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Committee moves $14,000 into legislature travel and training budget, clears early conference sign-ups
Summary
Tompkins County Government Operations Committee voted unanimously Jan. 6 to transfer $14,000 from contingency into the legislature's budget for 2025 travel and training; members discussed priorities for NYSAC attendance and approved one legislator's separate conference registration.
Tompkins County's Government Operations Committee voted unanimously Jan. 6 to transfer $14,000 from contingency to the legislature's travel and training budget for 2025.
The move, made by Legislator Rich (mover) and seconded by Legislator Mike Sigler, was approved after discussion about how to allocate limited funds among conference requests. The committee also agreed to allow Legislator Travis to register for the 54th New York State Black, Puerto Rican and Asian Lawmakers Caucus in Albany.
The transfer aligns with a standing practice of setting aside funds for legislator travel; Cabinet and staff noted that each use of the contingency money will require additional approvals. "Just keep in that the money that was set aside was put into contingent funds. So every time you utilize those funds, you have to come back and it has to go through the budget capital committee as well as the government operations committee as well as the legislature," Legislator Norma said during the discussion.
Committee members reported early interest in the statewide association meeting (NYSAC): five legislators had said yes and one said maybe. Staff estimated individual trip costs at a little over $1,000. Committee members discussed limiting hotel nights, alternative meal plans and carpooling to reduce overall expense.
Legislator Travis described the caucus he wants to attend in Albany as a space where "there are a large majority number of lawmakers there that represent a lot of the voices that I represent," and said the training and networking had been useful in past years. He also said he preferred that caucus to NYSAC for reasons of representation and comfort.
The committee directed staff to draft the formal resolution transferring the contingency funds into the legislature budget and noted the transfer will be routed to Budget and Capital and Personnel committees for their approvals before the legislature finalizes the change.
Votes at a glance: a motion to move $14,000 from contingency to the legislature travel/training budget was moved by Legislator Rich, seconded by Legislator Mike Sigler, and recorded as unanimous by the committee during the Jan. 6 meeting. Individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the meeting minutes.
Next steps: staff will draft the resolution and submit it to Budget and Capital and Personnel committees for the additional approvals required by county procedure.
