Highlights of the 9/2/26 Expanded Budget Committee meeting

Published on September 10, 2026

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Expanded Budget Committee Chair Dawson (D-Lansing, Ithaca Town) opened the first evening of departmental budget presentations by welcoming eight new legislators to "the most important thing we do all year."

During the EBC process, legislators review the County Administrator’s Recommended Budget in greater detail, hear directly from county departments and funded community agencies, ask questions about their proposed spending and revenues, and consider enhancement or over-target requests that were not fully included in the Recommended Budget. These early meetings are primarily informational; legislators will later deliberate and vote on proposed amendments to the Recommended Budget before it moves to the full legislature for consideration.

At this first meeting, legislators heard presentations from Assessment, Assigned Counsel, Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, Youth Services/Recreation Partnership, Tompkins Community Action, Rural Library Services, and Tompkins County Public Library.

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.

Assessment

Director of Assessment Jay Franklin presented a budget centered on staffing, implementation of the new Tyler property assessment system, and the department’s ability to maintain accurate property data. Franklin noted that the department has 28% fewer staff than it did in 2000 while the County has added more than 3,100 parcels in that time. The County Administrator’s 2027 Recommended Budget reduces the department by one full-time equivalent.

The dollar reduction corresponds to an occupied Real Property Appraiser position, although the department currently has a vacant administrative position. Franklin proposed leaving the administrative position vacant and restoring $36,638, the difference between the two positions, to retain the appraiser responsible for the City of Ithaca. Legislator Black (D-Ithaca Town) asked why appraiser staffing remains necessary while countywide reassessments are paused. Franklin explained that appraisers continue daily fieldwork, data verification, new-construction reviews, and preparation for the Tyler conversion, and that several experienced employees are expected to retire in coming years.

The department requested $154,000 for EagleView oblique aerial imagery, a countywide flyover that provides angled images of properties. The request was not supported in the Recommended Budget; administration recommended pursuing grant funding for a future year. Franklin said that without the imagery, he would recommend delaying the next countywide revaluation until 2030 so imagery potentially obtained in 2028 could be incorporated into the process.

Legislator Weiser (D-Caroline, Danby) and Legislator Hubbard (D-Ithaca City, Town) questioned the relationship between obtaining new aerial imagery and the timing of the next reassessment. Franklin said obtaining the imagery in fall 2028 would be too late to support a 2029 reassessment and would also allow a year to work through the transition to Tyler.

Assigned Counsel

Assigned Counsel Program Supervising Attorney Lance Salisbury outlined the county’s mandated responsibility to provide legal representation to qualifying residents in criminal and Family Court matters. The program has six full-time employees, with staffing and mandated attorney costs supported through a combination of county funding and state aid. Salisbury identified state-set attorney rates, caseload requirements, and the amount and allowable uses of state aid as the major factors affecting the local cost.

Administration asked Assigned Counsel to identify revenue to offset its new building rental expense. The program identified $20,764 in additional state revenue for that purpose. Overall, administration said the increased use of state aid reduces the department’s local share by approximately $206,000.

Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC)

Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council Director Tom Knipe explained that ITCTC is the federally required metropolitan planning organization responsible for coordinating regional transportation planning and directing federal transportation investments. Approximately $20 million in federal transportation funding is programmed through the Council each year.

ITCTC maintains three positions and has no county tax-levy impact because its budget is fully supported by Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration allocations administered through the New York State Department of Transportation. The county initially pays expenses and is subsequently reimbursed. Knipe said the Council bills quarterly and generally receives payment within several weeks.

The primary staffing change for 2027 replaces an administrative assistant with a transportation planner, maintaining the same number of positions while increasing professional capacity for planning, analysis, and technical assistance to municipalities. ITCTC is also exploring paid financial-administration support from the county’s finance department. Both changes can be supported through federal allocations and carryover funds without affecting the county levy.

Youth Services & Recreational Partnership

Youth Services Director Kate Booth presented a 2027 budget with four full-time equivalents and no enhancement request. The department supports more than 40 programs serving approximately 7,000 young people annually, with an emphasis on recreation, prevention, positive youth development, and early intervention. Booth noted that county dollars invested through many of these programs are matched by municipal and agency partners.

Rather than request additional county funding for funded agencies and municipal youth programs, the department reduced portions of its own operational budget and reallocated the savings to provide an approximately 2% increase to those partners, about $14,000 for municipalities and $10,400 for agencies.

Legislator Black (D-Ithaca Town) raised the question of whether those increases should remain in the budget when other county-funded nonprofits may receive flat funding or reductions this year. She suggested legislators consider whether maintaining funding at 2026 levels would provide greater consistency among outside agencies.

