County Update

Budget season has begun at the County—or perhaps I should say: this year started in budget season, and is now ramping up. We have been aware since January that this year’s budget would be tough, and have been looking carefully at every expenditure. The department requests, if fulfilled, would have required a levy increase of over 29 percent; through extensive work and careful evaluation of department budgets, our administrator has reduced this to a little over 12 percent.

In the coming weeks, legislators will pore over these numbers and budgets. There are three main drivers:

(1) dramatic increases in health insurance costs—double-digits for several years;  

(2) a deficit that has for some years been paid through savings rather than the levy, and which we now need to catch up on. We are trying to balance the needs of our community (services that we provide to all residents, including our neediest), with the needs of our community (affordability of living in Tompkins County, including property taxes).

Since joining the legislature, I have been consistently impressed by how my colleagues, our staff, and our various community volunteers are all working towards this common goal, even under challenging circumstances.

I encourage members of the public to attend meetings and share their views. Comments and/or concerns can be emailed directly to the County Legislature.

Here are a few selected pieces of other news:

(1) We recently voted to help fund several new nature preserves, which will be part of the Finger Lakes Land Trust; this money comes from a special account set aside to support natural infrastructure.

(2) At the upcoming Government Operations committee meeting in September, we will be hearing from the state about the Homestead Tax Option, which would allow us to split tax rates on residential and commercial properties—if this is something that we decide to pursue, it will take effect only when we go back to our regular reassessment cycle, so we have some time to think about it.

(3) At a Fish and Wildlife meeting with the DEC, I learned that we are experiencing the beginning of an outbreak of Forest Tent Caterpillars; you may have seen these as white, fibrous masses in the trees. These are a native type of moth that tends to have outbreaks every 10-15 years; these outbreaks last for 2-3 years before they are controlled by disease or predation. You may also have noticed the Black Tar Spot disease that is affecting our maples (predominantly invasive Norway maples).

(4) The Tompkins County Public Library, under the guidance of its new director, has been acquiring books at three times the normal rate, replenishing the shelves as fast as they possibly can. I encourage you to visit and enjoy the new books!