January 2021 Session Update
As we close the books on the first month of 2021, the Onondaga County Legislature is already making milestone legislative achievements. After a year unlike any other, our Republican Legislators are looking forward to starting this year on a high note, bringing wins to our residents and continuing to make Onondaga County the best county in the state. We have seen an incredible effort to roll out Coronavirus vaccines to front line workers as well as seniors here in the county, and are proud of our outstanding track record of efficient use of our vaccine allotment.
This legislative session, Republican Legislators led the charge on executing a lease agreement between Onondaga County and Lysander, Van Buren, and the Village of Baldwinsville to consolidate the Baldwinsville Seneca Knolls service area. This lease agreement is for 40 years with four additional 10 year options after the initial agreement. By bringing the entire sewer system infrastructure under the County system, local taxpayers will not be held directly responsible for the maintenance costs associated with repairs in a given sewer district; rather, the costs associated with the upkeep and improvements will be shared among all ratepayers within the entire sanitary district.
It also takes the responsibility for creating new sewer districts out of the Town’s hands because any new build out would be added to the Consolidated Sanitary District and the Sewer Unit Charge assessed by the County would be the only municipal costs for sewers. This plan preserves the land use and planning processes in the hands of local governments, with County Planning still signing off on any potential capacity issues and feasibility of a potential sewer expansion.
Our county has been working very hard to clean up Onondaga Lake. We are finally nearing the end of the Federal Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ) that mandated many of the last decade’s projects. After nearly thirty years of monitoring, testing, reviving habitats, and investing billions of private and public spending in both green and gray infrastructure, we are thrilled to be fulfilling our obligations under the ACJ and working as partners with the DEC through a long term control plan. Because we did our part to clean the lake over the years, we are now able to halt mandated testing and sampling that cost County taxpayers millions annually. Onondaga Lake is now cleaner than it has been in a generation, and we look forward to working with our environmental partners to keep this body of water a beautiful place for wildlife and for our community to enjoy. If you are a fan of bird watching or simply just enjoy patriotic symbolism, Onondaga Lake is a great place to watch as Bald Eagles soar above. There truly is nothing quite like it.