Highlights of the 9/2/25 Tompkins County Legislature meeting
Published on September 08, 2025
Presentation of the county administrator’s 2026 recommended budget
Budget deliberations began with the presentation of the county administrator’s recommended budget, which takes into account the impact of increasing costs for mandates, labor, healthcare, capital investments, and emergency shelter. Uncertainties about the economy and sales tax revenue, and a shrinking fund balance, add to the challenges the county faces in its fiscal planning.
The recommended 2026 operating budget is $240 million. Through careful review of expenditure and revenue lines, the initial estimated $11 million budget gap has been reduced to roughly $2.5 million. The recommended tax levy is $57 million, which is the amount of money the county needs to raise from property taxes to fund the budget. This amounts to a 4.5% tax levy increase, which would have a $37 impact on the owner of a median-priced home ($300,000). The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed property value would increase by 2.6% to $4.92, as the value of all taxable property in the county has increased.
The recommendations include the maintenance of several critical programs, such as the current configuration of the Rapid Medical Response (Department of Emergency Response) and the Crisis Alternative Response and Engagement (Sheriff, Mental Health) teams, Day Reporting (Probation), Early Intervention Support (Whole Health), Respite Beds (Department of Social Services), Countywide Security (Department of Emergency Response), Community Justice Center, and investment in the Ithaca Tompkins International Airport.
Planned capital projects for 2026 include airport and bridge projects, fleet management, highway maintenance and equipment replacement, facilities restoration, the Center of Government, Information Technology Services, and Recycling & Materials Management infrastructure upgrades, as well as funding for debt service.
Balancing the recommended budget necessitated difficult decisions, resulting in line-item adjustments in several county departments, excluding enhancement and new position requests, as well as reductions in community agency funding.
The county administrator’s recommended budget is the starting point for legislators to review and discuss budget details. Departmental budget presentations to the legislature began on September 4 and will continue throughout the month, culminating in a public forum on September 30, during which the public can provide feedback. In October, several meetings are scheduled for the legislature to vote on proposed budget adjustments. On November 4th, the legislature is expected to pass the final 2026 budget.
The budget process is designed to be transparent and accessible. The meetings are public and livestreamed. The evolving budget information and budget schedule are available on the county website.
Other business
At the September 2 Downtown Facilities Special Committee meeting, HOLT Architects and Fisher Associates presented design updates for the Center of Government, based on community and legislative feedback following the initial design presentation in July. The presentation included proposed floor-by-floor layouts of the building's interior and exterior design elements. Links to the meeting recording and presentation slides are available on the Center of Government project webpage. To make way for the Center of Government project, the former Key Bank Building, the Professional Building, and the Annex C Building are slated for deconstruction (in that order) later this fall.
A resolution was unanimously approved to accept $1,346,448 in NYS Department of Transportation funding for geothermal heating and cooling at the Ithaca Tompkins International Airport. The local share for this project is $336,612.
A local law was adopted unanimously to establish a short-term rental registration system and a new fee for the registration of short-term rentals. This will help ensure that the county is collecting room tax from all short-term rentals operating in the county. The registration fee is set at $125 per unit. If all registered units comply with the new law, the county will receive roughly $125,000 in revenue from fees. This revenue will support the systems and personnel required to maintain the short-term rental registration system. More information about where and how to register will be forthcoming.
The legislature unanimously approved a resolution to accept $500,000 in funding from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) State and Municipalities (SAM) grant program to purchase and install emergency radio system equipment at the direction of the Department of Emergency Response to enhance emergency communications throughout the county.
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