A new, large sales tax payment guarantees Onondaga County will not have to make any more workforce adjustments in the month of October. County Executive Ryan McMahon reported Monday that the most recent payment was $10 million more than the same time last year.
McMahon attributes the high rate of spending to a number a number of factors.
“A lot of folks are spending money around the house. Pools and hot tubs, all these things. Back up demand from a surge in that. I think you have very large economic developments projects for the community. Restaurants having more open seating and the mall was opening for this payment. Without question, bringing back almost thirty thousand students in the community.”
There have been 127 cases among higher education students in Onondaga County over the last two and a half months. McMahon said the hard work schools are doing is helping to keep the economy open and aiding spending. But this singular sales tax payment is not enough to fully recover from the economic damage COVID-19 has caused. McMahon is still advocating for a stimulus package as the fall begins.
“ Hopefully the House, the Speaker and the White house can get something done and can get it done quickly to help out American families and businesses going into a time of year where this a lot of unknowns related to how the virus will react. Certainly it will help us out going into 2021 if we can get some stimulus.”
The county is not yet in a position to bring people who havebeen furloughed back to work, according to McMahon. He said Onondaga County is still down $20 million. If sales tax payments continue to trend positively, there will not be any more county layoffs through November.
