News Briefs:
First T.C. Budget Numbers out
(Apr. 29): If Tompkins County Government were to keep current programs in place, next year’s county tax levy would rise by more than seven percent, according to preliminary figures County Administrator Korsah Akumfi presented the County Legislature at a “budget retreat” Tuesday.
And if the county were to trim the levy to rise no more than the state’s “tax cap”—now estimated at 3.06 percent—departments would need to cut more than $2.2 Million in projected spending.
The Legislature’s “retreat,” an annual April ritual to gain a casual first-look at next year’s finances, must, by law, be an open meeting. But legislators deliberately meet off-site, likely to discourage public attendance. Accordingly, no media reporters showed up.
The meeting produced more than its share of stumbles, including a $1.3 Million accounting error that had Deputy Administrator Norma Jayne jiggering numbers on the fly and ballooned the higher “Maintenance of Effort” budget’s tax hike far beyond what a printed handout had predicted.
At Akumfi’s urging, legislators declined Tuesday to “target” a tax increase right away. But they’ll convene a second retreat in July.
“When you meet with department heads, ask, ‘Why do you need this extra item,’” Akumfi suggested as an alternative to strict “target” budgeting. Of course, Akumfi will be the first to meet those subordinates. Legislators won’t see them until the fall.
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Sticks and Stones
(Apr. 26): Saturday, April 26, was Cemetery Clean-up Day in Enfield, an annual volunteer event that prepares Enfield’s four Town-owned cemeteries for summer maintenance and visitor viewing.
This year, crews split among the locations. Councilperson Cassandra Hinkle, Chair of Enfield’s Cemetery Committee, supervised clean-up crews in Enfield Center. I took on Gray Road’s Budd Cemetery myself. (It’s near my home.)
Dodging pesky raindrops all morning, Budd proved a stick-picker’s challenge. But with the grounds combed and debris removed, it’s clean now.
Thanks to all who helped. / RL
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Enfield may message Trump
(Apr. 23): It originated in Lansing. And now it’s likely the Enfield Town Board will weigh in at its May meeting to criticize President Trump’s alleged violation of the Constitution, abridgement of free speech rights and summary deportation of migrants.
Lansing officials have asked Enfield’s Town Board to endorse the Lansing messaging resolution, along with a companion measure that opposes the Trump Administration’s floated idea of removing the tax exemption granted municipal bonds.
With next to no discussion, The Lansing Town Board April 16 adopted each resolution. The call “to defend the Constitution” passed 3-1, with board member Judy Drake dissenting. (Another member, Laurie Hemmings, didn’t attend.)
The long-winded critique of Trump’s deportation and free speech policies runs 20 paragraphs and arguably touches all bases.
“Be it Resolved, that as elected officials, we cannot stand silent as members of our constituencies are threatened by the actions of federal officials,” Lansing’s Resolution states.
“Being that these are tumultuous times, it is our charge and responsibility as elected officials to represent our constituents, to uphold the core tenets of democracy and the U.S. Constitution, in order to prevent our nation from slipping into dangerous and authoritarian chaos,” the Resolution affirms.
Tellingly, unless altered by Enfield’s leaders, the constitutional messaging would only go to friendly state and federal Democrats, not to President Trump, himself.
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ICSD Board OK’s Budget
(Apr. 22): In a sharp contrast with the tax-based budget squabbles of last year, the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) Board of Education Tuesday night approved and sent to a May public referendum a $169 Million 2025-26 Budget. It would contain the tax levy increase to 3.76 percent, just within the state-calculated tax cap.
“I’m pleased to say an impressive job has been done,” Board member Jill Tripp, recognized by many as the taxpayer’s friend, said in commending administrators for keeping spending in check.
“I’m definitely in favor of adopting this budget,” Karen Yearwood, a board member considered more liberal, remarked.
Erin Croyle, the member most likely to complain about a budget that’s too lean, did not. Absent, but sending a written message, Croyle gave the budget her support, as did another who didn’t attend, Garrick Blalock.
The spending plan endorsed Tuesday stands little changed from an administration proposal offered up in late-March.
Last spring, a budget carrying a much-heftier tax increase lost miserably at the polls when it was first offered. Its defeat forced later changes.
Tuesday’s meeting set aside no time for public comment. But only a smattering of district employees and reporters attended anyway. The ICSD’s budget hearing is set for May 13; the public referendum for May 20.
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Fire District Treasurer Resigns
(Apr. 17): Cortney Bailey, appointed Treasurer of the Enfield Fire District since its establishment in mid-2023, has tendered her resignation, effective June 30th.
Bailey chose to leave voluntarily, according to Board of Fire Commissioners’ Chair Greg Stevenson, who Thursday launched a search for the treasurer’s replacement.
The Fire District posted on social media a 30-point list of requirements for treasurer. The position’s current annual salary is $5,000, though Thursday’s announcement stated that future years’ compensation “will be based on workload, ability to perform duties, and BOC decision.”
Bailey, a Gray Road resident, remains involved as president of the Enfield Community Council. She waged a write-in campaign for Enfield Supervisor in 2021.
