The Onondaga County Legislature approved Tuesday a $1.56 million budget for 2025The legislature-approved budget hardly changed from the budget proposed Sept. 12 by County Executive Ryan McMahon. Democrats proposed more than a dozen amendments to the budget, all of which were voted down or pulled by the sponsoring legislators. Republican legislators said that they were first notified of some of the amendments at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, just two hours before the Legislature met to review and vote on the budget.The budget includes a 9% reduction to the property tax rate while increasing county spending by about 5.8%. It also increases the county’s child protective staff and extends previous investments in housing. Some of the Democrats’ failed amendments sought to increase funding for housing-related issues. Legislator Maurice Brown, a Democrat representing the 15th District, presented an amendment for an additional $85 million to purchase and renovate Greater Syracuse Land Bank properties — a nod to the cost of the yet-to-be-built aquarium the legislature approved two years ago.Some Republicans said they would work with Brown on an earlier proposal involving land bank properties that he did not bring to the Legislature Tuesday but rejected the amendment he brought forward at the meeting. Sixth district legislator Julie Abbott said Brown had not contacted her to discuss the $85 million plan and felt she didn’t have enough information on the plan. When explaining his “no” vote, 14th district Legislator Cody Kelly said he hoped it was the beginning rather than the end of a dialogue on the Land Bank.Majority Leader Brian May, who supported the creation of the Land Bank in 2012, also expressed interest in funding the Land Bank before opposing the amendment.“I believe in my heart, or I wouldn’t have voted for it in the first place, that the Land Bank can be a very good thing,” May said. “I just think there’s a lot of process this thing needs to undergo.Other Democratic amendments received similar dismissal by the Republicans, who frequently called for the amendments to be considered in committee hearings. The Republicans convinced Brown to pull two other amendments from consideration. Brown introduced an amendment calling for a $100,000 grant for youth sports scholarships, and a separate amendment aimed at providing water filters for City pipes to reduce lead poisoning.In discussion of both amendments, several Republicans stated they were supportive of the concepts, but wanted more practical details, and successfully urged Brown to pull the amendments for future consideration before relevant committees.Other failed amendments included:$7 million for a rental assistance pilot program $50,000 for the CNY Food Bank $10,000 for a Dunbar Center Capital Project $15,000 for Hispanic Cultural FestivalsLike his Republican counterparts, Democratic Minority Leader Chris Ryan voted against the rent assistance proposal and the $10,000 for the Dunbar Center’s capital project. Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After legislators approved the 2025 budget, the chamber voted on the creation of an additional deputy county executive for economic development and planning, which Ryan supported.The post Onondaga County Legislature approves $1.56B budget, turns down budget amendments appeared first on Central Current.