What’s going on in Onondaga County Government?
23 million dollars on a brand new building. Plot twist: it turns out it cannot actually be used because the air inside is so toxic that workers are not even allowed to enter. The building was supposed to improve efficiency at the wastewater treatment plant. Instead, it is sitting empty while the county tries to figure out why it is basically a 23 million dollar health hazard.
Somehow, no one is surprised. This is becoming our signature move. Spend millions on big ticket projects, skip over the fine print like "Is it safe to breathe in here?" and act shocked when things go sideways. Whether it’s the 100 million dollar aquarium nobody asked for, the 27 million dollar land deal with no documentation. Now a facility so hazardous even a hazmat crew might think twice. At what point do we stop calling this bad luck and start calling it bad leadership?
Where’s the accountability?
The County charter is set up like a business where the Chief Executive Officer (The County Executive) reports to the Board of Directors (The County Legislature.) As a member of the Legislature, I am trying my hardest to relay to the rest of the board that this kind of negligence does not inspire confidence in County Government. When I bring up this pattern to this pattern to the rest of the Board, not enough of us are willing to stand up to the CEO in order to protect the Company.
A Clear Pattern
We pretend each one of these is an isolated problem, it’s not. When leadership is actively trying to rush and expedite projects without thorough oversight, you’re going to get outcomes like this. It’s inevitable. Today’s embarrassing revelation is what happens when you “Cut the red tape and expedite these Mega Projects!!!” People are going to get hurt, and their harm is entirely preventable, and their blood is on our hands.
What Comes Next?
This October the County Legislature will be given a chance to approve the County Budget. My colleagues and I will be given a chance to show up in a big way for Workers, for our community. I am not optimistic. Given how the transparency debacle with Aquarium Fundraising happened, alongside looming questions about Childcare, and now there’s allegedly a memo being sent to Department chairs that our county is losing money and therefore their department budgets may be impacted, we are not given many reasons to be optimistic.