Onondaga County Rally, Legislator Bill Kinne Unveils Kids First! Bill Kinne’s “Kids First!” Proposal for the $85 Million Surplus County Executive McMahon is Proposing to be Spent on Building an Aquarium.
Bill Kinne’s Plan for $85 Million Proposed for Aquarium
Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 at 10 AM
The event will take place in front of the Onondaga County Courthouse, 401 Montgomery Street. Those scheduled to attend include Oceanna Fair, Families for Lead Freedom Now, Legislator Kinne, members of the Onondaga County Legislature, community stakeholders, and members of the public.
Background: According to the 2020 Census, Syracuse is #1 in the nation for childhood poverty.
With County Executive McMahon’s efforts to gain support for building an aquarium stalled, Legislator Kinne is proposing a viable alternative. His Kids First! plan comes at a critical moment in the lives of this generation of children in our county. The pandemic has taken its toll on their mental health and has exacerbated the lead poisoning crisis. School shootings across the country and violence here at home have made our kids feel less safe. Our county’s fiscal surplus represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a brighter future for Onondaga County.
Kids First! Plan for Onondaga County Fiscal Surplus
Alternative for $85 Million set aside to be considered for use to build an aquarium:
- $40 Million for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Crisis
○ Expand and create programs to test children for lead poisoning
○ Provide at least $30 Million and partner with local organizations to remove Lead from homes across the county
○ Provide temporary housing assistance for families having their homes remediated
- $20 Million for School and Public Safety
○ Make additional grant funding available for school districts to apply for what each district needs, may it be security cameras, alarm systems, panic buttons, training for school staff, and/or School Resource Officers
○ Provide funding for gun buyback programs across the county, including in suburban and rural areas that have not regularly hosted such events in the past
- $10 Million for Positive Student Experiences
○ Supporting field trips to the Zoo, local museums, attractions, and cultural experiences
○ Offering grants to non-profit organizations that provide cultural exchanges between city, suburban and rural school districts
- $15 Million for Family & Community Health
○ Invest in mobile mental health and mobile pandemic response units across city neighborhoods and rural communities
○ Make funding available through educational partners to make it more affordable for county residents to become nurses and mental health providers
○ Ensure we are ready for the next pandemic by bolstering our public health infrastructure, undoing budget cuts that were made to our County Health Department
