Tompkins County Legislators will be hosting a meeting Thursday night to discuss the upcoming 2011 budget at the Dryden Community Center Cafe:
Dryden Community Meeting on the 2011 County Budget - Thursday, September 2
The latest in a series of community meetings to discuss next year's County budget is coming up Thursday evening, September 2 in Dryden.
The meeting will be held at the Dryden Community Cafe, 1 West Main Street in the Village of Dryden, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
The session is sponsored by County Legislators Michael Lane (District 14), Martha Robertson (District 13), and Brian Robison (District 9). The session is free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend.
The session will provide citizens the opportunity to learn about the fiscal challenges the County faces as it prepares for 2011 and to advise regarding how the County should respond.
"We are in economic crisis," Legislator Lane states. "The effect of limited revenues and unfunded state mandates places Tompkins County between the rock and hard place of cutting programs or raising property taxes. We are bringing this budget presentation to the Town of Dryden to inform residents about the process and to seek their thoughtful comments. I want to hear from people in the Dryden and Freeville area about what actions I should take as their County Legislator."
"We have some really tough choices to make; there can be no 'sacred cows' this year," Legislator Robertson cautions. "Everything is on the table, so it's very important that taxpayers understand what the choices are and give us their feedback. I'm pleased that we can offer this session in Dryden, and I hope neighbors can find the time to join us on September 2."
This is the fourth in the series of legislator-sponsored community meetings on the budget. Similar sessions have already been held in the Towns of Lansing and Ithaca, and in the City of Ithaca's Fall Creek neighborhood.
For more information on the upcoming community meeting, contact Legislator Lane at 844-8313; Legislator Robertson at 274-5434 or 272-0584; Legislator Robison at 351-3601; or Tompkins County Public Information at 274-5555.
If that sounds familiar, it echoes this Ithaca Journal story. No, I didn't copy the Journal. The quote above is the press release the county issued, and the Journal's "staff report" is the press release edited slightly to fit their style.
It should be a good meeting, though, and an opportunity to see just what goes into these difficult conversations.
Posted by simon at August 31, 2010 12:03 PM in Ithaca Journal , public finance