News Details - Budget Committee Resumes 2007 Budget Review. Much Agency Funding Preserved

After a ten-day break, the County Legislature’s Expanded Budget Committee at its third voting session tonight continued to review legislative reductions in the County Administrator’s 2007 tentative budget.

Many of the potential agency cuts mentioned by Legislators earlier as possibilities for further savings either were not brought up or failed to win support. Funding was preserved or restored for agencies including The History Center, Tompkins Community Action, The Women’s Opportunity Center, The Community Dispute Resolution Center, and Neighborhood Legal Services.

Legislator Dick Booth suggested that, in today’s budget climate, it is time for the County to begin to come to grips with the fact that there are some programs that do good work, which the county cannot afford to support, and that, with the state forcing the county to spend more on human services, agencies should bear a portion of the impact. Legislature Chair Tim Joseph countered, however, that such cuts often end up costing the county more because of increases they produce elsewhere in the budget.

The committee recommended the following changes to the tentative budget. The committee’s decisions are recommendations only and must be approved by the full Legislature to become final.

YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT:
By a vote of 9-6, the committee restored to the budget more than $51,000 to support the Recreation Partnership. Supporters maintained funding for recreation programs amounts to a good investment, serving youth who are at risk or potentially at risk, and making the services available to youth in communities which can’t support such programs on their own. A second proposal to reduce support for the Youth Services Department by an identical amount, recommended by Mike Sigler, failed by a vote of 2-13.

WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD:
By a vote of 9-6, the committee removed from the budget a multi-year commitment of nearly $86,000 for Workforce Development. Legislator Martha Robertson suggested that the county Industrial Development Agency be looked to as a source of one-time funding through the IDA fund balance. Tompkins County Area Development director Michael Stamm expressed concern about reliance on IDA funds to support what in most counties is a function of county government. He predicted that could create a great deal concern about the support of economic development in Tompkins County.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT:
The committee voted 12-3 to provide nearly $35,000 in one-time funds to support a Physical Therapist in the Public Health Department and, by an 8-7 vote, restored more than $33,000 in one-time funds to enable the Health Department to initiate a water well permitting program. The Health Department expects expenses for both programs eventually to be offset, at least in part, by fees.

PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT:
By vote of 10-5, the committee voted to restore $50,000 to the Personnel Department previously cut in the County Administrator’s proposed budget and, by a vote of 9-5, restored $15,000 in one-time funding to support the ongoing workforce diversity and training initiative.

TOMPKINS COMMUNITY ACTION:
By a vote of 8-7, the committee restored $7,400 in target funding for Tompkins Community Action.

DSS/DEPARTMENT OF PROBATION:
The Department of Social Services will enter into a contract with the Department of Probation to support four existing Probation Officer positions. These positions will be 65% state reimbursable and will reduce the tax levy for 2007 by .44%. By unanimous vote, the committee approved a target reduction in the amount of $147,000 to reflect in the budget the impact of this arrangement.

Other Actions

ADMINISTRATION:
By a vote of 6-9, the committee failed to support a proposal, advanced by Legislator Dick Booth, to eliminate more than $50,000 in one-time funding supporting 40 percent of salary and fringe cost for the county’s second Deputy County Administrator. The action does not affect the tax levy.

THE HISTORY CENTER:
A proposal to eliminate $77,500 in funding for The History Center failed by a 2-13 vote.

WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITY CENTER:
The committee retained $7,500 in one-time funding for the Center’s rural outreach program, but a proposal to move the allocation to target funding failed by a 7-8 vote.

LEGAL SERVICES OF WESTERN NY/ NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES:
A proposal to remove more than $30,000 in funding for Neighborhood Legal Services failed by a 5-10 vote.

COMMUNITY DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER:
A motion to eliminate more than $29,000 in target support for the Community Dispute Resolution Center failed by a vote of 3-12.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE:
Legislator Dick Booth said he will propose revisiting a Legislature Directed Reduction for the Department of Emergency Response. Director Lee Shurtleff told the committee cutting $34,000 in service contract expense could make it more difficult to address unexpected system and municipal needs and keep the system operating well.

Potential Tax Impact of Recommendations to Date

Were all committee recommendations made to date to stand, the county tax rate would increase by 2.6 percent, to $6.76 per $1,000 assessed value, and the total tax levy would rise by 5.2 percent.

The Expanded Budget Committee will meet again Thursday, October 12, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the County Legislative Chambers, 320 N. Tioga Street in Ithaca.

10-11-2006