May Committee and June Session Update
The future of the CNY Regional Market, a mental health program, pay increases for certain county workers, and home auctions were among the items discussed and voted on during May committee meetings and the June Session
The first meeting held in May was actually a joint meeting of the County Facilities and Ways & Means committees. Legislators listened as Onondaga Community College President Dr. Warren Hilton presented OCC’s proposed 2024-2025 budget. Onondaga County is responsible for a portion of the school’s budget along with New York State and student tuition and fees.
The biggest takeaway is that tuition is not going up at OCC for the coming school year. “I always want to be able to come to this body and say that we are using taxpayer dollars wisely in doing what’s in the best interest of taxpayers and our students” Dr. Hilton shared as he spoke from a podium at the front of the Legislature’s chambers. “Maintaining a tuition level that will help our students continue to be at our institution is one thing that’s important to us.”
Dr. Hilton presented a fully-balanced $64 million dollar operating budget which included request for a $200,000 increase in county funding, the first asked for in seven years. He said that enrollment was up at OCC during the past two semesters but that New York State hasn’t increased funding to OCC since 2022. OCC is also not requesting funding for any capital projects.
“OCC has been a staple in our community for over 60 years and has been successful for this long because of their ability to transition and fill the higher educational needs with the type of curriculum they offer” says Ways & Means Chair Colleen Gunnip (4th District).
“I appreciate their stewardship and commitment to the community, as well as their ability to adapt their programs to meet the needs of current and future local employers” says County Facilities Chair Deb Cody (5th District).
Legislator Rich McCarron (11th District) attended the meeting. He’s not a member of either committee, but the entire OCC campus sits within his district. “OCC continues to grow in programs and degrees offered while budgeting responsibly and sustaining current tuition levels” he says. “Led by Dr. Hilton, Onondaga Community College provides a high level education at a remarkably affordable price and I encourage everyone to take advantage of this phenomenal local resource.”
The Legislature’s Public Safety and Health & Human Services committees also held a joint meeting in May, at the Onondaga County 911 Center.
Leaders from the county’s Department of Emergency Communications and Department of Children & Family Services provided Legislators with an update on the county’s Person In Crisis Navigation Pilot Program. It provides a mental health professional response in some situations instead of a police or EMS response, which frees up emergency responders for more critical calls.
The program was launched in September 2022. When first receiving a call, 911 call takers determine whether an emergency response is needed or if it can be diverted to a Mental Health Crisis Counselor. A counselor is located at the 911 Center from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. weekdays for a seamless transition. From August 2023 through April 2024, more than 25% of person in crisis calls were transferred and many ended without the need for an emergency response. That surpasses many other communities with a similar program for the level of calls transferred in year one of implementation.
All person in crisis calls which involve the threat of harm to the individual or others, or if the individual has a weapon, are not automatically transferred and instead get the necessary emergency response to safely diffuse the situation.
Public Safety Committee Chair Mark Olson (10th District) says the meeting was one of the better ones that his committee has had in a long time. “The coordination between all levels of government is something that I think the public should know is happening and we are having success with. This program is helping those dealing with a mental health crisis by allowing a trained professional to talk them through it, instead of having a police and EMS response. That not only frees up those first responders for other calls but also de-escalates situations where a first responder presence might cause additional problems. We do still have a long way to go and I look forward to supporting this program.”
"The dedicated collaboration between the many professionals involved in assisting the people of Onondaga County is heartwarming" says Legislator Kevin Meaker (2nd District), a member of the Health & Human Services committee. "We as a community are very fortunate to have these folks working for the betterment of this program."
During the meeting, the county leaders and members of the Syracuse Police Department involved with the program answered Legislator’s questions and shared their short-term goals for the program. Those include expanding the hours a Crisis Counselor is available to take calls, expanding their ambulance partnership with Mental Health Mobile Crisis Teams and continued public education. Following the meeting, Legislators received a tour of the 911 Center and saw where the Crisis Counselors work and learned how they interact with call takers.
Committee Chair Julie Abbott (6th District) led the Environmental Protection committee’s meeting, which featured a lengthy discussion about what turned out to be this month’s most-discussed and debated resolutions.