At the advice of Fire District legal counsel, Stevenson said applicants for Fire District Treasurer must reside in Fire District, whose boundaries are the same as the Town of Enfield.
The Board of Fire Commissioners will accept expressions of interest from treasurer applicants through May ninth.
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Stefanik atop our ballot?
(Apr. 17): Some say Elise Stefanik really wanted that luxury apartment that comes as a perk with being UN Ambassador. As we all know, she didn’t get the apartment… nor the promotion.
Now, ABC News reports New York’s North Country Congresswoman is eyeing the Republican nomination to oppose Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul in the 2026, election, “a source familiar with her thinking told ABC News.”
President Trump had first nominated Stefanik, a rabid MAGA loyalist, to become the United States ambassador to the United Nations during his Transition period. But he then pulled the nomination March 27, just a week before her Senate confirmation vote.
Word had it that Trump and House leaders saw their slim GOP majority as too vulnerable, and that if Stefanik stepped aside to become ambassador, a Democrat might win the election to replace her.
But now, House leaders could lose Stefanik anyway, only just not before the ’26 Midterms.
ABC reports that Stefanik’s office had declined immediate comment on whether the congresswoman was really interested in taking on Hochul. But if Stefanik does run, it will be a high-profile race to watch.
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SHPO shrugs on demo?
(Apr. 15): A pesky roadblock may have been cast aside as Tompkins County seeks to raze a trio of buildings bordering DeWitt Park to build its $40 Million Center of Government.
In an easy-to-miss-moment during an otherwise mundane three-hour meeting, County Administrator Korsah Akumfi advised the Tompkins County Legislature Tuesday that representatives of the New York State Historic Preservation Office—better known as “SHPO”—have budged in their opposition to leveling the buildings .
“We’ve got the SHPO process underway. It’s looking great,” Akumfi informed lawmakers. “We have a conditional approval to proceed at demolishing the buildings on site with some guidelines,” he said. “So we are very happy about the outcome and we’re moving forward with the process.”
Akumfi’s update—which notably understated its newsworthiness—took less than a minute. Legislators asked no questions. And Akumfi never said what the “guidelines” were. He implied one could involve a traffic study, beginning after students return from spring break.
SHPO obstinacy has delayed “deconstruction” of the former Key Bank and the adjacent Wiggins Law Office for more than a year. “Building C,” currently the Board of Elections headquarters, would also come down to make way for the mammoth new structure.
Much later, when Downtown Facilities Committee Chair Randy Brown took his turn to speak, Brown only said that Akumfi had “filled us in.” One senses most legislators stood aware of what the rest of us had yet to learn. SHPO reps had planned to tour the site this month.
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Enfield joins NYSEG probe
(Apr. 10): Are NYSEG “Smart Meters” too smart by half? The Enfield Town Board wants to find out.
Joining earlier action by the Tompkins County Legislature April 1, the Enfield Town Board voted unanimously Wednesday to request the state Public Service Commission and the New York Attorney General’s Office to “conduct an independent audit of NYSEG’s billing practices to determine the extent of errors, inconsistencies, and potential overcharges.”
Several in the Town Board’s gallery, attending for other reasons, voiced their support of the board’s action.
Board members and attendees placed primary blame on the “Smart Meters” that NYSEG recently installed at most local homes to record power consumption.
Relying on what some might brand conspiracy theories, those present blamed the meters for overstating consumption, perhaps deliberately, always faulting in the utility’s favor.
“Numerous complaints have been raised by residents and businesses regarding inaccurate billing, sudden rate spikes, delayed or estimated meter readings, and lack of transparency in NYSEG’s billing practices,” the adopted Enfield resolution stated.
“A comprehensive, independent audit of NYSEG’s billing practices would provide much-needed clarity regarding the accuracy of billing procedures, the effectiveness of customer service responses, and compliance with state regulations,” the resolution added.
NYSEG last week accused several Tompkins County legislators of being “seditious” after an Elmira TV station broadcast their similar concerns about NYSEG.
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ICSD: Spend Now, Suffer Later
(Apr. 9): The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) Board of Education didn’t move very far toward adopting its next year’s budget Tuesday night. Instead, it spent more than three-quarters of an hour swallowing some bitter medicine from its money administrators.
Yet nothing board members said as they absorbed their grim financial lecture April 8th indicated they’d stray from adopting the administration’s proposed $169 Million budget following spring break.
The problem ICSD faces is akin to tapping your 401(k) retirement account to buy groceries.
Charts presented the board predicted that if the district continues to draw on fund balances—its savings—to close budget gaps, both the “assigned” and “unassigned” fund balances would be depleted by 2029.
“The sky’s not falling, but the lines are crossing, y’all,” School Superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown warned board members.
Administrators project negotiated salaries to rise by four to five per cent annually, but state aid growing by just three percent. (Teachers want 7.5 percent raises.)
The budget set for board adoption April 22 would confine tax levy increases to the state-set 3.76 per cent tax cap.
“Why are we not considering going over the tax cap?” Board President Sean Eversley Bradwell asked, albeit cautiously.
