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Ithaca council sets aside $500,000 emergency contingency for TCAT after months of warnings
Summary
After lengthy debate and public testimony from transit leaders, the Ithaca Common Council voted to encumber $500,000 from the city fund balance into restricted contingency to help TCAT avert service cuts. The vote passed 10–1; council members said the allocation is intended as stopgap funding while underwriters negotiate final shares.
The Ithaca Common Council voted to encumber $500,000 from the city's fund balance into a restricted contingency account to help the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit system (TCAT) avoid near-term service cuts.
The motion, which passed 10'to'1, followed hours of public testimony and board-level appeals that warned of a potential fiscal "death spiral" if the region's three underwriters do not increase their contributions. TCAT General Manager Matthew Rosenblum told the council the system is at risk unless the three underwriters'city, Tompkins County and Cornell University'raise support.
"It's like a three-legged stool. The shortest stool sets the height of the stool. So if one underwriter comes in low, they all come in low," Rosenblum said during public comment. "We have a very short…
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