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Cayuga County Republican Chairman Nate VeVone went there, singling out Legislator Aileen McNabb-Coleman — who served as Legislature chair in 2020, 2021 and 2024 — and claiming "significant responsibility for the financial state of our county lies with her."

VeVone's comments followed the county Legislature meeting Tuesday, when McNabb-Coleman and three other legislators announced they are leaving the Democratic caucus. The GOP chair says it "appears to be an attempt to deflect blame for the mounting financial crisis facing our county, a crisis that has roots in the decisions made by the majority (not all) of the Democrat caucus."

The budget crisis is more complicated than that, mainly because it is years in the making.

The size of the budget and use of the fund balance to close budget holes increased under Democratic and Republican majorities. In 2020, the budget approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature included $153 million in spending and used shy of $1 million from the fund balance.

In 2021, the Democratic-led Legislature — under McNabb-Coleman's leadership — passed a budget that actually reduced spending by about $1 million, but used over $1.1 million from the fund balance.

The second budget passed with McNabb-Coleman as chair increased spending to $160 million, an $8 million hike, and used a little over $2 million from the fund balance.

After Republicans won the majority, the next two budgets were approved with increased spending and fund balance usage. The 2023 budget included $172 million in appropriations and used $3 million from its fund balance. In 2024, spending rose to $188 million and the adopted budget included $7.1 million from the fund balance.

The 2025 budget totals nearly $192 million and uses roughly $5.6 million from the fund balance.

It's important to note that Democratic and Republican legislators voted for these budgets. These spending plans usually pass with bipartisan support and little opposition.

Other factors contribute to the county's budget woes. There are contractual obligations, which raise labor costs from year to year. Health insurance is another rising expense.

The situation with the Cayuga County Office Building also complicates the fiscal situation. It's another example of a can that's been kicked down the road by both parties and past county legislators. Former Cayuga County Legislature Chairman David Gould was right to make the building's future a priority, but other legislators didn't join him in addressing the issue.

Meanwhile, the cost to renovate the building kept increasing. It won't get any cheaper now that the building is closed after asbestos-containing vermiculite was found in the upper floors. The county will need to tackle that problem and has expenses related to moving agencies to temporary sites.

The current county Legislature will have difficult decisions to make. They rejected one revenue-generating idea at a time when they could use the money. Legislature Chairman Jonathan Anna has discussed the need to boost economic development as a way to get revenue, but that's more of a long-term plan. In the short term, the county needs to boost revenue, cut spending, or both. Neither option will be popular.

In politics, the blame game often focuses on the present. However, when reviewing past budgets and other decisions made by both parties, it's clear there is plenty of blame to go around.