By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

The battle over Cicero’s 2021 budget continued Oct. 28 with some confusion over what version of the budget the Cicero Town Board would be voting on.

Supervisor Bill Meyer said he was not accepting changes to the 2021 tentative budget, but added that town councilors could vote on budget amendments afterward.

“I’m seeing furrowed brows so I think everybody is a bit confused. What we have here, the cuts that were made over the weekend,” Councilor Jon Karp said.

“Those are proposals. Those are not items that I had accepted,” Meyer said.

Meyer said board members were supposed to submit their proposals for changes to Comptroller Elke Johanns. Karp said he did so. He said the board had exchanged emails about the proposed changes with no response from Meyer.

“I’m just surprised at the silence from you considering the fact that it was very clear we were operating … under the assumption that this is what we were going to be working with tonight,” Karp said.

Councilor Judy Boyke also questioned Meyer’s budget process.

“We had a tentative budget. We all have worked diligently … with the departments to put this together along with our comptroller. Once we came to a preliminary budget that would be put out to the public for their opinion it becomes the board’s budget and the board — each one of us — has the opportunity one more time to make any changes before the preliminary budget is voted on,” Boyke said. This is the process that I went through prior to when I became the supervisor in 2010. I experienced a huge cut in everything when I became supervisor, so I’m well aware of the process of the budget.”

Meyer was the sole no vote on the budget.

Karp then made separate motions for budget amendments restoring funds to the courts to be used toward costs associated with New York State bail reform. Meyer voted no on these items as well.

The public hearing for the 2021 budget is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. Visit bit.ly/ciceroyoutube to view the meeting.

Also on the agenda

In addition to voting on the budget, the Cicero Town Board opened two public hearings at its Oct. 28 meeting.

• Senior housing: CDS Life Transitions has applied for a zone change from General Commercial to a Planned Unit Development for two properties located at 8697 and 8699 Brewerton Road. The company plans to add a sister site to its Spring Village senior housing complex across from the Northern Onondaga Public Library on Knowledge Lane.

Steve Procopio, Cicero’s director of code enforcement, said the addition will contain 50 units, with 35 units dedicated to seniors and 15 dedicated to veterans. There will be 48 one-bedroom units and 2 two-bedroom units.

Ben Gustafson, principal/director of the Hunt EAS Rochester office, spoke on behalf of CDS.

“Our intent is to have an entrance drive off of Knowledge Lane. It allows for both of our communities to have a similar entrance location. We don’t need a DOT entrance off Brewerton [Road],” Gustafson said.

According to Gustafson, the project will have a walking path and a sidewalk that leads to NOPL Cicero, as well as gardens for residents to enjoy.

Procopio said the Cicero Planning Board has reviewed the site plan and issued a positive recommendation to the town board. Gustafson said CDS and Hunt EAS have worked with the town and the Onondaga County Water Authority to figure out utilities, grading and stormwater management for the project.

• Solar moratorium: The town board also opened a public hearing on a proposed local law that would institute a one-year moratorium on commercial solar installations to give the town time to study the issue and develop a comprehensive plan and policies governing solar installations.

The board also set a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, on a proposed local law that would allow the town to opt out of offering a 15-year exemption “from additional property taxation related to improvements installed or affixed to the property for qualifying solar or wind energy systems.”