Highlights from the October 7, 2024 Meeting of the Tompkins County Expanded Budget Committee

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Understanding the 2025 Recommended Tompkins County Budget

• The recommended 2025 Tompkins County Budgetwas prepared by the County Administrator and delivered to the Legislature on September 3. The recommended budget totals $252.3M, with revenues made up primarily of local property taxes (levy), sales tax receipts, and State and federal funding.
• The proposed total property tax levy is $55.7M, which is $2.3M, or 4.34%, higher than 2024. If passed, this would result in a $138 increase in the property tax bill for the owner of a median-priced ($300,000) home.
• Departmental and agency budgets can be found in the 2025 Recommended Budgetor in the links in the title of each section below.
• As part of this budget development process all departments and funded not-for-profit agencies were asked to submit a budget with a 5% reduction due to cost increases and constraintson available funds for one-time use.
• Departments and agencies can make over-target requests as part of the budget process, which they detail during presentations to the Expanded Budget Committee. Over-target requests are detailed in departmental and agency budgets in the online budget system (links above and below). Some over-target requests are included in the recommended budget, others are made for the Legislature to consider when voting on the budget.
• Highlights below focus on the amendments made by Legislators during the budget process.
• For more detail, read the County Administrator's 2025 Budget Message.

County Budget Amendments

$84,565 for staff in the Finance Department's accounting division, one-time multi-year. Staff have reported that adding capacity in this area would aid operational efficiencies. (13-0, Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused). An additional $21,000 in one-time three-year funding was approved (13-0, Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused) for software enhancements in the Finance Department.

The Legislature approved the restoration of $16,994 in target funding for the County Clerk's office (13-0, Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$135,380 to fund a training and development coordinator position in the Human Resources Department was approved 13-0, (Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused) as one-time three-year funding. According to Human Resources staff, the position would make training for the County's workforce more efficient and would reduce duplication.

Tompkins Community Action will have its budget cuts of $13,519 restored (13-0, Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$23,558 in funding for the Tompkins County Workforce Development Department was restored from what was cut in the budget by a vote of 11-2 (Legislators Shawna Black (D-Ithaca), and Dan Klein (D-Danby) opposed, Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$96,470 was added to the Workforce Development Department budget as a three-year one-time funding for a transition workforce specialist position passed 8-5 (Legislators Dan Klein (D-Danby), Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton), Amanda Champion (D-Ithaca), Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), and Mike Lane (D-Dryden) opposed, Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

The District Attorney's Office will receive one-time funds of $67,500 to provide stipends of $185 to attorneys who appear at arraignments at the Tompkins County Jail at 8am or 8pm (outside typical work hours) by a vote of 10-3 (Legislators Shawna Black (D-Ithaca), Deborah Dawson (D-Lansing), and Dan Klein (D-Danby) opposed, Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$127,795 was reinstated in target funding for the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office's jail nurse and forensic counselor positions (13-0, Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$47,225 was restored in the target Youth Services Department budget to maintain the rural youth services system (13-0 Legislator Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused). These funds are matched by other municipalities and provide local youth programs.

The Youth Services Department will see another $19,821 restored for its target maintenance of effort budget, to fund administrative services and travel and training (8-5 Legislators Rich John (D-Ithaca), Shawna Black (D-Ithaca), Amanda Champion (D-Ithaca), Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), and Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) opposed, Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

$30,000 was added as two-year one-time funding for the Youth Services Department to fund its urban outreach programming (10-3 Legislators Mike Lane (D-Dryden), Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton), and Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) opposed, Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca) excused).

The Legislature earmarked $14,000 in contingent funding for travel and training funding for Legislators to attend New York State Association of Counties and other conferences (14-0).

Public wireless internet access in several County buildings will be restored in the budget for a target budget amount of $12,689 (12-2, Legislators Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) and Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) opposed).

$60,000 was removed from one-time funding for an organizational climate survey of County employees (11-3, Legislators Dan Klein (D-Danby), Anne Koreman (D-Ulysses), and Veronica Pillar (D-Ithaca) opposed), it was argued by Legislator Deborah Dawson (D-Lansing) that this could be deferred by one year while other investments are made during a difficult budget year. Legislator Shawna Black (D-Ithaca) suggested it may be best done after a new county administrator begins in the role.

$270,000 from hotel room tax revenues will be used to support funding for the airport, supplanting other local funds previously designated to cover expenses for airport operations. This amendment also suspends the tourism capital grant program through Ithaca Area Economic Development for 2025 (13-0, Legislator Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) excused).

Safety and security efforts across all County facilities, including a security manager position and additional security resources at the Mental Health building were funded for $227,139 (7-6, Legislators Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca), Randy Brown (R-Newfield), Deborah Dawson (D-Lansing), Rich John (D-Ithaca), Veronica Pillar (D-Ithaca), and Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) opposed, Legislator Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) excused).

$81,464 was moved from target to one-time funding for the staffing of the Community Justice Center (12-1 Legislator Anne Koreman (D-Ulysses) opposed, Legislator Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) excused).

$11,558 was restored to one-time programmatic funding for the Community Justice Center (13-0, Legislator Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) excused).