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Public commenters urge action on DSS staffing, tree removals and watershed protections
Summary
Public comment speakers raised concerns about Department of Social Services staffing shortages and resignations, a homeowner’s complaint about tree removal for a road project, and calls for county support for Owasco Lake watershed rule revisions and opposition to Seneca Meadows expansion.
Several members of the public used the comment period at the Cayuga County legislative meeting to raise separate concerns about social services staffing levels, a local road/tree work affecting a homeowner’s privacy and daylighting calls for county support on watershed protections.
A commenter reading on behalf of senior caseworkers and supervisors at the county Department of Social Services described high caseloads in child-protective services (one claim that some workers have more than 50 CPS cases) and said foster-care and preventive units are understaffed; the speaker asked the legislature to consider sign-on bonuses, retention incentives and position reclassifications. The commenter said staff are burning out and the department’s ability to protect families is strained because of vacancies and overtime demands. The transcript records this as a public-comment appeal to the legislature rather than a staff presentation.
Another resident said crews working on a local road (Palsy Road) removed about eight trees adjacent to her property despite a request that certain trees be left for privacy and shade; she said she received no detailed written plan, expressed concern about shallow sewer lines and asked that the county provide a written plan and restore privacy plantings where possible.
Public speakers also urged county support for revisions to the Owasco Lake watershed rules and asked the legislature to pass a resolution supporting closure of the Seneca Meadows landfill; those themes were echoed later in a separate resolution that the legislature adopted opposing the landfill’s expansion.
Legislators did not respond to public comments during the meeting beyond routine procedural notes that the board does not comment during public comment; several items raised by speakers are addressed in committee reports or are subject to other county processes (for example, capital or public-works planning for the road-tree issue and personnel actions or budget decisions for DSS staffing).
