Highlights of the 9/10/26 Expanded Budget Committee meeting

Published on September 15, 2026

Watch the video recording

The meeting included presentations from the District Attorney, Veterans Services, Planning & Sustainability, Tourism, Transportation Planning, Workforce Development, and Ithaca Tompkins International Airport.

The table below provides a snapshot of the budgets presented during the meeting, followed by summaries of the presentations and key discussion. “Local share” is the portion of a department or agency budget supported by county dollars after outside revenues such as state and federal aid are applied. Comparing local share helps show how each budget affects the county’s overall funding needs and property tax levy.

Approximately $569,000 in additional local share is equivalent to a 1% increase in the county’s property tax levy. Budget figures shown below are rounded.

Amounts marked with * and ** are General Fund contributions from unallocated revenues, including property tax, sales tax, and mortgage recording tax.

District Attorney

District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the office submitted no request for enhancements for 2027. He emphasized that the office currently operates with nine attorneys, including himself, which he said is below prosecutor staffing ratios per population in most New York counties. Although comparable staffing could support additional attorneys, he was not requesting them in this budget.

Van Houten described Alternatives To Incarceration (ATI) as a significant part of the office’s work. Prosecutors remain involved in cases handled through treatment court, mental health court, and integrated domestic violence court, requiring ongoing meetings and appearances but helping individuals remain in the community rather than in jail when appropriate.

The office has added a primarily grant-funded victim advocate who contacts victims, connects them with resources, provides information about court proceedings, and handles responsibilities that previously fell largely to attorneys. The office also uses the Axon Justice digital evidence system to provide discovery materials to defense attorneys; that expense is fully supported through the state Aid to Prosecution grant.

Van Houten highlighted the office’s participation in the Centralized Arraignment Part (CAP), where prosecutors receive stipends to participate in scheduled arraignments alongside defense counsel and judges. Based on internal tracking, he estimated that prosecutor participation has helped avoid approximately 263 days of unnecessary jail time. Based on the number of arraignments in the county, the Aid to Prosecution funding totaled approximately $212,000 in the prior grant year.

A significant portion of the committee discussion focused on the office’s data analyst and public-facing data dashboard. Legislator Black (D-Ithaca Town) questioned how much the dashboard is used by the public and whether the approximately full-time investment in the position provides sufficient value. Van Houten said the analyst also supports internal review of jail populations, case outcomes, and demographic trends, but estimated that approximately 75%-80% of the analyst’s time currently goes toward maintaining and populating the dashboard.

Legislator Hubbard (D-Ithaca City, Town) said she sees value in the dashboards but questioned whether separate departments each need their own staff person maintaining them. She suggested exploring whether data-analysis capacity could be shared across departments and whether more emphasis could be placed on analyzing the data to guide decision-making rather than simply compiling it.

Legislator Brooks (D-Ithaca City, Town) noted that the position grew out of the county’s work under Executive Order 203 following the murder of George Floyd and the broader Reimagining Public Safety effort. If the current approach is not producing enough value, he said the county should consider how to improve or redirect that investment toward the goals identified through that process rather than simply eliminating the funding.

Veterans Services

Veterans Services Director J.R. Clairborne reported three authorized FTEs, although the department is currently operating with two employees following the departure of a staff member. The director said the loss has reduced the department’s capacity at a time when referrals and demand for veterans’ services continue to grow.

The department receives $25,000 annually from the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services, which requires the county to demonstrate twice that amount in eligible expenses, as well as approximately $104,000 through the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Program. Staffing and fringe benefits were identified as the primary drivers of the budget.

The Memorial Celebrations budget primarily supports flags placed on veterans’ graves throughout the county for Memorial Day, with assistance from veterans’ organizations and volunteers.

In response to questions about the department’s reach, the director estimated that Tompkins County has roughly 3,200 veterans and that the broader military-connected population, including active-duty members, reservists, and family members, is between 3,500 and 4,000 people.

Legislator Hubbard asked why Veterans Services and Memorial Celebrations remain separate budget units. Administration explained that the memorial fund predates the Veterans Services Department and agreed to look into whether the accounts could be consolidated in the future.

There was also discussion about an apparent reduction in travel and training. The director said reduced funding would affect who can attend important state and national veterans-service training. Administration clarified that approximately $5,000 had also been shifted from travel and training into program expenses associated with the Dwyer program, meaning part of the apparent reduction is an accounting change rather than an actual cut.