“We are not proposing a budget that’s going over the cap,” Brown insisted. He recalled last year’s first-round landslide budget defeat. “The community didn’t think it was a good idea,” Brown said.
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Finance Director Scarrott leaves… quietly
(Apr.8): Tompkins County Government has another big job to fill. But few among us know that it does.
It’s never been mentioned at the County Legislature. There’s been no press release or news story. But Lorrie Scarrott is departing as Tompkins County’s Director of Finance after only two years in her top-tier post. Her exit date has not been disclosed.
We only know of the impending vacancy because the Finance Director’s opening is now posted on the HR Department’s job openings website, and because County Administrator Korsah Akumfi mentioned it in passing at the Tompkins County Council of Governments meeting March 27.
The County personnel office posted the opening March 13. It’ll accept applications until mid-April.
“I have always wanted to come here and work, so this is kind of like a dream come true for me,” Scarrott said as she accepted the director’s appointment in April 2023. “I’m very excited,” the former Deputy Director of Finance for Ontario County remarked at the time. Now, according to a source, Scarrott will retire.
Last time around, it took five months to fill the Finance Director’s position. Its pay starts at $133,328.
Scarrott’s is among three top-level positions Tompkins County needs to fill. Commissioner of Social Services and Commissioner of Whole Health also await appointees.
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“Blame Musk, not my Tesla”
(Apr. 2): Striking compromise could become elusive. But the Tompkins County Legislature may seek to craft a “statement” setting guidelines for responsible public protest.
At the Legislature’s April 1st session and also at a committee meeting the week before, one-time Ithaca mayoral candidate Zach Winn, a Republican, complained of over-the-top anti-Trump demonstrations, including street blockades and damage to Tesla automobiles as well as to their public charging stations.
The response: “In my view, there’s a lot of reasons to be very upset with the CEO of that company (Tesla’s Elon Musk),” Public Safety Committee Chair Rich John, a Democrat, told the Legislature Tuesday. “At the same time, people who own Tesla vehicles should not pay a price for doing that. It’s their car, and you can’t easily just stop using your car,” he said.
Colleague Anne Koreman pressed the point. What’s “appropriate” protest, she asked? John said guidelines might tell demonstrators to stop short of “creating public hazards” or “damaging property.”
Legislator Shawna Black owns a Tesla. The Democrat said she bought it “to give back” to the environment. She informed John’s committee that first those on the Right were “flicking me off.” Yet now she finds liberals doing so.
I’d ask for “a little bit of grace at this point,” Black told the committee. “Not all of us are the enemy.”
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Tackling our Toughest Chapter
(Apr. 2): Of the eight-section Town of Enfield Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2020, it’s the chapter most controversial: It’s called, “Land Use.” And for an hour Wednesday night, the Town Planning Board waded through its pages.
Requested by Supervisor Stephanie Redmond and the Town Board to revisit the document, planners have embarked on a month-by-month, section-by-section inspection of the Comprehensive Plan for possible revision. They’re about half-way through.
Recommended “Land Use Actions” cited in the 2020 plan include limiting “high-density development,” scrutinizing “industrial land uses before approval,” and developing, defining and preserving the “Town Center.”
Planners recommended no specific additions to or deletions from the “Actions” list during the April 2nd session. Yet they raised questions.
In the broadest sense, they asked, How can you attain the stated, lofty goals in a place like Enfield without zoning?
“If we’re limiting high-density housing, we’re talking about zoning,” Board Chair Dan Walker conceded.
“Put a ‘Z’ by that one,” Board Alternate Greg Hutnik would remark from time to time, meaning the goal could be reached only through a land use law that many view as the third rail of Enfield politics.
And if a “Town Center” deserves preservation, one needs first to delineate its boundaries. In some places, a water district accomplishes that. Enfield, of course, has no public water.
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T.C. Legislature urges NYSEG Audit
(Apr. 1): Lansing’s Mike Sigler claims New York State Electric and Gas labeled as “seditious” a media report in which he and four other lawmakers—two of whom sit with him on the Tompkins County Legislature—urged a state investigation into NYSEG’s billing practices.
Now the full Tompkins Legislature has joined that “seditious conspiracy,” if one would call it that.
By unanimous vote among those who attended, the County Legislature Tuesday endorsed a bipartisan demand for an independent audit of the utility’s billing. Democrat Shawna Black, without advance notice, brought the resolution to the floor. Republican Sigler seconded it.
“I think it is frustrating for families that are just trying to survive,” Black said of the surprise bill increases many are seeing. “It really is like a runaway train,” she said.
“I don’t really think NYSEG has kind of grasped where people are and the anger that’s out there on this particular issue,” Sigler told the Legislature.
Republicans Randy Brown of Newfield, Lee Shurtleff of Groton, plus lawmakers from Chemung and Broome Counties had joined Sigler’s initial call, which drew the utility’s ire after an Elmira TV station picked up on it.
For those confronting inflation, “This is just a double whammy,” Brown remarked. “All of a sudden you get this $500 electrical bill that was $250 just a year ago.”
New York State regulators would presumably conduct the “forensic audit” legislators requested.
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