Economic Recovery

Syracuse has a lot on its to-do list in the new year. Primarily, the city is trying to find ways to fiscally and physically recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But they’re also working on police reform, long-standing economic development initiatives, and anticipating progress on the I-81 project.

Central New York has progressed through the four phases designed by the state to restart the economy. But where do we go from here?

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon is urging local residents to stay away from large gatherings ahead of the July 4th weekend.

“Our numbers have gone in the right direction and the weather’s nice, that people are losing focus a little," said McMahon. "It just takes one mistake to really cause a cluster.”

With more sales tax payments arriving, Onondaga County officials are getting a fuller picture of economic struggles ahead. Sales tax is down about 7 %. If that trend persists, it would translate to a loss of around $28 million over the course of the year. On top of that, there are losses from room occupancy tax and gaming tax.

Onondaga County and the rest of Central New York expect to be able to enter Phase Four by the end of the week. This allows entertainment, recreation, and arts businesses to reopen with certain guidance.

Could New York use a New Deal-style program to bring jobs to the flood of people who lost employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic?  Senator Rachel May is taking the idea to the State Senate, while Assembly Member Patricia Fahy introduced the bill in the house. 

  With no federal aid to local governments yet and sales tax receipts on the way, Onondaga County will have to face the economic reality of the COVID-19 pandemic soon.

  New York State issued clarification Thursday that potentially added 19 deaths to Onondaga County’s COVID-19 death toll. County Executive Ryan McMahon said they are still waiting on final confirmation, but health department officials believe the number of nursing home deaths reported by the state was not included in prior county numbers.

For the fifth day in a row, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced a death due to COVID-19. A man in his 50s with underlying health conditions lost his battle to the virus. It’s the 34th death in the county. McMahon said the virus has hit senior communities especially hard, and recent proactive testing has proven that.