69´«Ã½

The county Legislature's Ways and Means Committee held a special meeting to examine the health and public safety portions of the budget. No amendments were proposed at the meeting. The committee can make recommendations that will be submitted for review at the full Legislature's regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 26. 

Lynn Marinelli, the county's budget director, summarized the budgetary impacts by agency. The county Department of Social Services would lose five positions — two part-time caseworkers, one full-time senior caseworker, one full-time paralegal and one full-time resource consultant — while funding would be added for one part-time paralegal. Two positions — a full-time senior clerk and a full-time billing clerk — would be slashed in the county Community Mental Health Clinic. 

The county Health Department would lose one position, a full-time public health assistant. 

The cuts would also affect several public safety departments. The county Sheriff's Office would lose one full-time detective, but would get three new marked patrol cars and one unmarked car. The budget also includes two new boat engines for the marine patrol. 

When Cayuga 69´«Ã½ Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman presented the budget proposal last week, she said capital reserves would be used to replace the chiller and roof at the county Public Safety Building, which houses the jail and sheriff's office. 

What's not in the budget is funding for security at 63 Genesee St., which will be the temporary home for the Department of Social Services and at least two other county agencies while the office building is closed for up to two years. Sheriff Brian Schenck explained to legislators that because the special patrol officers are classified as peace officers, they cannot provide security at a facility not owned by a municipality. 

The Cayuga 69´«Ã½ Jail would lose one full-time corporal position, but would get funding to buy two Chevrolet Tahoes for transporting inmates. A full-time account clerk/typist would be eliminated from the county Probation Department. 

The county Emergency Management Office would eliminate a full-time administrative officer position, while adding a part-time administrative officer. There would be funding for the agency to add either a deputy coordinator or fire investigator. 

Although there weren't any amendments proposed at the meeting, one possible change is reversing a cut to the training budget for county 911. In the 2025 budget proposal, the line item is reduced from $10,000 to $5,000. Marinelli said the cut was to do training "in a different way." Last year, the agency spent $12,000 on training. 

Another special Ways and Means committee meeting will be held Thursday, when the panel is expected to review its recommendations for the budget. 

Cayuga 69´«Ã½ Legislator Elane Daly, who chairs the committee, said the goal is to decrease the amount of fund balance used in the 2025 budget. The proposal calls for $6.6 million to be used from the fund balance. Daly added that they are not looking at raising the tax levy from its proposed level, even though they could increase it slightly and remain under the 4.25% tax cap for next year. 

"There's a lot of information to go through here and we're trying to make reasonable recommendations that don't hurt the operations," Daly said. 

The 2025 budget must be finalized by Dec. 20.