city’s operations apart. It would lead to the Democrats losing control of the Council.

Dworsky mortgaged City Hall and other city properties for $35.1 million and looked at the city’s water supply as another potential source of revenue.

“Too many years of not raising taxes while spending wildly, especially on police and fire departments, resulted in an enormous debt estimated at $35 million,” Wade recalled.

Eventually, the Troy Municipal Assistance Corp. was established by the state in 1995, about 18 months after Dworsky left City Hall, to borrow to pay off the city debts. The city still pays $6 million annually to retire the debt. The MAC debt is expected to be retired in 2022.

“Unfortunately, this entire debacle is Steve Dworsky’s legacy,” Wade said.

Dworsky was a graduate of Troy High School and Boston College. He is survived by two daughters, according to friends.

“He lived, breathed and ate Troy,” Council President Carmella Mantello, a Republican, said Tuesday.

Mantello recalled that she and Dworksy began as political enemies but eventually became friends. She was among the last people to see him alive as he had driven her to work at the State Capitol in Albany Friday when her car was in the shop.

“We had some battles. We never took it personally,” said Bob Mirch, a retired Troy public works commissioner, who spoke to Dworsky every morning at 8:30 a.m. “He really cared about the city of Troy.”

Dworsky will be buried at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Beth Tephilah Cemetery off Spring Avenue, according to the Levine Memorial Chapel of Albany.