{"id":525,"date":"2020-10-12T12:17:57","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T12:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.justtalk.blog\/?p=525"},"modified":"2020-10-12T12:18:02","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T12:18:02","slug":"broome-county-a-defunding-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/2020\/10\/12\/broome-county-a-defunding-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Broome County: A Defunding Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2014-protest-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-527\" width=\"261\" height=\"139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2014-protest-1.jpg 452w, https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2014-protest-1-300x161.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 261px) 100vw, 261px\" \/><figcaption>2014 Budget Protest <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its a miracle budget for Broome County.\u00a0 Following a hiring freeze and furloughs earlier in the summer due to COVID-19, the County Executive Jason Garnar has just announced only minor budget adjustments for the coming year.<a href=\"#_edn1\">[i]<\/a> \u00a0How has the county offset plummeting revenues from falling sales taxes, closed casinos and restaurants, and empty hotels?\u00a0 Garnar says he will tap the reserve fund he has built up and take on short-term debt.\u00a0 Surprisingly, there was even good news:\u00a0 a cut in property taxes for the third straight year.\u00a0 And hope remains for federal aid. \u00a0By all official accounts there are no serious cuts in county services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garnar\u2019s announcement, however, is deceptive and far too reassuring.\u00a0 Dig a little beneath the surface and you find a savage budget that deepens long-term cuts to public health services and funds more incarceration and policing.\u00a0 It threatens to push many county residents into further debt, destitution, homelessness, and medical crises. The budget certainly does not provide the resources we need to fight COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defunding Public Health<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hiring freezes and furloughs sound reasonable when facing the loss of $ millions in county revenues. But who was furloughed? We weren\u2019t told. What positions aren\u2019t being filled? We weren\u2019t told. What are the county\u2019s priorities under COVID? We don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the county personnel department to find out.<a href=\"#_edn1\">[i]<\/a> &nbsp;&nbsp;County employees working in public health and social services were the clear targets. Of the 57 positions the County Executive furloughed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>26 were in the health and social services departments (e.g. Medicaid and food stamp (SNAP) support)<\/li><li>14 were in the departments of public works and public transit<\/li><li>2 were in the already thinly staffed county library<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not a single person was listed among the hundreds employed by the Sheriff (with a half empty jail?) or the recently expanded District Attorney\u2019s office (with falling crime and closed courts?). No one with administrative or legislative duties was listed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A quick skim of the proposed 2021 budget reveals the advancement of these priority choices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>public health sees 8 positions abolished this year in the Clinic and Disease Division &#8212; i.e., those assigned to monitor and address infectious diseases (during COVID times?)<\/li><li>3 public nurses are eliminated in Maternal and Child health<\/li><li>all the Directors of the STD\/HIV, TB, and Maternal Child Health have been swept away.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This continues long term trends in cutting health services, year after year.<a href=\"#_edn2\">[iii]<\/a>\u00a0 Mental health has been particularly hard hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"223\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Mental-Health-2004-to-2019.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-528\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Funding Policing and Incarceration<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jail-rally-coverage-2.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-531\" width=\"151\" height=\"81\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What new positions are being funded? More employees for the Sheriff. In the last 5 years the county has added 25 new correctional officers (194 total staff). It costs $80,000+ on average for jail staff, with some COs earning $110,000+. And with only 300 local residents regularly in the jail (and only 35 convicted persons in total), the Sheriff has been spending $2 million or more a year on overtime. It\u2019s a puzzle.\u00a0 In just five years the County has added $7 million to the jail budget alone, continuing a long trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"210\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/County-Jail-Funding-2004-2020.