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Cayuga County legislators table several staffing items after dispute over social services posts
Summary
After debate over priorities between Department of Social Services roles and sheriff’s deputies, Cayuga County legislators voted to table positions labeled HH6 and HH7 and several other staffing items until the November legislative meeting while the tentative budget is finalized.
Cayuga County legislators debated and then moved to table several staffing items, including positions identified as HH6 and HH7, after members raised concerns about priorities between county social services positions and sheriff’s department roles.
During the meeting, a motion to take HH6 off the table was put to a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded Ben Vitale (no), Tom Winslow (no), Bob Tray (yes), Eileen McNabb Coleman (no), Hans Petcher (yes), Mark Strong (yes), Heidi Meggen Gill (yes), Elaine Daley (yes), Amy Sargent (yes), Brian Waldrow (yes) and Jonathan Hanna (yes). The clerk announced the motion passed with eight yes votes and three no votes.
A board member (Speaker 2) who spoke during discussion criticized the board’s handling of staffing priorities, saying, "Why is it that the the Department of Social Services gets thrown away, or or, disregarded in a way that our sheriff's department is heightened?" The speaker described a pattern observed over more than six years on the board and called the contrast "hypocritical."
Another board member (Speaker 4) explained the original reason the HH6 and HH7 items were tabled, saying the positions had been held pending release of the county's tentative budget after an earlier meeting at Emerson Park. "That was supposed to happen tonight. That's why they were tabled till tonight. That isn't going to happen until Monday," Speaker 4 said, and moved to table HH6, HH7 and related position items until the November legislative meeting "when we have a better understanding of the tentative budget." Speaker 1 seconded that motion, and the chair announced, "Motion is carried."
The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved.
What happens next: the staffing items named in the motion will remain tabled until the November legislative meeting, by which time members expect additional budget information.
