How should economic development efforts be funded in Cayuga County?
The Cayuga County Economic Development Agency is requesting an extra $35,000 from the 2023 budget.
That addition would mean $410,000 from county coffers being used to make economic development happen.
There’s a disagreement among members of the Cayuga County Legislature, who either believe the current level of funding – $375,000 per year – is too much, or too little.
Executive Director Michael Miller says the extra $35,000 is needed to meet rising costs of doing business. And CEDA, as its known in short, needs to be at full-strength with news about Micron investing $100 billion in Central New York.
Most county legislators, as well as economic development advocates, say they don’t want to see Cayuga County miss out. And that’s why CEDA needs to be at full-strength. The extra funding would allow them to remain at full-strength – retaining and hiring additional staff as needed.
Cayuga County Legislator Andy Dennison was the lead voice against CEDA funding. At a November meeting, he indicated that CEDA should receive no county funding. Other legislators, like Chair David Gould and Planning and Economic Development Committee Chair Aileen McNabb-Coleman say they support funding CEDA.
As of now, the budget subject to a public hearing on December 8th features $375,0000 in funding for CEDA. One last legislature meeting will be held on December 13th.
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