- By Marcia E. Lynch
- News
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The Tompkins County Legislature, by a vote of 14-1, formally adopted amendments to the 2011 tentative budget, as recommended by its Expanded Budget Committee. Legislator David McKenna voted no, but several other legislators made it clear they were voting in favor of the package at this point so that it could be sent on for review by the public and comment at the Legislature’s public hearing on the budget next Monday, November 8.The recommended budget would raise the tax levy (the total amount of property tax revenue needed to balance the budget) by 5.98%. The countywide average tax rate in the recommended amended budget would increase by 7.9%, to $6.47 per thousand dollars assessed property value, an increase of $75.30 for the average $160,000 home.
Before adopting the recommended amended budget, Legislators made four changes to the package forwarded by the Expanded Budget Committee, including reductions which decreased the proposed tax levy increase to under 6%:
- Legislators, by a vote of 13-2, removed $43,335, which had been restored two days earlier, for a supervising psychologist position in the Mental Health Department at half-time. It was suggested the department might redirect funding for a long-vacant deputy commissioner position to support that staff need.
- By a 13-1 vote, Legislators moved to reduce rollover for the Department of Social Services by $100,000, applying the money to the budget to provide property tax relief. (A proposal to adjust sales tax projections, as an alternative, by the same amount, failed by a vote of 1-14.)
- Legislators restored $24,360 in one time funding, supported through rollover, to support a half-time administrative assistant position at the Health Department, approved by a vote of 12-3.
- $35,000 in one time funding was restored for the Learning Web, approved by a 10-5 vote.
- Legislators voted 9-6 to refer to the budget committee for further discussion a proposal from Legislator Peter Stein which would have directed the County Administrator to not allow either one or two non-essential positions to be filled next year, with the goal of reducing the tax levy increase by .25% .
The amended package, now known as the Legislative Tentative Budget, replaces Administrator Joe Mareane’s tentative budget as the basis of budget deliberations. The Legislature will hold the public budget hearing on Monday, November 8, beginning at 7 p.m. at Legislature Chambers. The final budget adoption vote is scheduled at the Legislature’s next meeting on Tuesday, November 16. The amended budget will be available for review online at the County website at www.tompkins-co.org (click on “County Budget”) with paper copies available at the County Legislature office at the County Courthouse and at County Administration, 125 E. Court Street, Ithaca.
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