After County Executive Ryan McMahon praised Onondaga County’s relationship with Syracuse in his first “State of the County” address on Tuesday, multiple high-ranking city officials told The Daily Orange that McMahon’s speech addressed pressing topics and included the city in major county plans that could benefit both local governments.

McMahon highlighted poverty, infrastructure and economic development in front of hundreds of audience members at Le Moyne College on Tuesday. Mayor Ben Walsh, Police Chief Kenton Buckner, common councilors and dozens of city officials attended the address.

Since McMahon took office, the city and county have extended their sales tax sharing agreement until 2030. Syracuse’s sales tax revenue is consolidated with Onondaga County, and the city will receive a quarter of the total revenue that comes from the county.

McMahon praised the sales tax sharing agreement and Walsh’s Syracuse Surge program and set a goal for minorities to be 20 percent of the county’s workforce by 2020.

“I thought it was exciting,” said Walsh in an interview with The Daily Orange, moments after the speech. “The vision that the county executive laid out is very well aligned with the work we’re doing with the city, and the way in which he regionalized the Syracuse Surge strategy and different projects, it’s a game changer.”

Walsh outlined the Syracuse Surge program at his “State of the City” address, an investment of more than $200 million in public and private funding to revitalize neighborhoods south of downtown. In mid-January, Walsh called it the “biggest economic growth initiative ever put forth by the City of Syracuse.”

Part of Syracuse Surge is a proposed STEAM School, a collaboration between the city and the county, that will bring in students from the city and surrounding villages to the site of the former Central High School in downtown Syracuse.

McMahon applauded the plan during his speech and mentioned a plan to partner with the city and invest in the Tech Garden and AXA Towers complex.

After McMahon’s address, Walsh described the county’s role in Syracuse Surge as “critical.”

Walsh’s relationship with McMahon starkly contrasts that of former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and former County Executive Joanie Mahoney. Miner and Mahoney had a tense relationship, often publicly disagreeing on major issues facing the city and county, such as a city-county merger and sanctuary cities.

Syracuse Common Councilor Joe Driscoll, of the 5th district, said McMahon can play a “huge role” in desegregating city and county schools. Councilor At-Large Steve Thompson said that by acknowledging Syracuse Surge, McMahon showed the plan affects the entire county.

“Sometimes a simple thing like being willing to collaborate means a ton,” Driscoll said. “The bonding that would be done would be a big part city and a big part county, so having a shared vision with someone is a huge part of that.”

McMahon said the county will recruit workers from the county’s lowest-income urban, suburban and rural areas to reach his goal of a 20 percent minority workforce by 2022.

McMahon did not mention the replacement option for an aging viaduct along Interstate 81 that cuts through the middle of Syracuse in his speech.

It didn’t occur to Walsh that McMahon didn’t mention the project, he said after the meeting. Support for various replacement options are split along city lines, and the state is currently creating a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that assesses various replacement options for the aging viaduct. Once the analysis is released, Walsh said the city and the county will be able to move forward.

“I was hoping he’d say he’s in favor of the community grid, but I wasn’t expecting that,” Councilor At-Large Michael Greene said.

McMahon also acknowledged Syracuse’s efforts to reduce lead poisoning, a recurring problem that comes from deteriorating lead paint in houses throughout the city.

Driscoll said he hopes Syracuse and Onondaga County will continue to collaborate, particularly on code enforcement for houses and social services that only the county can provide. The city and county can work together to “give teeth” to code enforcement violations, he said.

“We’ve started those conversations and (McMahon’s) door has been open, and I look forward to collaborating further on that,” Driscoll said.

Published on February 27, 2019 at 10:17 pm

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