Archive: News

Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee continued in their process of recommending revisions to the 2008 tentative Tompkins County budget presented by County Administrator Steve Whicher more than a month ago. Their recommendations include target funding for two positions: a forensic counselor in the Mental Health Department and a part-time position in the Youth Services Department to serve troubled youth.

The committee recommended the following changes to the budget, which could be reconsidered in future sessions and will require approval by the full Legislature to become final.

MENTAL HEALTH:
By a vote of 9-3, the committee approved $74,277 in target funding to support the agency's position of Forensic Counselor, which had been recommended as multi-year funding in the tentative budget. The position, in existence since 2002, serves the local drug courts and the day treatment center. Sponsor Nathan Shinigawa said the position has been very valuable since its inception and it's time to add stability to the program.

YOUTH SERVICES:
By a vote of 11-1, $22,400 in one-time funding was approved to support a part-time assistant for Youth Services' Bridges Runaway Program. The position had been requested as target funding, but not recommended by the County Administrator, since it could not be funded within the Legislature's 2 percent tax levy guidelines. Youth Services Director Nancy Zahler indicated that it is possible that outside funding could be leveraged to expand the position to full-time.

COUNTY HISTORIAN:
By a vote of 10-3, the committee called for $5,000 in support for the County Historian to be funded through room tax dollars, instead of the tax levy, conditional upon approval of the County Tourism Board. Legislature chair Tim Joseph, who sponsored the proposal, suggested that functions of the historian appear consistent with permissible use of room tax dollars. Asked to provide an informal opinion, County Attorney Jonathan Wood said that it is possible that not all of the historian's duties are permissible for funding through room tax.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT:
The committee, by a vote of 8-5, eliminated $13,565 in target funding to support the well inspection program, not yet implemented by the department. One-time funding was allocated in 2007 to begin development of the program. Some legislators expressed concern about the projected fees associated with the program and whether the local program was needed, in view of state regulations.

ASSESSMENT:
The committee, by a 10-2 vote, added $5,000 in target department income, to reflect existing policy which offers real estate professionals on-line access to detailed county assessment data for a fee. A proposal to make that data available to the public without charge has been under consideration for several months, but has not yet made it out of committee. Assessment officials asked that the department's request for one-time funds for computer servers to be decreased by the same amount, $5,000, and that request also was approved by a vote of 10-2.

PERSONNEL:
The committee, by a vote of 7-5 added $15,000 to support the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion program. (A motion to add an extra $1,000 to the account for employee recognition failed by a vote of 5-8.)

HISTORY CENTER:
By a vote of 11-1, $2,700 in additional one-time funding was approved for the History Center, to provide full County support for rental expenses, pending an anticipated contract agreement between the County and the History Center, an arrangement which, if approved by the Legislature at a later time, would replace the process of annual budget requests.

RURAL LIBRARIES - DANBY, CAROLINE, LANSING:
By a 7-5 vote, the committee added a total of $3,000 in one-time funding for the three community libraries, previously supported by the Tompkins County Public Library ($1,000 for each library). The action assists the towns in which the libraries are located in making the transition to supporting the libraries with town funds.

PLANNING
By a vote of 8-4, the committee changed $25,000 in support for the department's Flood Hazard Mitigation Program from one-time to three-year funding. A proposal to support the program through target funding failed by a vote of 5-7. The program has been supported for several years on a one-time basis, and Planning and Public Works Commissioner Ed Marx told legislators that longer term funding would assist in pursuing grant funding and would enable the department to undertake multi-year projects.

OFFENDER AID AND RESTORATION:
The committee, by an 11-1 vote, added $10,000 in one-time money to the agency's bail fund, a step that Legislature Chair Tim Joseph characterized as a potential good investment for the County, as it seeks to reduce jail-related costs.

Other Actions

A proposal to eliminate nearly $65,000 in over-target funding to support the County's share of expenses for new initiatives proposed by Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit failed by a vote of 2-ll. The request, funded by a combination of target and one-time money in the tentative budget, supports projects including an express park-and-ride service and new shelter at its busy Green Street stop.

The committee failed to approve several motions regarding highway funding. A proposed $100,000 target reduction for highway materials failed by a 2-ll vote; a proposed $100,000 increase for road maintenance failed by a vote of 4-9.; and a proposed reduction of approximately $19,000 to support seasonal highway workers failed by a 2-11 vote.
The committee did not approve the proposed move from one-time to target funding of $150,000 for deferred facilities maintenance. That measure failed by a vote of 2-10.

The committee failed to support a proposal to restore $5,000 in requested salary increases for the Soil and Water Conservation Service through target funding. That measure failed by a vote of 2-10.

Two proposed changes to the Human Rights Commission budget also did not win support. Proposed target funding of $3,800 for professional services and legal interns failed by a vote of 4-8; target funding to support a copier service contract also failed, by a vote of 4-8.

Potential Tax Impact of Recommendations to Date

So far, after two nights of voting, the committee has added $440,140 to the County Administrator's tentative budget. Under the committee's recommendations to date, the county's total 2008 tax levy would increase by 3.03 percent, and the tax rate stands at $6.86 per thousand, an increase of 1.5 percent.

The committee's next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 22, but it is possible that session may be cancelled and the committee's deliberations delayed until Wednesday, October 24.

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