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-532\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same pattern holds for the Sheriff\u2019s law enforcement department, which supplements our already large city, university, and state police forces. In the last five years the county has added 6 new officers to reach a total force of 71 before this year\u2019s new additions.&nbsp; This isn\u2019t cheap:&nbsp; each new officer costs $114,000 or more per year. Meanwhile the county has been adding $200,000+ each year for new vehicles, $300,000 for overtime, $700,000 for a new garage, and many hidden items from $25-40,000 for dry cleaning wash-n-wear uniforms to the costs of stocking up and maintaining old and unused US military vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">COVID-19 failures<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These defunding and funding patterns endanger us. They certainly left the county woefully unprepared for COVID-19. We continue to spend tens of millions of dollars on arresting, prosecuting, and jailing thousands of persons for non-violent misdemeanors, particularly Black and Latinx residents.<a href=\"#_edn3\">[iv]<\/a> Headed into the ninth month of the epidemic we still find ourselves unable to provide PPE and tests for use in our clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and the county\u2019s big jail. The result has been repetitive \u201chotspots\u201d<a href=\"#_edn4\">[v]<\/a> and now a yellow-zone alert and a looming shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"238\" height=\"118\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Yellow-zone.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-533\"\/><figcaption>October 6th: Governor Cuomo&#8217;s Yellow Hot Zone<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Jail-Covid-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-537\" width=\"166\" height=\"69\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is particularly the case for the jail, where we were told on May 4<sup>th<\/sup> that there were no more cases,<a href=\"#_edn5\">[vi]<\/a> yet a later FOIA request and reports from inside reveal continuing positive tests among staff and inmates.<a href=\"#_edn6\">[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bus-Testing.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-538\" width=\"168\" height=\"92\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile the City of Binghamton has finally introduced a testing site, but it uses rapid antigen tests that generate many false positives.<a href=\"#_edn7\">[viii]<\/a> SUNY-Binghamton students and staff, returning in the tens of thousands, are little better served. In contrast to Cornell and other universities where testing of students is frequent, available to all, and often mandatory, testing at SUNY-Binghamton is only allowed for a small fraction of the student body. Have you been exposed to a fellow student with COVID in an in-person classroom? You cannot make an appointment for a test, and the teachers and students in the class are not told of their exposure\u2014contrary to what is done at even nearby SUNY colleges. The fear in student voices is palpable and justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Preparing for COVID-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/June-7-2020-rally-for-reform.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-539\" width=\"390\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/June-7-2020-rally-for-reform.png 342w, https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/June-7-2020-rally-for-reform-300x134.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" \/><figcaption>June 7, 2020 Community Rally for Budget Reform<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fears and dilemmas we face reflect past county decisions. Federal, state, and county authorities have all confronted viral epidemics for decades, most recently the 2002 SARS and 2009 H1N1 epidemics. In their wake public health authorities began to plan on how to handle new outbreaks, especially in crowded nursing homes, colleges, and prisons. And laws were passed requiring this: every year, every county in the state has to provide the governor with an emergency services plan that includes planning for viral pandemics.\u00a0 Many counties have been posting theirs on their county websites.<a href=\"#_edn8\">[ix]<\/a> Broome County, however, has only a two-page flyer last updated in 2008.<a href=\"#_edn9\">[x]<\/a>\u00a0 Meanwhile the county has been cutting public health positions to ensure the lack of preparedness. What will happen with the next wave of COVID 19, or some years down the road when the next epidemic predictably appears?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s county budget is the result of years of defunding public health and social services and funding mass incarceration and policing.\u00a0 Public protests across the county have marshaled hundreds and thousands calling for a rethink of what constitutes public safety, of what meets community needs.