COUNTY WARY OF PROPOSALS IN GOVERNOR’S BUDGET
Governor Pataki’s 2004-2005 Executive Budget contains a blend of cuts in state aid and phased-in Medicaid relief to counties – but county officials are skeptical about the overall result. “The Governor’s budget does show that the pressure to reduce Medicaid has had an effect, and while this is a positive response, any relief we might get is still less than the ongoing annual growth of Medicaid,” said Tim Joseph, Chair of the Legislature. Joseph commented that a combination of the Governor’s proposed ten-year state takeover of the Medicaid long-term care program and a proposal for state takeover of Family Health Plus that the state Senate has proposed might provide enough relief to actually help the County. Joseph also mentioned various cuts the Governor has proposed, including a shift in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding. TANF block grants from the federal government would be redirected from a fund that is shared with counties to a fund for state expenses only, resulting in a total shift from counties to the state of $64 million. County Administrator Steve Whicher said this change has the potential to cause a significant negative impact in Tompkins County’s budget. Other cuts that would affect the County are proposed reductions in Probation, Public Health, and Mental Health reimbursements; and the total elimination of revenue sharing and $276,000 of highway funding.
SEE BELOW: Preliminary Summary of Impacts of Governor’s Budget

STATE COMMISSION OF CORRECTION DISAGREES WITH COUNTY ON JAIL SIZE
Public Safety Committee Chair Barbara Blanchard reported that the County’s proposed plan for a 104-bed jail has met resistance from the New York State Commission of Correction, which has said the jail should be larger. Commission staff told the County that at least a 160-bed facility is needed to meet present and future needs. The Public Safety Committee has been working over the past year with architectural firm Jacobs Facilities on a proposed modular design that would include renovations to the current building on Warren Road. The design would expand the current jail capacity from73 to 104 permanent beds and would allow for the addition of more cells in the future, if and when the need arises. Last week in a conference call, staff from the Commission stated specific objections to the County’s design. The Commission staff said that a minimum of 160 beds is necessary for adequate segregation of different populations of prisoners, e.g. men from women; juveniles from adults; and violent from non-violent inmates. The segregation of inmates is necessary regardless of gender, the Commission staff said. The staff also noted that expected reforms of the Rockefeller drug laws will result in local jails having to house more inmates, serving longer sentences. The cost of the proposed project to expand and renovate the entire Public Safety building, including administration and road patrol headquarters, has been estimated at $15.8 million. Blanchard said the Public Safety Committee will discuss what the County should do next at its meeting on Thursday this week.

LEGISLATURE SETS HEARING FOR EXPANDED ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW
By a vote of 13 to 2 (Legislators Thomas Todd and George Totman voted no), the Legislature scheduled a public hearing for a local law that will add “gender identity and expression” to its existing anti-discrimination legislation. The proposed law amends an existing law that bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The proposed law defines gender identity and expression in part as “a person’s actual or perceived gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, gender-related behavioral or physical characteristics, or gender-related expression.” The law will also include a provision to allow the Human Rights Commission, through the County Attorney’s office, to subpoena witnesses in anti-discrimination court cases. The existing local law, which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, and other civil rights assured to all citizens was originally passed in 1991, when it was known as Local Law C. The complete text of the proposed law is posted on the County’s website at www.tompkins-co.org. The public hearing was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on February 17 in the Legislative Chambers of the County Courthouse.

COMMUNITY GROUP TO ADVISE COUNTY ON BUDGET PROCESS
Michael Koplinka-Loehr, 2004 chair of the Budget and Capital Committee, reported that a group of community leaders with fiscal expertise has been asked to take a look at the County’s budget process and offer useful advice. The group, which will meet about six times and is expected to report out to the Legislature in June, includes business owners, CEOs, and representatives of not-for-profit organizations.

EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM REPORTS SUCCESSES
Jean McPheeters, president of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and Sue Dale-Hall, director of the Day Care and Child Development Council, spoke to the Legislature about the Early Education Partnership, a local project to develop innovative ways to provide affordable day care and help establish child care as a necessary, adequately-paid profession. The Partnership has helped make child care benefits more accessible and increase participation in under-utilized public subsidies. The project has a long-term goal of creating a funding stream for early child care that is supported by multiple sectors of the community, including families, government, businesses, educational institutions, and not-for-profit organizations.

