Brian Tobin for City Council

Brian Tobin for City Council I represent the First Ward on the City of Cortland Common Council. A true leader helps others achieve their potential.

I am using this page to highlight concerns and ask for feedback on topics that impact my neighbors! As Mayor of the City of Cortland, I work to engage citizens and help them reach goals that benefit our community. I have a long list of volunteerism activities that I have assumed a leadership role in. I am a past chair for the board of the American Red Cross in Cortland County. My involvement in th

e Red Cross locally led to my becoming involved in the Regional Advisory Committee for the South Central New York region; for two years, I served as Chair of that committee as well. The committee provided feedback to the paid staff as the region went through a massive change in structure. The region successfully cut expenses while maintaining a high level of service. I coordinate the Cortland Adaptive Swim Team, which allows kids from the community who have special needs the opportunity to learn from college students. Annually I also coordinate the swimming for the Empire State Senior Games.

06/03/2026

Another successful Dairy Day parade tonight! A big thank you to the organizers, it was a lot of fun watching how excited the young ones get!

05/26/2026

Memorial Day is an opportunity to remind ourselves of how our great nation came to be- through sacrifice by others.
Thank you to those who served and gave their all.

05/06/2026

Updates on the City's financials-
1. Work is still continuing on the 2024 audit. This is important because we need it completed to be able to switch $16 million in short term borrowing (a BAN) to a WIFIA loan (secured in 2018). the WIFIA loan has a 1.08% interest rate. the BAN interest rate in 5.99%. it is costing us $50,000/ month more due to the higher interest rate.
2. Apparently there are budgeting errors for the current (2026) year's budget. It is estimated as a $1-1.2 million shortfall (not being involved in the budget process last year, I'm not sure how this happened but will try to find out). We will be looking for ways to adjust the budget appropriately without a significant impact on services.
We are working to correct the mistakes that have taken place over the past three years.

04/01/2026

City residents- yard waste CAN be dropped off at the DPW collection site on South Franklin Street throughout the day, and on weekends. There was a temporary stay on drop offs after hours and on weekends.

Also- please let me know if you have concerns about your water/sewer bill (unexpected significant increase).

03/04/2026

The city of Cortland has financial issues that Council is patiently waiting for details on (We have been told that in 2025 we operated at a $2.5 million deficit, and we have no reserves to fall back upon. And it may be worse). Until we have the facts, we should not be approving major additional expenditures. Despite this, at last night's city council meeting we were asked to approve three major items- a union contract that gives significant raises (average of 15% based upon hourly wage and longevity increases in the first year). The budget that funds that contract is currently in the negative.
2. A bond for almost $4 million for the Yaman Beach project- approval needs to wait until we know how we are going to cover the cost of additional bonds.
3. A bond for $7.8 million for expenses on the downtown core- it did not have supporting documentation about expenditures- no proof of what was spent and that it was on appropriate projects. The reality is that the administration added to the scope of work, and a fair amount of the additional costs was for work on private property (basements). The administration should have sought funding BEFORE starting work, NOT after. And now, it should be providing taxpayers with information about where our tax dollars went.
The union contract and the $7.8 million Bond passed. This will continue to drive up the debt that the city has, putting additional strain on taxpayers. The Yaman Beach project is a good one, but all three of these items should have waited until after the city's financial status is better understood.
We need better planning and transparency from the administration.

01/13/2026

The first council meeting of the new year was last Tuesday. Tom Conlon and I were officially sworn in. Some housekeeping items on the agenda, and I am going to be the liaison with the finance department.

12/24/2025

The Cortland Standard had two articles next to one another about the city of Cortland budget for 2026. In one, city officials are quoted as saying how tough it was to keep taxes low. The other speaks about a union contract that grants employees raises of up to 15% in one year.
Might the two be related? 🤔

12/19/2025

Cortland City Council met on Tuesday. Two big items of note:
1. In zoning the definition of family was NOT changed (thankfully).
2. The 2026 proposed city budget- the proposed tax increase swelled from 4% in October to 8% on Tuesday. It initially failed. At the end of the agenda, the Mayor asked for executive session to discuss litigation and said they did not anticipate action afterwards (no votes). Myself and others (including most media outlets) left. After they came back into public session- deputy mayor Troy Beckwith asked for council to vote again. They did, he changed his vote, and the 8% budget passed (Carpenter and Conlon voted against). The increase in the tax rate was not discussed.
As big as the increase is, I am still concerned that the budget overestimates revenue and underestimates costs. Stay tuned.

12/15/2025

City Council meeting Tuesday night, 6pm. There is a proposal for rental inspections. Buried in the law is a change to the definition of family- it would simply define a family as anyone who's living together. This would undermine current zoning laws and may result in significant changes by allowing no limits to the number of adults living in a dwelling unit. There has been no public discussion about this potential change in zoning.
I encourage everyone to reach out to their representative and ask that this be tabled and a discussion about the impact take place at future meetings.

I have a major concern from the City Council meeting this past Tuesday. There was a public hearing regarding a "Proposed...
12/05/2025

I have a major concern from the City Council meeting this past Tuesday. There was a public hearing regarding a "Proposed Local Law to Establish Rental Fire and Safety Inspection and Rental Certificate of Compliance." This sounds reasonable- except the city already has laws requiring rental properties to be registered and in compliance with fire/safety/occupancy laws.
It is towards the end of the document that is the concern. Changing the definition of family (currently a New York state approved definition that limits occupancy to three unrelated who do not qualify as a family) to simply anyone living together in the dwelling unit (see attached). Properties could see a significant increase in the number of tenants, potentially negatively impacting neighboring homeowners.
A topic this important should be publicly discussed and the ramifications considered. One line in a seventeen page document is not adequate public notice or discussion.

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Cortland, NY
13045

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