The 2025 Tompkins County Budget and 2025-2029 Tompkins County Capital Program were adopted by a vote of 9-5 (Legislators Greg Mezey (D-Dryden), Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton), Mike Sigler (R-Lansing), Travis Brooks (D-Ithaca), and Randy Brown (R-Newfield), opposed). The vote follows a recent public hearing, the budget is adopted as a local law.
The 2025 budget will result in a tax levy increase of 2.72%, which is equal to the Tompkins County adjusted tax cap. This equals an increase of approximately $115.79 on a median-priced home assessed in 2024 at $300,000, or a Tompkins County tax payment of approximately $1,438. The tax rate of $4.79 per $1,000 of assessed value amounts to a rate decrease of approximately 9.79%, and a net increase of 7% in local spending.
Several amendments were made before the final adoption. $94,371 was earmarked in the 2025 contingency fund to fund a GIS analyst position in the Information Technology Services Department by a vote of 10-4 (Legislators Mike Lane (D-Dryden), Greg Mezey (D-Dryden), Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton), and Mike Sigler (R-Lansing) opposed).
The resolution adopting the budget was amended following a report of staff miscalculations on the County’s tax cap. The previously accepted number of a 4.45% tax levy increase as the tax cap was amended to 2.72% following new calculations.
An amendment proposed by Rich John and approved unanimously (14-0) resulted in $150,000 from the County’s fund balance being used to move the County under the newly agreed-upon tax cap of a 2.72% levy increase. Legislator Lee Shurtleff (R-Groton) further proposed that the levy increase be lowered to 2%, but that amendment failed 7-7 (Legislators Rich John (D-Ithaca), Anne Koreman (D-Ulysses), Mike Lane (D-Dryden), Shawna Black (D-Ithaca), Amanda Champion (D-Ithaca), Susan Currie (D-Ithaca), and Deborah Dawson (D-Lansing) opposed).
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