Besides the 9-percent cut in the property tax rate, the proposed 2027 Onondaga County budget includes two housing programs and funding to help Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
The housing initiatives include a partnership with Home HeadQuarters, Inc. of Syracuse to help some young homebuyers, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in his Sept. 15 budget address.
"Our Gen Z down payment and closing cost assistance program. The program is intended to help younger residents overcome one of the largest barriers to homeownership -- the initial down payment. And to encourage the next generation to establish long-term roots in Onondaga County. This $2 million investment will help 200 residents become first-time homebuyers ... achieving the American Dream," McMahon said.
The second program is what McMahon described as an "offshoot" of the work the legislature's housing committee has recommended. The creation of a limited development corporation (LDC) for housing.
"The LDC could be a vehicle to lend low-interest financing for middle-market housing projects, creating an additional 1,000 housing units," he said. "We are putting tools in the housing toolbox."
In referencing the metaphorical toolbox, McMahon included the proposed LDC with the county's O-CHIP program, its Gen Z Infrastructure Fund, its UTEP changes to OCIDA (Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency), and the Onondaga County Neighborhood Initiative.
O-CHIP is short for the Onondaga County Housing Initiative Program, which is meant to incentivize private-sector investment. Per its website, O-CHIP has $10 million available to be awarded to private sector and nonprofit developers to assist in closing funding gaps and stimulate investment in new construction so the community will have more housing units.
UTEP is short for uniform tax exemption policy, or that which determines which commercial projects and industry sectors qualify tor tax incentives from local Industrial Development Agencies.
McMahon told the legislature that the budget proposal includes a local law creating the LDC.
He also told lawmakers that, over the coming weeks, his team will develop and present Plan ONondaga Implementation 2. The plan will focus on necessary investments to "drive the Central New York semiconductor cluster forward."
Funding this LDC could potentially be at the heart of this implementation package, McMahon added.
Airport Revitalization Fund
The budget proposal also includes an Airport Revitalization Fund, which will have $1.5 million in funding raised from the county's room occupancy tax for the facility's ongoing needs.
"This year, we're also looking to leverage county funding for larger funding from New York State for our airport. Our airport is growing but also has a robust capital plan to meet the moment and demand that we see today," McMahon said.
The Onondaga County Legislature is now reviewing the budget proposal, and it plans to hold both a public hearing and its budget vote in early October.
