OpenGov Homer

05/25/2026

Should Homer consider a data center moratorium and draft a local law regulating these facilities? Not aware of any proposals at the moment but it seems inevitable.

Tech, data policy expert says concerns legitimate over rising power rates, water use, environmental issues amid mushrooming growth.

05/18/2026

While recognizing that the county, like many local governments, is in an extremely tough financial spot, this is just not it. Calling a special session to vote on a controversial topic at a time when many will be unable to attend goes against open government, stifles debate, and erodes trust. We've seen these tactics at the federal level. Cortland County, be better than that.

Community stakeholders were told that a vote on the Occupancy Tax (tourism) law wouldn't happen until the full legislative session later this month (having been previously taken off the docket in April due to absences at the April meeting). Instead, our local leaders called a "Special Meeting" this past Tuesday at 11:30 AM—a time when most of us are at work and unable to attend or speak up - with five county legislators absent.

We see you.

Here is a list of those legislators that voted to dismantle and defund the tourism and cultural sectors in Cortland County:

• Douglas Bentley (D)
• Beau Harbin (D)
• Cathy Bischoff (D)
• Jason Prentice (R)
• Dominick Mantella (D)
• Kevin Fitch, Chairman (R)
• Christopher Newell (R)
• Eugene Waldbauer (R)
• Sandra Price, Minority Leader (D)
• William McGovern (R)
• Mitchel Eccleston (R)

This law strips 15% away from a tiny slice of the county budget (less than 1%) that was dedicated to tourism via the occupancy tax.

It caps tourism funding at $1 Million. Anything collected over that amount? The County keeps it for "undefined economic development."

Instead of reinvesting in the museums, theaters, venues, and cultural events that make visitors want to stay here, this money is being siphoned off into a general "slush fund."

Transparency is the fundamental bridge between a government and its people. When a decision-making process is "hidden" or rushed, that bridge begins to crumble. Community trust is not a renewable resource - it must be earned.

05/11/2026

The May Town Board meeting will be held this Wednesday, the 13th at 6:30pm. Lots going on, looks like more new hires, equipment purchases, and projects. Also an extension of the solar moratorium.

04/18/2026

Open house for the $1.3m renovation to Homer Town Hall lower level today! Come check it out, open until 2pm.

04/11/2026

OpenGov Homer's focus is on Town of Homer government transparency and accountability. But we're sharing this today, as this is a Homer-wide issue.

Homer Central School District is facing budgetary distress, and will need to simultaneously undergo significant cost cutting and tax increases. This comes at a time when many lower and middle class households (presumably including many, if not most, taxpayers of Homer) are already in a tough spot.

The district hired a consultant to help navigate this; he gave a presentation to the school board last night. It's long, but worth the watch. OpenGov Homer has some questions about the accuracy of a few of the consultant's specific claims, but overall, the big picture he paints seems like it's supported by data, and is grim.

Thank you to a few OpenGov Homer supporters who shared this video on their own pages already. As one supporter said, a well informed public makes a better community.

Also, we commend the Homer Central School District for their transparency in communicating this issue. The meeting last night was live streamed, recorded, and posted immediately. The technology and venue used for the presentation was adequate for this purpose. The video and audio quality are especially noticeable, because locally, this is too rare. This is something all local governmental bodies should be doing with all public meetings here in the year 2026, including the Town of Homer.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

04/09/2026

Highlights from the April Town Board Meeting:

Budget Adjustments�
The budget adjustments formerly noted on the agenda were explained to be aimed at reallocating funds between accounts to balance the 2025 budget. A detailed breakdown was posted to the town website today — however, all document links on the town website are currently broken (the “preview” function does appear to work). Hopefully this gets resolved soon. In the meantime, you can access the full document in OpenGov Homer’s google drive here:�https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZaTXrkNCaSEnBessptGU0Ccda0AXGZYI/

Highway Garage Updates�
A proposed new furnace for the highway garage was discussed but ultimately tabled until next month. This comes shortly after major renovations to the building, which had previously been described as setting the facility up well for the foreseeable future. Last month, there was also discussion about modifying the building entrance, so this is something to keep an eye on.

Energy Resolution�
The board approved a resolution calling on the governor to declare an “Energy State of Emergency.”�You can read the full resolution here:�https://drive.google.com/file/d/12hTCU-YnFJMJpxKBUVPcuoVkPRq_vvPl/

Town Hall Renovation Open House
An open house for the renovated lower level of Town Hall will be held on April 18th from 10-2. The total project cost is now expected to be around $1.3 million. This is a good opportunity for residents to see the completed work firsthand. The highway garage will also be open as part of the event.

Additional Change Order
There was another change order for the Town Hall project — this one for cabinets and countertops in the police department area, totaling $12,716. The previously approved contingency increase will cover this amount.

Sweeney Road Speed Limit Discussion
There was initial discussion about potentially lowering the speed limit on Sweeney Road. This would require a multi-step process involving the NYS DOT. No decision was made on whether to move forward at this time.

https://youtu.be/OnSgABbsxKk

Budget AdjustmentsThe budget adjustments formerly noted on the agenda were explained to be aimed at reallocating funds between accounts to balance the 2025 b...

04/05/2026

The April town board meeting will be held this coming Wednesday, April 8th at 6:30pm.

The preliminary agenda includes "Budget Adjustments" to be reviewed and voted on. This was also on last month's preliminary agenda, but was subsequently removed. There isn't further information in the packet about this, so we don't know what this is about.

You can find the whole packet at OpenGov Homer's Google Drive here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SCjIbbJEElU4ftyIYDo-c07FsoMa4G3M?usp=sharing

03/12/2026

Mostly procedural items at the March Town Board meeting.

No updates on the Comprehensive Plan, the town is awaiting information from the state.

The budget adjustments on the preliminary agenda were removed from the agenda.

The board tabled a resolution urging state review of electric delivery charges and rate structures and authorizing communication with the New York State Public Service Commission regarding electric costs. Full text of the resolution here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QKbmhP0wejpv88zUpMSe8yGKiyiDKOLF

The Town Hall lower level renovation is nearing completion and there will be an open house planned.

Town Department Plan and Town Infrastructure Plan were reviewed. Lots of projects on the horizon: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QcT5dTRJR15nWaCu3NvctLoztbk3zuoL
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NquPVDiLN4XO9pAHg28293BtHP2JxpRG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhLuu3tf5pY

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/08/2026

The March Town Board meeting will be held this coming Wednesday, March 11, at 6:30pm.

Of note:
- An update on the Town Hall lower level renovations, which is due to be completed by April 10th.
- "Budget Adjustments" to be reviewed and voted on. There isn't any additional information in the packet on this, so it's unclear what this is about.
- A procurement policy addendum specific to the Highway Department.

The complete packet is available in the OpenGov Homer Google Drive here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qJDeRHk-3pOobsNGbzpFUiA3oLLamjGc?usp=drive_link

03/07/2026

As discussed at the last Town Board meeting, the original contingency fund of $171,454 for the ongoing Town Hall basement renovation project has been spent, and last month the board approved another $100,000 for further unanticipated changes.

OpenGov Homer requested via FOIL all documentation of the change orders and contingency expenses to date. The detailed response from the Town Clerk is appreciated!

Here is a summary we put together of how the money was spent, with some comments, and a snippet below. We have sorted the change orders from largest dollar amount to smallest. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KqdstcJL3gOOl0lj6AUj4xjlxuE1MMK6H7Lr9g8fAb8/edit?usp=drive_link

Here is a folder in our public Google Drive with all change orders:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kefGdd3_LwozHLl5eidKzeT88jtz-K9u?usp=drive_link