One resolution would allow for pay increases for certain management workers at the Office of Water Environment Protection (WEP), the county department which operates and maintains the system that collects, treats, and discharges sewage in Onondaga County. Another would create a new Deputy Commissioner position.
Commissioner Shannon Harty explained that WEP has been struggling to fill management positions as private sector employers almost always offer better pay.
“They really are critical hires that are impacting my department’s ability to move forward with capital programs and regulatory programs, you know, overall management and to support and oversee the union personnel that are within those programs” the Commissioner shared with the committee. “Without management and oversight, they are running without supervision so we really need to get these positions filled.”
Commissioner Harty then shared details of each of the eight critical positions, which include:
Deputy Commissioner of Regulatory Programs
Industrial Pretreatment Director
Management Engineer
Collection System Director
Sewer Maintenance Superintendent
Instrumentation/Electrical Superintendent
Process Control Director
Director of Asset Management
Commissioner Harty also shared that many of the positions have been vacant for several years, and that WEP has lost at least eight candidates to better paying private sector jobs.
“I think that bolsters the argument that steps need to be taken to make them more competitive” said Legislator Cody Kelly (14th District), who is Vice Chair of the committee.
The resolution was advanced to the Ways & Means committee, as was the one for creating and funding a Deputy Commissioner of Administrative Services at WEP. This position will be responsible for the oversight of administrative personnel and human resource processes for the Department – including employee and labor relations, workforce development (including workplace safety and training) and public communication and outreach.
At this month’s Planning and Economic Development committee, members learned the specifics of proposed changes to Agricultural District No. 4, which comes up for review every eight years.
“This has nothing to do with taxes or property taxes, or anything like that” Committee Chair Dave Knapp (12th District) said at the start of the meeting. “This is more about zoning and it protects the land from zoning that may inhibit farm and agricultural use.”
There are four agricultural districts in Onondaga County and property in any of them can be added annually. But removal of land can only occur when the district the land is in comes up for official review. This year, it’s Agricultural District No. 4, which covers much of the Southeast portion of county.
Megan Costa, the Assistant Director of the Onondaga County Department of Planning, joined committee members at the table to share specifics. “The current additions and removal requests total about 33 acres added in the towns of Fabius and LaFayette, and 140 acres removed in Fabius, Pompey and Tully. So, a net loss of about 90 acres but overall we’re at about 600 acres up in the district since our last renewal in 2016.”
These changes bring the total amount of land in Agricultural District No. 4 to about 63,500 acres.
As far as the addition of property in other districts there was only one request, that of seven acres in the Village of Elbridge, in Agricultural District No. 3.
The other resolution discussed at the committee meeting was the acceptance of $100,000 in state grant funds from Empire State Development. The money will be used towards a study and revitalization plan of the Central New York Regional Market, which, as you’ve likely heard, is financially stressed and possibly mismanaged. Onondaga County is also planning to contribute about $225,000 towards the study.
The county is looking at investing about $4 million dollars in the market, but given this current news, feels that prior to providing financial assistance, it is important to:
Get a handle on the fiscal condition, operations and needs
Create a clear fiscal and management strategy, as well as a capital infrastructure plan
Determine what the Market will do to make them self-sustaining
Identify revenue streams to help this operation continue for future generations
Determine what the Market wants to be
Determine how the Market will balance their books in the future to make any County or State investments worthwhile
“They’re running at a deficit and they’re looking to us to make emergency repairs so that they can rent out some of the facilities and the County Executive is not willing to do that until we are in a position where we feel like this money is going to be spent the way it should be” the county’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Isabelle Harris, told the committee.
Chair Knapp added, “I’ve met with the Executive Director and a couple of board members and my impression is there’s absolutely a willingness to collaborate and get this fixed. There are other regional markets in New York State that are self-sustaining and so we don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel here but we can look at some of those best practices and things like that to right the ship. It’s a wonderful asset in the community and we need to figure it out.”
The Ways & Means committee this month discussed the acceptance of state grant funds for a study of how the CNY Regional Market can best move forward and deal with its recent challenges.
Majority Leader Brian May (1st District) is Vice Chair of the committee, and spoke to this resolution on the floor.
