ITHACA, NY (CortacaToday) — Tompkins County’s homeless shelters are seeing progress. 

County Administrator Lisa Holmes says there are daily meetings. 

The county is getting the old Key Bank building in downtown Ithaca ready to serve as a Code Blue shelter for the winter while also preparing a more permanent shelter for the unhoused. Holmes tells us staff are being hired and trained. 

Holmes says county officials are still speaking with local motels for shelter under the Temporary Housing Assistance program. Meanwhile, Tompkins County Legislative Chair Dan Klein recently told WHCU that homelessness is the county’s most challenging problem.

A public hearing on the 2025 budget proposal was held last evening. Klein says he expects the Legislature will adopt the draft by the end of November. 

FULL INTERVIEWS: Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes and Legislative Chair Dan Klein on Ithaca’s Morning News