ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – Tompkins County is looking at a difficult upcoming Code Blue season.
On August 3, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) notified the Tompkins County Department of Social Services of its funding allotment for the upcoming emergency shelter season.
According to Deputy County Administrator Bridgette Nugent, the county is receiving $841,000 this winter, down from the roughly $2.1 million it spent and received last year. It represents a roughly 60% reduction.
At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature, Nugent said it will have a “significant impact” on what the county will be able to do this coming Code Blue season. When pressed on the reasoning for the state’s reduction, Nugent added that the OTDA notification the county received was a basic form that explained the funding was based on the prior year’s expenditures, with no mention of the decrease.
Legislator Greg Mezey wondered aloud if the state had made an error.
“I mean, it just seems like for all the talk about housing and homelessness, and the priority that our elected officials at the state level are making, it seems like a pretty dramatic cut,” said Mezey.
Nugent said Tompkins County Administrator Korsah Akumfi has reached out to OTDA for an explanation, and she expects more information will be forthcoming. The reduction will not affect operations with Volunteers of America, which runs the shelter, as the contract with the service provider is handled on an annual basis.
“County Administration and the Department of Social Services will bring a plan to the Legislature through the Health and Human Services Committee in September to outline how this reduction will impact the Code Blue Program offered this forthcoming winter.”
The Health and Human Services Committee meeting is scheduled for September 16.
Additionally, Legislative Chair Shawna Black said she would reach out to Assemblymember Anna Kelles and State Senator Lea Webb to learn more. The county’s current Code Blue Shelter is expected to house emergency cold weather operations for at least two more seasons.
