Environmental Protection

The Environmental Protection Committee spent much of its meeting addressing the county’s water and sewer systems. I serve on this committee along with Chair: Julie Abbott, Vice Chair: Cody Kelly, Deb Cody, and Dan Romeo. Dan and I are the only Democrats on the committee. The pattern you’ll notice on each of the committees is that there are always more Republicans than democrats. Here are the things that happened yesterday.

• $2.1 million budget transfer approved: Lawmakers authorized shifting funds from salaries and benefits into operating expenses to cover rising costs for sludge and biosolid disposal. Delays in getting the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant’s sludge dryer fully operational have made disposal more expensive than expected.

• Public hearing set on sewer rents: Legislators scheduled an October 14, 2025 public hearing to consider a new sewer rent schedule. The proposal would redefine a “unit” from 100,000 gallons per year to 85,000 gallons, which could affect property owners’ bills.

• Big bond packages move forward: The committee advanced over $55 million in bonds to finance sewer infrastructure projects countywide. These include upgrades at Meadowbrook-Limestone WWTP, rehabilitation of Ley Creek and Liverpool Force Main, asset renewals at the Metro Plant Annex, and department-wide building and mechanical improvements.

You can watch the full meeting on Youtube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gLOhzrGzQg

County Facilities

The County Facilities Committee held an unconventional meeting on park picnic tables at Hopkins Road Park. The meeting was followed by a tour of the Hopkins Road Park ball fields. I actually skipped the tour sort of accidentally, but the hearing about the vision for the park did provide some needed optimism that I’ve been lacking. I serve on this committee along with Chair: Deb Cody, Vice Chair: Dave Knapp, Cody Kelly, and my Floor Leader, Nodesia Hernandez. Leader Hernandez and I are the only Democrats on the committee. During the meeting, we covered property, infrastructure, libraries, and historical preservation. 

• Clinton Street parcel heading to auction: A small surplus property in Jordan will be included in this year’s county tax foreclosure auction.

• Grant funding accepted for culvert design: The committee approved accepting $90,240 from the Finger Lakes – Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance for the design phase of replacing culverts on Tully Farms Road. The work will target recurring flooding issues.

• Petit Branch Library costs adjusted: Unspent bond funds from the Central Library project were redirected to cover cost overruns at the Petit Branch Library addition of a Community Room and general renovations.

• Historical Association to lead Revolution commemoration: The Onondaga Historical Association was tapped to coordinate local events for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

• Parks budget transfer approved: A $2 million transfer within the Parks and Recreation budget was also advanced.

  Because this meeting took place at the park, I don’t think we livestreamed it; however, minutes were taken and I’ll put those in this spot as soon as the official minutes are posted.

Public Safety

The Public Safety Committee had one major item on its agenda. I do not serve on this committee, but I do follow the meetings online. This committees members are Public Safety Chair: Mark Olson, Vice Chair: Richard McCarron, Shawn Fiato, Ken Bush, and Democrat Charles Garland.

• Accepting a $3 million grant from New York State for the DA’s office: Legislators approved accepting state funds for District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick’s role as special prosecutor in inmate death cases at Marcy and Mid-State correctional facilities. The funding will support expenses tied to complex investigations involving about 30 correctional officers. This prosecution led to one prison guard receiving a 15 year sentence. Robert Brooks should still be alive today.

• You can watch the full meeting here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-LYEGMvquM

Looking Ahead

Yesterday’s committee actions highlight how much of the county government’s work happens outside the spotlight. Sewer rates, library improvements, and state-funded prosecutions all move forward first in these committees before reaching the full legislature. Next week on Tuesday, August 26th @ 10:30 a.m. the Ways and Means committee will meet to move forward any budgetary items we missed, as well as to move forward any of the items we voted on that spend money.

Two of our other committees, Health and Human Services as well as Planning, will not be meeting this month. I’m still unsure why this happens aside from there’s no items to discuss. Since I’ve taken office, we’ve only had a full month of committee meetings a handful of times. 

The full legislature will take up these items at its next session on Tuesday, September 2nd. Residents can catch recordings of the meetings on the County Legislature’s YouTube channel. 

More things are always going on at the county so be sure to check back in as often as possible or simply follow me at “ Elect Maurice Brown ” on Facebook