Onondaga County Legislature Passes Budget

By Andrew Kanell (NCC News)

Oct. 12, 2010, 12:25 p.m.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Onondaga County Legislature approved a $1.15 billion budget last night by a 15-3 vote. The legislature decided to take money from savings accounts across various county departments to lighten the burden on the taxpayer.

County Legislator Casey Jordan, who voted in approval of the budget, explains why the Onondaga Legislature used this strategy.

"We're trying to be as responsible as possible," Jordan said. "Not, you know, keeping money in our savings account and then asking the taxpayers to dip into their savings account."

Still, the Onondaga Legislature agreed to bump up the tax revenue increase from the 1.1 percent that the county executive had proposed, to 3 percent. Jordan says that this was because it did not want to tax people according to an artificially low projected income. With the tax increase, Jordan expects a surplus of money to be available.

The Legislature made some cuts that, according to Jordan, will bring spending back to 2009 levels. The body voted to outsource positions in the Corrections Department, with an expectation of substantial savings.

The Onondaga Legislature also decided not to sell the Sheriff's Department's Air One helicopter. Jordan cited Sheriff Kevin Walsh's promise to find another source to pay for the operating expenses of Air One as the reason why the copter could be kept.

"Instead of kind of going from having Air One to nothing as of January 1," Jordan said, "we agreed to fund it for six months because he seems confident, the sheriff, that he will be able to find other revenue sources to keep the helicopter flying."

If the sheriff can do his part and find other means to pay for the helicopter, Jordan says that Air One will cost a very small amount of taxpayer money.

In general, Jordan said, the Sheriff's Department has the ability to find funding from sources besides the Onondaga County budget. The Department receives grants throughout the year for cars and other items. With that in mind, the Legislature denied requests for new cars.