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for legislators to listen to the hard facts and the voices of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]<\/a> Ashley Biviano, \u201cGarnar Delivers $402M Broome Budget Plan. Here\u2019s What You Need to Know.,\u201d Press &amp; Sun-Bulletin, accessed October 11, 2020, https:\/\/www.pressconnects.com\/story\/news\/local\/2020\/09\/10\/what-you-should-know-broome-county-budget-covid-19-pandemic-economy\/5743466002\/.&nbsp; The full budget is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gobroomecounty.com\/sites\/default\/files\/dept\/Budget\/2021\/2021%20Recommended%20Budget%20Book.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<a href=\"#_ednref1\">ii]<\/a> A full list is located <a href=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/august-2020-furlough-list-broome-county\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref2\">[iii]<\/a>\u00a0 Data from \u201cBudgets | Broome County,\u201d accessed July 24, 2020, http:\/\/www.gobroomecounty.com\/countyexec\/budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref3\">[iv]<\/a> Data from New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.criminaljustice.ny.gov\/crimnet\/ojsa\/stats.htm\">Statistics<\/a>, accessed October 11, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref4\">[v]<\/a> As reported by the press: Bob Joseph, \u201cBinghamton Nursing Home Identified as COVID-19 Hotspot,\u201d WNBF News Radio 1290, accessed October 11, 2020, https:\/\/wnbf.com\/binghamton-nursing-home-identified-as-covid-19-hotspot\/; Amy Hogan, \u201cWillow Point Nursing Home Details Battle Against COVID-19,\u201d accessed October 11, 2020, http:\/\/www.wicz.com\/story\/42409543\/willow-point-nursing-home-details-battle-against-covid19; WBNG, \u201cVestal Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Identified as Coronavirus Hotspot, Other Broome County Updates,\u201d <em>WBNG<\/em> (blog), April 20, 2020, https:\/\/wbng.com\/2020\/04\/20\/vestal-park-rehabilitation-and-nursing-center-identified-as-coronavirus-hotspot-other-broome-county-updates\/; Anthony Borrelli, \u201cBroome County Jail Is a \u2018hot Spot\u2019 for Coronavirus. How Is the Facility Limiting the Outbreak?,\u201d Pressconnects, accessed April 21, 2020, https:\/\/www.pressconnects.com\/story\/news\/public-safety\/2020\/04\/20\/coronavirus-broome-county-jail-inmates-quarantine\/5158860002\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref5\">[vi]<\/a> WBNG, \u201cGarnar: Broome County Correctional Facility No Longer COVID-19 Hotspot, Other Updates,\u201d <em>WBNG<\/em> (blog), May 4, 2020, https:\/\/wbng.com\/2020\/05\/04\/garnar-broome-county-correctional-facility-no-longer-covid-19-hotspot-other-updates\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref6\">[vii]<\/a> The report may be accessed <a href=\"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/freedom-of-information-act-jail-covid-cases\/\">here<\/a>.\u00a0 The county could not (would not?) provide any information on the total number of tests given in the jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref7\">[viii]<\/a> Alexis C. Madrigal Meyer Robinson, \u201cWhy Trump\u2019s Rapid-Testing Plan Worries Scientists,\u201d The Atlantic, October 9, 2020, https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2020\/10\/do-rapid-antigen-tests-have-accuracy-problem\/616681\/; Ken Belson and Ben Shpigel, \u201cNursing Homes in Nevada Told to Stop Using Rapid Coronavirus Tests,\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, October 8, 2020, sec. World, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2020\/10\/07\/world\/covid-coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref8\">[ix]<\/a> For example, Monroe county\u2019s pandemic plan is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monroecounty.gov\/files\/oem\/0913%20rev%20Responding%20to%20Pan%20Flu%20Final.pdf\">here<\/a>, Warren County\u2019s plan is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monroecounty.gov\/files\/oem\/0913%20rev%20Responding%20to%20Pan%20Flu%20Final.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"#_ednref9\">[x]<\/a> Broome County Emergency Management,\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gobroomecounty.com\/sites\/default\/files\/dept\/e911\/pdfs\/Broome-County-EOP.pdf\">Broome County Emergency Operations Plan<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Its a miracle budget for Broome County.\u00a0 Following a hiring freeze and furloughs earlier in the summer due to COVID-19, the County Executive Jason Garnar has just announced only minor budget adjustments for the coming year.[i] \u00a0How has the county offset plummeting revenues from falling sales taxes, closed casinos and restaurants, and empty hotels?\u00a0 Garnar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[52,7,51,53],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-broome-budget","tag-broome-county","tag-covid-broome","tag-defunding-county-budget","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":541,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions\/541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justtalk.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}