5 Cayuga County budget pressures: Health insurance, jail overtime and more

Legislator Elane Daly called it "sobering."

As Cayuga County confronts a fiscal crisis, several department heads detailed the budgetary pressures at the Legislature's Ways and Means Committee last week.

Health insurance

Although the county hopes to stay within the property tax cap for 2026, it is unlikely that will happen due to numerous factors.

One of those is soaring health insurance costs. Daly, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, shared what Lynn Marinelli, the county's budget director, told legislative leaders.

According to Daly, Marinelli projects that staying under the tax cap would generate an additional $1.2 million in revenue. However, employee health insurance costs could rise by 15%, or $2 million.

"We don't want to raise the taxes, but I don't know how you can even think you're going to do it without having a draconian budget where departments are just completely cut," Marinelli said.

Sales tax

Every year, the county projects how much sales tax revenue it will receive to support its budget. In the 2025 budget, the county estimated it would get $62.4 million in sales tax revenue.

So far, the county's sales tax revenue is on pace to be under budget by approximately $900,000, according to Grace Blowers, the county's finance director.

Blowers noted that the county was in the same position last year, but sales tax revenue rebounded. It's possible that back-to-school shopping and the holiday season could help the county.

However, Blowers is taking a cautious approach.

"Until we see those numbers, I would rather anticipate staying flat until we don't," she said.

Special education

The Cayuga County Health Department oversees the preschool special education program for children ages 3 to 5. The county budgets more than $4 million for the program, which is twice as large as the department's public health budget.

The county is reimbursed at a 59.5% rate and there is a Medicaid reimbursement, too. But Kathleen Cuddy, the county's public health director, acknowledged that it's one of the pressures on her department's budget.

Cuddy explained that the New York State Education Department mandates the county to operate the program. The funding covers tuition and transportation costs.

One way the county could save money is by encouraging parents to transport their child to the schools. Parents can be reimbursed, according to Cuddy, which is less expensive than taking the bus.

Safety net spending

The county Department of Social Services budgeted $5.1 million for its safety net spending. This covers expenses related to housing homeless individuals and families. With shelter options lacking, those experiencing homelessness are housed in local hotels and motels.

According to Christine Bianco, the county's social services commissioner, 67% of the safety net budget has already been spent. The department is on track to spend $5.8 million this year, going over its budget by $700,000.

Bianco said that as of July 11, the county had 91 individuals and 21 families in emergency housing. Those numbers have fluctuated this year.

One of the reasons it's a budget pressure is the low reimbursement rate. Despite it being a state mandate, the county is only reimbursed 29% for its safety net spending.

Jail overtime

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck relayed one of the challenges his department is facing this year.

The sheriff's office oversees the county jail. There are 15 vacant positions in the custody division, according to Schenck. This has led to increased overtime among the remaining staff to cover the unfilled positions and other employees who are out of work due to injuries.

"We've got some salary savings, but the overtime number is not really staying on pace with the salary savings just due to some of those other pressures," Schenck said.

It's not a new problem for the jail. Staffing in the custody division has been a challenge for a few years.

The sheriff's office has ramped up its recruitment efforts, but that has yielded few competent candidates. Schenck said since mid-March, when the department began holding open houses and recruitment days, 171 people have applied for the open positions. The office handed out 100 background packets, with 50 of those returned.

Among that group, Schenck said less than eight people are moving forward in the process of becoming a custody officer.

"It's just a tremendous amount of work. A tremendous amount of people that are applying," he said. "But to get qualified people, we have to sift through a large number of people. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of real quality candidates that are applying for the position."

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