Planning and Sustainability

Planning & Sustainability Commissioner Katie Borgella and Deputy Commissioner Megan McDonald presented the department’s operating budget for work in housing, natural resources and agriculture, sustainability and resilience. Tourism and transportation were presented separately later in the meeting. The department creates plans and strategies, provides technical assistance to municipalities, convenes regional partners, and administers grants. Over the past five years, the department reported bringing approximately $12.2 million in outside funding into the community for projects tied to adopted county plans.

The department is requesting a 2.7% increase in local share. Staff cautioned that its year-to-year budget charts can be difficult to interpret because of multi-year grants and changes in how grant spending is recorded. The department received approximately $2 million in state infrastructure awards in both 2025 and 2026, significantly increasing the apparent size of the budget without creating a comparable increase in local spending.

After removing grant-related activity, staff said 2027 operating expenditures are about $70,000 higher than 2026. Most of that increase is salary and fringe costs. After also accounting for increased membership dues paid on behalf of the county, the remaining underlying increase was described as only a few hundred dollars.

The Environmental Management Council (EMC) submitted two requests associated with the county’s Unique Natural Areas inventory: $1,500 for fieldwork to keep the inventory updated and $3,700 to design and print an updated guidebook in recognition of the program’s 50th anniversary. The EMC identified the $1,500 fieldwork request as its priority, and that amount is included in the County Administrator’s Recommended Budget. The $3,700 publication request was not included.

Legislators spent considerable time trying to understand how multi-year grants and pass-through funds affect the department’s apparent expenditures and revenues. Staff explained that recent accounting changes now display grant activity more transparently in the department budget, even though much of that money is reimbursable and does not come from the general fund.

Tourism

Tourism Program Director Nick Helmholdt presented a program budget supported entirely through the county’s 5% hotel room occupancy tax, resulting in a $0 property-tax local share. The 2027 budget assumes approximately $4.345 million in room tax revenue, including anticipated revenue associated with more than 60 additional hotel rooms expected to come online.

State law allows up to 10% of hotel room tax collections to support administrative costs. Those funds support tourism-related staff within Planning & Sustainability as well as work performed by Finance, the County Attorney’s Office, and County Administration, with a portion also ultimately credited to the General Fund. Tourism staffing remains at 1.7 FTEs.

The tourism budget supports contracted program partners, five community grant programs, the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center, airport marketing and tourism development, and an upcoming update to the County’s Strategic Tourism Plan. The county’s agreement supporting the conference center provides 4% of gross hotel room occupancy tax revenue toward its operation.

The 2027 budget also includes $250,000 in room-tax funding for airport marketing and tourism development. That allocation was discussed again during the airport presentation later in the evening.

Helmholdt reported that tourism generated more than $333 million in visitor spending in 2025, supporting approximately $104 million in direct personal income and nearly 2,300 direct jobs. The Convention and Visitors Bureau assisted more than 52,000 visitors and generated approximately 1.5 million website views and 2.8 million social media views.

Legislator Black asked about hotels that have not paid room tax. Staff said the County Attorney’s Office continues to pursue delinquent properties and emphasized that tourism spending is based on money actually collected rather than projected but uncollected revenue. Staff also reported that current room-tax collections were running nearly 10% ahead of budget, although there is typically a three- to four-month reporting lag.

The committee also discussed whether room-tax-supported beautification work could potentially be expanded around county facilities and the airport. Helmholdt said that could be explored, although the existing beautification program is already at capacity and an expansion would likely require a procurement process.

Transportation Planning

Chief Transportation Officer Frank Doldo presented the transportation operating budget. He described continued work to improve mobility for residents who face transportation barriers, including older adults, people in recovery, and residents relying on public transit.

Among the issues anticipated for 2027 are the scheduled end of the Medicaid 1115 waiver in March, increased food insecurity associated with SNAP changes, continued difficulty finding sufficient transportation capacity for older adults, and the need for additional transportation options for people in recovery. The department plans to seek grant funding for “Rides to Recovery” and has been discussing the possibility of using opioid settlement funding for the required match.

Doldo also highlighted growing use of the county’s mobility management program. The department reported purchasing more than 50,000 rides through TCAT at a cost of approximately $71,700. The Emergency Ride Home program is also expected to be rebranded as “Rescue Ride.”

The 2027 local share is approximately $51,000, an increase of $2,000 from the 2026 local share of $49,000.