Booth also reviewed the Recreation Partnership, which coordinates shared recreational programming among the county and participating municipalities. The 2027 municipal contribution totals $458,576. Tompkins County’s contractual share is $114,644, an increase of $7,541, which is included in the Recommended Budget.

Legislator Weiser (D-Caroline, Danby) asked about transportation barriers for rural youth. Booth said there is no dedicated transportation line in the budget. She identified transportation as an ongoing countywide challenge and said the department hopes to explore partnerships, grants, and potential pilot programs.

Tompkins Community Action

Executive Director Danielle Harrington presented Tompkins Community Action’s approximately $8 million agency budget and requested continued county support of $270,000, unchanged since 2024. The county contribution represents approximately 3.4% of the organization’s overall budget and is used in part as the required local match to leverage federal funding for supportive housing, Early Head Start and Head Start programs.

Harrington said the agency is experiencing increased community need while many state and federal funding sources remain flat. She cited a closed Section 8 waiting list, continued housing pressures, and demand at the emergency food pantry that sometimes exceeds available capacity.

Legislator Hubbard (D-Ithaca City, Town) asked about the county’s visibility into the agency’s overall finances given that county funding represents a relatively small portion of its budget. Harrington said the organization manages 23 funding streams and offered to provide financial statements and additional detail. Legislator Brown (R-Newfield, Enfield) asked how county funds are leveraged as grant match; Harrington explained that federal programs often require nonstate local support and that the agency also uses partner contributions, volunteer service and other in-kind resources as match where allowed.

Rural Libraries

Finger Lakes Library System Executive Director Sarah Glogowski and Southworth Library Director Laura Lusk presented on behalf of Tompkins County’s five rural libraries. They reported an 8% increase in registered borrowers and more than 120,000 visits across the libraries, along with continued growth in circulation, programs and Wi-Fi use.

The rural libraries requested flat county funding of $240,026. Glogowski emphasized that maintaining the same allocation nevertheless represents a loss of purchasing power as staffing, utilities and collection costs rise, particularly the cost of electronic books and audiobooks.

Legislator Brown (R-Newfield, Enfield) asked how county support compares with each library’s overall operating budget. Glogowski said each rural library receives roughly $43,000 from the county, while most individual library budgets exceed $200,000; the Finger Lakes Library System receives approximately $20,000 from the County for a budget of more than $2 million.

Tompkins County Public Library

Tompkins County Public Library Director Emerson DeMeester-Lane reported growing library use, including approximately 15,000 items added to the collection, visits returning to pre-pandemic levels, a 40% increase in meeting-room use and the highest number of registered borrowers since 2015. At the same time, TCPL has reduced staffing from 43 full-time equivalents (FTE) in 2023 to 38 in 2027.

DeMeester-Lane identified personnel and health insurance as the library’s principal budget pressures. The projected difference in health insurance costs between 2025 and 2027 is approximately $400,000, and TCPL is contractually responsible for 85% of employee health insurance costs. The average cost per FTE has increased from about $87,000 in 2023 to $114,000 in 2027.

TCPL requested an over-target request of approximately $538,000 for ongoing operating expenses, including staffing and benefits, contracted security, IT, phone and internet service, and the required annual audit. The County Administrator’s Recommended Budget includes $268,984, or approximately one-half of the request.

Even with the recommended increase, TCPL projects a roughly $371,000 operating shortfall in 2027. DeMeester-Lane outlined more than $100,000 in spending reductions and described efforts to shift costs to the Friends of the Library and TCPL Foundation, pursue grants, maintain a hiring freeze, and recover previously unpaid revenue. The library is also working with the county on opportunities to share space and services and reduce costs.

The resulting structural gap prompted substantial discussion. Legislator Ostlund (D-Ulysses, Enfield) asked whether county-provided security could be more cost-effective; administration agreed to evaluate that option. Legislator Brown (R-Newfield, Enfield) raised concerns about cash flow under the county’s quarterly reimbursement system and suggested considering more frequent payments.

Legislator Hubbard (D-Ithaca City, Town) noted that even TCPL’s full request would not entirely resolve its structural imbalance and expressed concern about relying on fund balance for recurring personnel and benefit costs. She observed that significantly reducing library hours would affect public access and that TCPL must remain open at least 55 hours per week to maintain its central library status.

Legislator Mezey (D-Dryden) encouraged the county and library to examine services the county already provides, or could potentially provide, including IT, security, phone and internet service, audits and facility support, before relying solely on a higher ongoing county allocation. Administration said those shared-service discussions are underway.

The Expanded Budget Committee will continue its review of the County Administrator’s Recommended Budget on September 3, hearing from Information Technology Services, Human Resources, The History Center in Tompkins County, and Facilities.