BANKRUPT ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR REPLACED BY NEW COMPANY
R.G. Burns Electric has declared bankruptcy and is unable to complete its contract for electrical work at the new Emergency Dispatch Center being built on Brown Road. Communications Capital Projects Committee A performance bond, required by the County as part of its construction contracts, assures the work will be done at no additional cost to the County. The second-lowest bidder on the original project, Richardson Brothers Electrical, will complete the work.

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Preliminary Summary – Impact of Governor’s 2004-2005 Budget
(condensed from NYSAC reports)

The Governor’s $99.8 billion budget proposes various cuts in state aid and reimbursements to localities while reducing Medicaid costs, deferring pension payments, and offering new local-option fees and taxes to increase revenue. According to the State Division of the Budget, the net benefit to the counties is a total of $534 million – but the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) says the budget proposals, combined with legislative opposition to many of the Governor’s health care reforms and the uncertainty of pension reform, could leave counties with just the cuts and too few corresponding benefits. Overall, the Governor has proposed a 5 percent reduction in most state aid categories.

MEDICAID REFORM
The Governor has proposed several Medicaid reforms that the state budget office says would save the counties a total of $63.4 million and would save Tompkins County $372,000 in Fiscal Year 2004-05 and $974,000 in Fiscal Year 2005-06.

Foremost among these reforms is a ten-year, phased-in state takeover of Medicaid long-term care expenses (currently, counties pay 10 percent of the non-federal share of these costs). Starting in January 2005, the state would pick up more of this cost, until it has assumed all of it. Tompkins County would save $35,000 in the first year, $178,000 in the second, and by 2013-14, would save $2.3 million in Medicaid long-term care costs.

This proposal relies on enactment of Medicaid cost containment measures such as increasing state revenues through assessments on providers, shifting certain expenses and reducing certain reimbursements to the counties; requiring some higher co-payments by recipients, and reducing or limiting Family Health Plus services and increasing co-pays. Caseload growth of Family Health Plus is expected to add 20 percent to the local share statewide. Medicaid “overburden aid,” intended to help counties pay for increased Medicaid costs, would be reduced (a loss of $69,026 for Tompkins County). Counties are concerned that the takeover is too gradual and will not provide the relief that is needed now.

CUTS AND COST SHIFTS
The Governor’s budget features many cuts and cost shifts to counties including:
-- A cut in reimbursement from 30 percent to 20 percent for optional Public Health services;
-- Reductions in child welfare and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding; TANF block grants from the federal government would be redirected from a fund that is shared with counties to a fund for state expenses only. A total shift from counties of $64 million, this has the potential to cause a significant negative impact in Tompkins County’s budget.
-- Reduced funding for DSS administration (a loss of $131,616 in Tompkins County);
-- A 5 percent cut in reimbursement for probation and other criminal justice services;
-- Cuts to local aging and mental health related programs;
-- A $115 per FTE cut to local community college reimbursement, which lowers the per-student state aid from $2,300 to $2,185.
-- Elimination of $35 million statewide in highway and bridge capital funding (CHIPS) – a loss of $276,000 in Tompkins County.
-- Elimination of the county revenue-sharing program, which was funded last year at a total of $17 million. The loss to Tompkins County would be $80,262.

One welcome benefit to the County would be moving up the start of reimbursement for the newly increased Assigned Counsel fees from January 2005 to April 2004.

PENSION REFORM
In addition, the Governor’s budget proposal includes pension reform proposals that the state budget office estimates will reduce local government pension contributions from a 12.3 percent average contribution rate to a rate of about 6.7 percent of payroll. This reduction in the contribution rate would lower county payments by approximately $300 million. The Governor's plan includes a cap on annual contribution rates over the next four years, flexibility in the use of existing reserves to make pension payments, and a change in the pension payment due date. The State Comptroller has said that he considers the main components of this pension plan unconstitutional, raising questions about the plan’s viability.

- Tompkins County Information, Feb. 3, 2004

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