AMSTERDAM — Anyone who hasn’t ventured into City Hall recently will be surprised by the changes.

For the past few weeks, crews have been sprucing up inside. First it was paint, curtains and reorganized furniture, now it’s refinished staircases and a new carpet.

“City Hall is a direct reflection of the people that work here,” Mayor Ann Thane said Friday. “People say clean up the city, well let’s start by cleaning up City Hall.”

Since Thane took office this year, City Hall has undergone some minor renovations including paint in the mayor’s suite and new curtains.

The major lobby rehabilitation project started when cleaning fluid was spilled in the lobby’s entryway and stained the carpet. A black mat covered the stain for months.

The 1970s-era red carpet that once covered the lobby floors and stairs is now gone, replaced with a black and tan print carpet with a tan border. Tan carpet extends from the lobby down the hallway to the city clerk’s and controller’s offices.

The stairs, which Thane said she is very impressed with, have been refinished. The front staircases to the second and third floors are currently impassable until runners are installed to protect the wood.

Thane said the workers who refinished the winding staircase from the second to the third floor called it the best looking mahogany staircase they had ever seen.

There are some, including Alderman Joseph Isabel, R-1st Ward, who don’t wholeheartedly agree with the mayor’s spruce-up agenda. On radio station WCSS, Isabel called it superficial.

“It’s not superficial,” Thane said. “It’s professional.”

Thane has also worked to organize the most visible parts of City Hall — including the city treasurer’s area, the most heavily trafficked place in City Hall, where boxes and papers were stacked in disarray in public view.

She now wants to tackle the third-floor closets, where boxes and paperwork are stuffed.

“We are being swallowed by junk,” she said.

Thane said she thinks City Hall employees appreciate the changes and work better in an environment they can be proud of.

Controller Heather Reynicke agreed. She said the only complaints she’s heard from City Hall employees was the noise created while the stairs were being refinished.

City engineer Richard Phillips, who has been working at City Hall for only six months, said he is starting to notice the building’s unique architectural features.

“It’s a really beautiful building,” he said.

The circa 1880 mansion was formerly owned by the Sanford family.

In the past, City Hall was the site of weddings and many community events. Thane said she would like to see those things come back.

The renovations were paid for with the unused portion of the $90,000 budgeted last year for City Hall maintenance. Only $30,000 is budgeted this year. Thane said she and building superintendent Jim Crisalli will have to be creative about future repairs. The building still needs a new roof and major exterior work.