“I’ve been talking with the County Executive on this since early last year, I think the very beginning of last year” Leader May said. “Onondaga County has the vision for what it could be. Onondaga County values what it is to thousands upon thousands of people every single weekend of the year and on top of that Onondaga County realizes, recognizes and has taken the lead, picking up the football if you will and running with it to be the catalyst for what is sorely needed there to keep that asset going and strong.”
The county Planning Department’s Assistant Director, Megan Costa, returned to answer questions and when asked about a timeframe for the study said it will likely take about one year, but that given the financial situation with a market, they will push for it to be completed sooner.
Also returning for Ways & Means was WEP Commissioner Shannon Harty. Chair Gunnip pressed her on the department’s request for pay (or grade) increases for certain management positions, asking if all eight management positions and the proposed new Deputy Commissioner are actually needed.
“I don’t want to call my personal experience, but I was all of them at a lot less of a grade for about 1,200 employees at Onondaga County” she said. “Is there any of those positions that you feel as if could be abolished that you’re not going to use?"
Commissioner Harty answered with a firm no, adding that WEP is an industrial department with varying divisions.
Chair Gunnip also asked the county’s Chief Fiscal Officer, Steven Morgan, whether these pay increases will set a precedent. He started his response by saying, “I’m supportive of, and the Executive is supportive of, these changes because we understand the urgency of them and the need that Shannon and her department have, but typically this is not how we do business.” He went on to say that if these increases are approved, it won’t automatically result in an increase in WEP’s budget next year.
The only new item discussed was a local law relating to how proceeds from property tax auctions are treated. The law, put simply, says Onondaga County will comply with the state law related to this.
Both the state and local laws come after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that a tax-delinquent homeowner could receive excess proceeds from the auctioning of their foreclosed home after all owed taxes, penalties and interest are paid out. The new laws set forth the process to return any surplus monies to the previous property owner or lien holder. It also says that the New York State Supreme Court will be the arbiter of the surplus funds, not Onondaga County. In addition to the owed taxes, penalties and interest, the county can also keep limited administrative fees to cover the time and financial costs to get to point of auctioning a home. An auction is planned in Onondaga County this fall.
The June Session brought a debate over the two resolutions for WEP. The pay increases were approved but the creation of a new Deputy Commissioner was pulled from the agenda during the meeting, meaning no vote was taken and the item returns to the committee process. This provides for more time for Legislators to discuss the issue and to review all pertinent information. They can also have any additional questions answered.
All other resolutions and the local law were approved by the full Legislature.
At Session, athletes from Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University were celebrated with the Legislature’s highest honor – a Gold Seal.
Legislator McCarron presented one to the Onondaga Community College Women’s Lacrosse team. They are National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national champions for the third time in program history, following a victory over Monroe Community College in the championship game of the NJCAA Women's Lacrosse Invitational. OCC Head Coach Erik Mattox was named Coach of the Tournament. He stood at the front of the Legislature’s chambers alongside players Gianna Zerrillo, Gabriella Smart and Alecsis Buda to accept the Gold Seal from Legislator McCarron.
Ms. Zerrillo is a graduate of Westhill High School and Ms. Smart is a graduate of Jordan-Elbridge High School.
“This championship capped off a perfect 12-0 season for the Women's Lacrosse team and we are all proud of them” Legislator McCarron, whose 11th District includes all of the OCC campus, said afterwards. He also presented a Gold Seal to OCC athlete Bryn Whitman, who is the NJCAA National Champion in Women’s Discus for the second straight year. She earned that title with a throw of 40.21 meters, which was nearly 6 meters better than her closest competitor at the NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. “Bryn's athletic success is only seconded by her academic performance and I am certain she has a bright future ahead of her” Legislator McCarron added.
Chairman Burtis presented a Gold Seal to Syracuse University’s Women's Rowing team, which recently won the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rowing Championship for the first time in program history. Several team members and coaches stood at his side, one holding the large championship trophy. Head Coach Luke McGee, who was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, spoke. “I couldn’t be prouder of this team, the dedication and the work ethic they’ve shown” he said. “It’s a tough sport and these women really accept that challenge and they do pretty great things not only in the boat but also in the classroom.”
“These honorees have one thing in common: perseverance” says Legislature Chairman Timothy Burtis (3rd District). “If you believe in yourself and the goal you are working towards, anything is possible. They are an inspiration to others and so these honors are well-deserved.”