The difficult financial picture facing Cayuga County won't get better any time soon, and in the near future is poised to hit homeowners with a tax increase and leave some county workers out of a job.
Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman in October forecasted hard times ahead in announcing that the county was considering an override of the state tax cap next year in an attempt to tame a multi-million-dollar deficit and rising costs.
"The budget is going to be difficult this year," she said.
More details about just how difficult things might get were revealed last week in the form of a 2025 budget proposal that would eliminate 23 positions and increase the property tax levy by 4%, just below the estimated cap of 4.25%.
The proposed 2025 Cayuga County budget would raise the property tax levy by 4%, eliminate some positions and fund much-needed capital improvements.Â
The $192 million plan, McNabb-Coleman said, reflects the reality of increasing health care costs, contracted raises and retirement contributions for county employees, and expenses associated with the closure of the county office building and relocation of departments. The plan also eliminates positions across 13 departments for a savings of about $1.2 million.
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As tough as job cuts are, sometimes they are necessary. There's also some solace in the fact many of these jobs are currently vacant, so the harm to people will be minimized.
At the same time, there is still a lot of heavy lifting to be done regarding the cost of the county leasing office space for the long term, so that services can be delivered in the most cost-effective ways.
County leaders today are facing expenses that were years in the making, and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. It's important they keep in mind, however, that decisions made today may impact county finances for decades to come. So great care must be taken to set the county on a path in which tax increases and layoffs don't become the norm.
