Legislators press for direction on Green Facilities Phase 2 as county awaits Inflation Reduction Act credits

Tompkins County staff told the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 20 that planned Phase 2 work under the county's Green Facilities program faces major funding uncertainty while the county awaits expected payments tied to the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

"We filed for [IRA tax credits] last year in 2024. And, unfortunately, we're still awaiting word," said Terry (Facilities), summarizing delays in receiving credits tied to a completed Phase 1 project. Officials said $1.76 million had been anticipated from the tax-credit filing for a 2023 project; those funds, if received, would reduce the county's local share for later Phase 2 work.

Why it matters: Phase 2 had been narrowed by the 2025 budget to two projects (a boiler replacement at Human Services and a solar installation at the health department) after an earlier design phase proposed five projects including geothermal and additional solar. Staff said that without IRA credits and other incentives, a full Dewar geothermal upgrade could require roughly $4.3 million of county funds; with credits the local share could fall to about $1.1 million.

Committee discussion focused on timing and tradeoffs. "If the IRA funding were to be discontinued, it does have a potential impact for future projects," Terry said, noting that the original capital plan targeted about $28 million for green facilities across multiple years. Legislators and staff discussed whether to proceed with in-kind replacements (efficient boilers/chillers) for aging systems or to delay to preserve the option of higher-emissions reductions from geothermal later.

The committee also approved a related resolution to accept New York State Department of Environmental Conservation electric-vehicle incentives that county staff said offset vehicle costs. Frank (mobility/planning) said, "We submitted by far the largest share of vehicles and received the largest share of money in the state from this program." The county indicated the DEC payments covered rebates on 2023 and 2024 vehicle acquisitions and fleet leases; staff described the grant program as lowering EV acquisition costs by up to $7,500 per vehicle depending on range.

Staff asked the committee for policy direction about how aggressively to pursue decarbonization projects given competing capital needs (e.g., public-safety and downtown campus projects), and said a feasibility study of a potential downtown district heating and cooling system will provide additional data later this year.

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County staff said they will return with updated numbers once federal tax-credit payments are confirmed and recommended that the legislature consider how green facilities fit with the downtown campus timetable and other capital priorities.