Tim Burtis, the chairperson of the Onondaga County Legislature, is running unopposed to retain his seat as the representative of the legislature’s 3rd District. 

Burtis has been a legislator since 2015 and has been chairperson since 2024. He was previously a town councillor in the Town of Cicero. 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Tim Burtis, Onondaga County Legislature Chairmain

Central Current: How will you make up for the potential lack of funding for the aquarium?

Tim Burtis: I won’t. My vote on the aquarium was a no when I was a legislator, and then as chairman, I also voted no or created a situation where no more public funds would be used for the building of the aquarium. That was my opinion, and of course that vote against the aquarium was difficult, but as a public servant and as a person in my industry, which is banking, I had concerns, and so I voted the way I voted, and that’s the way I feel about that. 

The vote is done. What people have a hard time with in these positions is that you come to your opinion that you don’t want something to happen and then it happens because the votes are gotten for it. 

It doesn’t mean that today I want it to fail. That’s not the case. I did what I did, but, you know, today, I don’t wish it any ill. I’m just not that person. 

Central Current: How will you handle a potential loss of funding to services like SNAP and Medicaid?

Burtis: Well, we’re trying to get a handle on that now. And that is going to take some time to be understood and analyzed, and we’re ready and set to do that along with the county executive. 

So the point of all these questions and answers is that we’re a coequal branch to the county executive, and so it’s his people, if you will, these department heads, that are tasked with really coming up with that analysis and telling us as a legislature what they need and what they don’t need, and that’s the process here. 

You know, we fill many unfunded mandates from New York State. We’ve done that in the past and we’ll continue to do that in the future. We’re not happy about that, but we keep, in our opinion, we keep the best level of services for these things that we can. 

Central Current:  The Legislature passed two resolutions to transfer a parcel of land along Onondaga Lake to the Onondaga Nation. As a legislator, do you believe you have a role in facilitating a transfer? If so, what is that role?

Burtis: My role is to vote on it. I think that’s where I fall on that. And then every vote you take, you need information. I’m willing to look at it. At this point, I’m not opposed to it, but you know, I still look for more information. You know, in my life, I’m a very detailed person, and so the details really matter to me. I try to take the emotion out of things, if you will. 

Central Current: In a hypothetical scenario where federal funding for Onondaga County is conditioned on the basis of the County Sheriff’s Office cooperating with ICE operations, would you be in favor of supporting that collaboration? Why or why not?

Burtis: You know, that question, I’m not great with it. Hypothetical. I guess, being a detailed person – I haven’t spent any time on that, to be honest with you. And so I guess I don’t have, I don’t have an answer for that. I mean, obviously, I know about that in the country, and there’s just too many challenges for me to answer that at this point. I guess, it’s a problem. And I would want a lot more detail before I give an opinion on that. 

Central Current: As Micron ramps up, how do you plan to monitor and ensure that Micron lives up to its promises to protect Central New York’s bountiful natural life?

Burtis: Well, it comes down to a level of trust. And we are in a process with those in that company, and my opinion about that company today is that they have done it before and obviously this project is gonna – has and is going to continue to bring more challenges, or more problems, however you wanna – I would prefer to say challenges. So we have our process, but Micron has the biggest challenge to me, and they’ve gotta answer those questions. 

And of course, we are the smallest of fish to be involved, right? There’s New York State, which is very serious. There’s New York State DEC, which is very serious in this matter. I don’t see a world where a lot of that decision is going to come to us. If you’re talking about natural habitats and such, I think we’re going to get pushed down to third place, in that situation, and the state and their entities are going to take the lead. 

But, you know, today Micron has their answers for those. And obviously the timeline is the timeline because of some of those things that they’re going to have to work on and have to answer some of those questions. 

Central Current: If ICE approaches Onondaga County and requests sensitive information to aid in what it says is a “criminal investigation” – and refuses to provide more details – should Onondaga County furnish sensitive data from a department like DSS to federal authorities with unclear motives

Burtis: Well, that would come through the Sheriff’s office, right? And this Sheriff is duly elected on his own. And I really think that that would be – it wouldn’t even come to me to create my opinion right? It would be fully on him as far as what his decision is, right? 

And I can’t tell the Sheriff what to do. County Executive can’t tell the Sheriff what to do – that’s been well documented. And so I think that would just be a full stop with the Sheriff, and what his decision is. 

You know, I understand the question, but I’m just a detailed person like that. I don’t even think it would make it to me, and frankly, I respect his position as wholly elected on his own, and he gives the answer to that. And my opinion almost doesn’t matter. And I’ve never worked to manipulate him or influence him, and we have a good relationship. So I think that’s my answer. 

Again, I try to stay in my lane a lot. I’m not a big voice in the community. I’m the leader of a bunch of legislators. I don’t get too far off my skis, I don’t get too high on myself. I’m just the leader of legislators. And I don’t see a world where that would come to me to be brought before these people. So, sorry if that’s not an answer, but that’s just the way I process.

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Laura Robertson is a staff reporter covering Onondaga County. Prior to joining Central Current, she lived on the edge of the Bering Strait in Nome, Alaska, where she worked as a reporter for a year. She...