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ImageIn their fourth review session for the 2010 Tompkins County budget, Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee spent much of their time tonight examining recommended budgets for Planning and Public Works—made up of the County Planning Department, Public Works Administration and the four public works divisions:  Highway, Facilities, Airport and Solid Waste.

Among the highlights:

PLANNING DEPARTMENT:
Planning and Public Works Commissioner Ed Marx, who sought no over-target support for Planning, told legislators the department will significantly reduce operations to meet the County’s target reduction. This will include such elements as reducing staff hours, project assistants and consultants to support planning studies, as well as support to county advisory boards, including the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, Environmental Management Council, Planning Advisory Board, and Water Resources Council.  The department, Marx said, will have to eliminate other than core activities.

HIGHWAY DIVISION:

Highway Manager Bill Sczesny told legislators that a $290,000 target reduction in the paving program, recommended by the County Administrator, which reduces paving material for minor rehabilitation projects to reallocate funds to support higher priority requests, would mean that a more than two-mile reduction in the amount of highway paved .  This, he said, could pose difficulty in maintaining the current quality index for county roads.  Sczesny said maintenance on low-volume roads would be reduced, paving would decrease, with more oil and stone used, as an alternative, for preventive maintenance.  He said the Highway Division has reduced its budget by more than $100,000 by eliminating funding for two operator positions.

FACILITIES DIVISION:

The Facilities Division sought to use more than $150,000 in rollover funds to offset target funds for deferred maintenance it had to cut to meet the County’s 6.25% target reduction, those funds allocated by the Legislature over the past three years.  In his budget, the County Administrator calls for adding one-time funding to bring the total for deferred maintenance up to $300,000.  Facilities Director Arel LeMaro said funds would be used for replacement of systems or building components that have exceeded their design life, with priority given to repairs needed to address life safety and legal compliance, damage, and deterioration.  LeMaro cautioned that the need for maintenance will continue to increase in future years, since the County is still spends significantly less than the accepted standard.

SOLID WASTE DIVISION:

Solid Waste is one of Public Works’ two enterprise divisions, not supported through county tax dollars.  Manager Barb Eckstrom reported that, while her division continues to make significant strides in reducing the county’s waste stream through its proactive programs, she does foresee an increase in County’s solid waste fees in 2010, including a rise in the annual fee from $54 to $56 per unit, to offset a “catastrophic situation” from steep declines in recycling and tonnage revenue. Recycling revenue for 2009 is expected to be down by $285,000.  Spending has been reduced in areas including public information and contract support.

AIRPORT:

Manager Bob Nicholas told legislators Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport, the County’s other enterprise unit not supported through tax dollars, continues to experience record passenger numbers, experiencing a 25% increase over 2008 to date, with the addition of Continental Airlines causing a significant reduction in fares. 

Also reporting tonight:

  • The Assessment Department, which had filed over target requests to support a Real Property Appraiser position and travel and training funds for staff whose required training is not reimbursed by the State.  Retiring Director Valeria Coggin said the $7,000 for the required training would amount to a valuable investment for the County.
  • The Board of Elections, whose over target request for more than $30,000 in potential primary election pay and expenses was not included in the tentative budget.  The Administrator notes that contingency funding could be used if that expense is incurred in 2010.
  • The Soil and Water Conservation District, whose director, Greg Scutt, said that his agency is looking into possible fees for its services to meet the County’s 6.25% target reduction.

Legislators Asked to Consider Impact of Human Services Budget Reductions

 

 

At the County Legislature's annual Community Budget Forum, County Legislators tonight were asked to think carefully about the potential impact of reductions in human services spending recommended in the County's tentative 2010 budget. Nearly 60 people attended the forum (including several affiliated with County departments), and nearly 20 spoke-many of those expressing concern about decreased support for agencies that they said provide vital services to those in need and are especially important in these economic times.

 

 

Several urged that the emergency outreach services be restored to the Mental Health Department's budget, described as a "core service" to the people of Tompkins County which serves both the vulnerable and those who work with them. Family and Children's Service Director Jim Johnston was among those who cautioned against elimination of long-standing preventive services, delivered through contracts with local agencies, saying those reductions will carry "unintended consequences," which over the long term will cost more than they will save.

 

Ithaca Youth Bureau Director Alan Green asked legislators to approach support of services in "a holistic, practical way," and asked that the Recreation Partnership be preserved as "a truly unique intermunicipal alliance." Proponents of the Ithaca Free Clinic, the Child Development Council, and Offender Aid and Restoration were also among those asked that support be preserved to help their agencies meet critical human needs. Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services Director Paul Mazzarella pointed out that a reduction in support can have a big impact on an agency and that county support leverages outside funding that multiplies its impact..

 

Saying that "there is nowhere more expensive to buy a home than New York State," Realtor Bonnie Nault said homeowners are critical to the health of the economy and urged that the County keep taxes in check. Mike Lane, who is seeking to return to the County Legislature in 2010, urged legislators to think carefully about increasing county mortgage tax as a source of revenue, maintaining that it would duplicate effects of the real estate transfer tax enacted a few years ago.

 

 

The $73.1 million budget prepared by County Administrator Joe Mareane would increase the county tax levy by 3 percent, in line with the Legislature's levy goal for 2010. (The tax levy represents the total amount of property tax revenue that the County needs to collect to balance the budget.) The county average tax rate (the amount of tax property owners pay based on assessed property value) would rise by one cent, to $5.94 per thousand.

 

 

Legislators meeting as an Expanded Budget Committee will resume hearing departmental budget presentations Tuesday, September 22, and will begin recommending modifications to the administrator's budget next month.

 

 

Citizens are invited submit their budget comments online at the County's web site at www.tompkins-co.org (click on "County Budget"), and are encouraged to visit the County's Facebook page on the budget. (The Facebook page may also be accessed through the budget page on the County web site; you do not need to have a Facebook account to view the page.) Citizens may address legislators on the budget at the beginning of any County Legislature meeting and at the Legislature's formal budget hearing scheduled to take place Wednesday, November 4, beginning at 7:00 p.m. All the meetings take place at Legislature Chambers of the County Courthouse, 320 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca.



The expanded budget review process continues Tuesday, September 29.

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