Cayuga County lawmakers will consider moving Medicare-eligible retirees to a Medicare Advantage health plan, shifting $155,000 to cover jail overtime and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding when the Legislature meets tonight.
The Cayuga County Legislature is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at the Ward O’Hara Agricultural Museum in Auburn. The agenda includes more than two dozen resolutions spanning public health, staffing, public safety and county operations.
Among the most significant proposals is a change to health insurance for county retirees. Under the resolution, Medicare-eligible retirees and participating spouses currently covered by the county’s Excellus BlueCross BlueShield plan would move to Medicare Blue PPO, or a substantially comparable Medicare Advantage plan, beginning Jan. 1.
County officials cited rapidly increasing retiree health insurance costs and said the Medicare Advantage option carries a significantly lower premium. Retirees and spouses who aren’t yet Medicare eligible would transition once they become eligible, while future retirees would also move to the Medicare Advantage option when eligible.
The Legislature will also consider a $155,000 budget transfer to address overtime costs at the Cayuga County Jail caused by staffing vacancies. The proposal would move $100,000 from the Sheriff’s Office full-time salary account, $30,000 from health insurance and $25,000 from building maintenance into the jail overtime account.
Another public safety resolution would establish a full-time Special Patrol Officer assigned to the Southern Cayuga Central School District. The officer would be employed by the Sheriff’s Office, but the school district would reimburse the county for salary, benefits and equipment costs. The position would pay $30 per hour.
Lawmakers will also consider appointing Benjamin Guzalak as Cayuga County’s 911 administrator. The position became vacant following a resignation, and a hiring committee was formed to interview candidates and make a recommendation. The resolution would also authorize the administrator to fill the deputy 911 administrator position.
Separately, the county is proposing to create two Emergency Services Dispatcher positions through the state’s HELP program, which allows certain positions to be filled without applicants first taking a competitive civil service examination. The agenda says the 911 center has one vacant dispatcher position and was expecting another vacancy because of a September retirement.
Several large grant awards are also on the agenda. The Department of Social Services is seeking approval to accept $429,826 for a Youth Employment Program intended to provide year-round employment opportunities as part of efforts to reduce gun violence and youth involvement in the criminal justice system.
The Health Department, meanwhile, is seeking approval for a five-year Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program grant worth $326,500 annually from October 2026 through September 2031. Another resolution would fill a grant-funded environmental health technician position responsible for inspections and field work connected to the state’s Lead Rental Registry program. The agenda identifies the 13021 ZIP code in Cayuga County as one of the state’s designated communities of concern.
Other public safety funding includes a $90,800 Gun Involved Violence Elimination grant for the Probation Department and a $12,840 Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence grant. The latter would support staffing, GPS monitoring and training.
Staffing problems are also reflected in a proposal from the County Attorney’s Office. The Legislature will consider moving $50,000 from unused salary funding to professional services because insufficient staffing has required the county to use outside attorneys and other professional services. The transfer would not increase the office’s overall 2026 budget.
A separate resolution would revise the county’s compensation structure for attorneys. County officials say the County Attorney’s Office and Department of Social Services have had difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified employees in a competitive legal job market. The proposal would establish new grades and hiring pay bands for county attorney positions and require periodic market reviews.
The Legislature is also scheduled to consider five-year agreements with the Friends of Emerson Park and Friends of the Sterling Nature Center, $58,800 in state-reimbursed improvements at the courthouse and Historic Post Office, and several other staffing and budget measures.
Tuesday’s agenda also includes privilege of the floor, committee and individual legislator reports, and a proclamation recognizing September as National Suicide Prevention Month.
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