Onondaga County 2025 Budget: Positions

We will be looking through Onondaga County’s $1.5 billion dollar for 2025 budget highlighting data, asking questions and advocating for the county to do more for the residents of Onondaga County.

Let’s take a look at the current staffing levels at the County.

In 2024, as in recent years, the county is only at 70% staffing capacity. Many departments are not even close to be full staffed. The health department is only half staffed! Other departments like Children & Family Services, Highway, the Libraries and more have 30 – 40% vacancies.

We are glad to see Children & Family Services is proposed to get an additional 16 budgeted positions but what is the county going to do to get these positions filled. Does the county pay enough?

Did you know in 2009 the county had a mental health department that included 80 mental health positions? Now mental health services in the county are mostly contracted out. (see page 72)

In 1991, we had 25 election board positions but we only currently have 20 positions even though we have more voters participating in our elections each year.

Let us know what you think about employment levels at the county? Too much, not enough? We want to know what you think.

Leave a reply below or email us.

* Some similar departments above have been combined from the County Budget. Emergency Management is included in Emergency Communications. Drainage Districts & Office of the Environment are included Water Environment Protection, and Probation has been included with Sheriff Department.