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Tompkins County health officials discuss possible move toward zero-based budgeting amid federal-funding uncertainty
Summary
At the March meeting the department presented a financial update and outlined options being discussed with county leadership, including a partial move toward zero-based budgeting; board members asked for clarification on how that approach might affect training and program expenditures.
Tompkins County public-health staff presented a financial summary and described work with county leadership to prepare alternate budget presentations, including elements of zero-based budgeting, as uncertainty around federal funding persists.
Department staff said county books for the prior year had not been closed but, to date, they had not seen significant overrun in programs and that funds appear stable for now. The department is preparing a second, more flexible set of budget books to allow rapid printing and review for the county legislature and the county administrator, Corsa, who has asked departments to present budgets in ways that help the legislature evaluate requests.
Zero-based budgeting would require more justification for discretionary lines that are not personnel, staff said: rather than using last year's allocation as a starting number, departments would start from zero for non-personnel lines and justify each expense. County staff suggested the final approach would likely be hybrid: retain standard target-based budgeting for routine items (including predictable personnel costs) while providing more line‑level justification for other requests and for five-year trend analysis.
Board members raised concerns about the practical effect of zero-based elements on training and small discretionary lines. One member said, “if you don’t use it, you’re not going to get it next time,” questioning whether programs that require periodic training would be disadvantaged if each line needed fresh justification. Department staff replied many of their programs are grant-funded, which constrains discretionary cuts, and that they are preparing to answer detailed questions should the legislature request more line-level justification.
No formal budget policy was adopted at the meeting; staff said they will continue to prepare both the traditional target presentation and a more detailed alternative for the legislature.
