More than a dozen citizens signed up to comment on the proposed 2027 Onondaga County budget during a public hearing held Oct. 1 in the legislature chamber.
Sixteen people stepped to the lectern and provided comment on the spending plan, addressing the environment, the Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) project in Clay, and even the library system.
Jill Hurst-Wahl, a member of the board of trustees of the Onondaga County Public Libraries, was the first to speak. She thanked lawmakers for an increase in library funding and quoted from research done at the Knight Foundation and the University of Chicago.
"A majority of adults in the United States, across every age, race, party affiliation, and income group measured view their public library as an essential public service ... essential, " she said.
The speakers also included John Przepiora, president of the nonprofit Greening USA, who said he sees a glaring lack of prioritizing the natural environment in the public's interest in the proposed spending plan.
He wanted several items addressed, including: "More funding for environmental protection ... a highly professional and independent office of environment is needed to play a leadership role in the face of a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the use of hazardous chemicals for chip manufacturing."
Evette Williams, president of the organization Restoreforlife in Syracuse, complimented the lawmakers on the the county's investment in additional child-welfare case workers. But Williams said she also wants accountability, requesting a public report with results of the investment.
"So families and community can see what changed. A year from now, we should be able to answer ... are children and families better off," she added.
Sam Gruber of Syracuse said he's thankful for the expansion of programs for housing, for food pantries, and for child-care development, However, he said he is also concerned about the environmental impacts of the Micron project in Clay.
"I think with a project that's going to be $100 billion eventually, we need to invest more in oversight and in review and control," Gruber said.
The speakers also included Don Hughes, who volunteers with the Sierra Club and helps lead the Sustain CNY Coalition. He describes the budget as business-as-usual, and with the massive Micron project already impacting the county, he thinks the offices of environment and planning need more staffing.
"You've got to change that. You know the environmental implications of this project are enormous. Tremendous uses of water, emissions of chemicals into the air, threats to our drinking water supply, folks," Hughes told lawmakers.
The lawmakers also heard from several others sharing their views during the hour-long public hearing.
The Onondaga County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee on Sept. 29 voted to amend and advance the proposed spending plan to the full legislature for final consideration on Oct. 6. It followed two weeks of review, per an announcement from the legislature's communications office.
The committee amended Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon's proposal to add six additional caseworkers to protect children; expand overdose response; strengthen food security efforts; and pay for needed patrol vehicles for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office. The committee also elected to move $3.1 million in spending into contingency until departments provide more detail on how the money will be used.
In total, the report by the Ways & Means Committee impacted less than 1 percent of the $1.7 billion spending plan. The amended budget adds no new spending and pays for several of the new positions utilizing existing grant funds that county lawmakers had previously authorized, per the Sept. 29 announcement.
This year included 34 budget oral presentations across 18 meetings in 10 days for a total of 22 hours of budget deliberations. Legislators and the county executive both praised proactive ongoing conversations in helping shape an executive budget proposal reflective of his and legislators’ shared priorities and aligned needs identified by the community, the announcement noted.