Legislator Hubbard asked whether increased use of mobility services reflects greater underlying need or greater public awareness of the programs. Doldo said it is both, noting that outreach has helped more residents learn that transportation assistance is available.

Legislator Packman (D-Ithaca City) asked about a comparatively high travel and training line. Doldo explained that the New York State Department of Transportation reimburses 100% of those costs and that the department has three newer staff members as well as additional opportunities related to audits, reviews, and transportation training. The line therefore has no local-share impact.

Workforce Development

Workforce Development Director Christopher Sponn described the department’s combined role operating the Career Center and supporting the Workforce Development Board, with programs focused on employment preparation, youth employment, training and employer needs. Sponn also highlighted efforts to expand services outside downtown Ithaca and develop career pathways in construction, manufacturing, and other industries.

The department has continued restructuring following the 2023 merger of the Workforce Development Board department and Office of Employment Training. Staffing was 13.25 FTEs following the merger; after eliminating or repurposing positions and responding to reductions in outside funding, the department expects to fall to nine staff if its administrative coordinator position is eliminated.

The administrative coordinator position is currently vacant and is not included in the Recommended Budget. The position historically handles day-to-day fiscal work and administrative support for the Workforce Development Board. The director said operating without it would leave only two staff primarily supporting the board side of the department and could make required fiscal and program monitoring more difficult.

The department began the budget process with an approximately $650,000 local-share target and ultimately reduced that amount by approximately $151,000, or 23%, to a recommended local contribution of about $499,869. The director said he would welcome a legislator bringing forward an amendment to restore the administrative coordinator, while acknowledging that the department itself had not submitted it as an OTR.

The department estimated that its summer youth employment program serves approximately 140-170 young people annually, nearly 1,000 residents receive basic Career Center services, and roughly 500 receive more individualized career services.

The committee also discussed uncertainty around outside funding. A youth employment-related revenue line dropped because additional grant funds received in recent years were not certain enough to include in the 2027 budget, although the department plans to continue seeking them. Other potential funding associated with the Micron project was likewise excluded until it becomes more certain.

Because Workforce Development operates through a separate enterprise fund, legislators also asked for clearer explanations of what the county is actually contributing. Administration noted that the approximately $499,869 local contribution appears as an interfund transfer, which can make the budget presentation more difficult to interpret.

Ithaca Tompkins International Airport

Airport Director Roxan Noble presented her final budget ahead of her retirement in April 2027. The 2027 budget reduces the amount of county support from 2026. The airport received approximately $853,200 in county support for 2026. Its initial 2027 request was $850,000, but the County Administrator asked the airport to reduce that amount by approximately $250,000. The recommended contribution is approximately $604,000.

As part of that reduction, the airport proposes eliminating one currently filled FTE. Noble explained that duties associated with the position had changed significantly following the airport’s earlier reorganization and changes to terminal vendors.

The airport also presented a series of enhancement requests, including its ongoing county-supported debt service, education and promotion, safety and emergency equipment, firefighter turnout gear, departmental and communications equipment, travel and training, vehicle equipment and replacement reserves. Airport debt service is shown as an enhancement because of the way the airport’s local contribution must be presented each year, but administration clarified that the debt-service amount is already included within the approximately $604,000 recommended County contribution; it is not an additional amount on top of that figure.

The committee discussed the source of that debt. Administration and legislators noted that the obligation is associated with the terminal/customs-related project and that the county has been contributing general-fund dollars toward the airport’s share of the debt service. Without that assistance, the airport would have to consider higher rates and charges to airlines, which Noble said are already comparatively high.

Tourism will contribute $250,000 in room-tax funding toward airport marketing and tourism development in 2027. Noble said those funds can support the airport marketing administrator as well as broader marketing activities.

Legislator Brooks questioned the continued county subsidy and whether the airport’s marketing position has produced sufficient results. Noble said the position does considerably more than advertising, including terminal advertising management, grant work, and support for air-service development. Before establishing the position, the airport had relied on outside contractual marketing services.

The discussion reflected the larger challenge facing the airport: increasing passenger use and revenues while managing fixed operating and debt costs without making the airport less competitive through increased airline charges.

What’s next?

The Expanded Budget Committee will continue its review of the County Administrator’s Recommended Budget on

• September 14 with presentations from Finance, Legislature & Legislature Clerk, Weights & Measures, Highway, and Capital Budget, and on

   

• September 17 with presentations from Office for the Aging, Whole Health, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Transportation Planning II, and Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT).