A handful of people spoke during a public hearing Thursday over Onondaga County's proposed 2025 budget, but concerns over lead poisoning stood out.
Onondaga County resident Maureen Murphy spoke up about funding for lead poisoning, calling on the legislators to examine their consciences. She said a decline in lead prevention funding, regardless of any federal funding that's been awarded, is a failure.
"The county executive has repeatedly said, 'a budget is a statement of our values and priorities,'" Murphy said. "Respectfully, I contend this level of funding is morally outrageous and entirely insufficient for addressing a crisis of this magnitude."
Also mentioned in the public comment period, childhood poverty and the need for job opportunities and training programs. County resident Elaine Denton expressed frustration with what she's calling a "status quo" budget.
"Not much change from last year's budget and our problems continue to go unaddressed," Denton said. "We have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the country, homelessness continues to increase in our community and people have nowhere to go. We will keep managing, surviving, but this budget does not help us thrive."
County legislators will take full consideration of the proposed budget in their next session, Oct. 8.