Chair, County Legislature· 2026-01-01–2028-12-31 (three-year term: the county Tompkins County Legislators page states legislators are elected and serve for three years with current terms 2026 through 2028; elected November 4, 2025 per Tompkins County Board of Elections 2025 Statement of Votes Cast , unofficial, certified results not located; begins January 1 per N.Y. Public Officers Law § 4, 1 and ends December 31, 2028; sworn at the January 6, 2026 organizational meeting; start shown is the current-term start)
Shawna Black
Tompkins County
No biography on file yet.
Contact
Voice
- Meetings spoken in
- 23
- Total speaking time
- 7:23:50
- Avg per meeting
- 19:18
- Segments
- 7740
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The OpenCity MCP for Claude.ai answers questions like “what has Black said about housing this year” with one prompt — full speaking history, with YouTube timestamps.
Top issues during term (20)(Business Jobs)
Workforce Development Capacity and Unspent Training Funds
About $400,000 in state GIVE grant funding, with a third year anticipated.
2026 Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Goals and Priorities
Youth Employment Programs Funding
Continued state funding supports both the summer and year-round youth employment programs.
2026 Tourism Capital Grants
$250,000 in hotel tax funds awarded to local tourism facilities.
Tourism program and occupancy tax funding
$4.57 million in room tax collected year-to-date 2025.
Southern Tier 8 Regional Board Update
About $2,000 more per year in county dues, with a three-year projection of under $500 in additional increases.
Industrial Development Agency board appointments
IDA tax abatements phase in new tax revenue over years, which affects school district revenue timing on large projects.
Assisted Competitive Employment funding shift
Redirects existing state aid rather than raising new county money.
Supported Employment for Adults with Serious Mental Illness
State aid previously unallocated is redirected to employment services; no new county dollars.
Systematizing the County Proclamation Process
Youth employment program
Hundreds of thousands of dollars flow into the community through youth wages; loss of GIVE funding would end it.
Airport Small Community Air Service Development Grant Adjustment
A $1 million revenue and appropriation adjustment in the airport budget.
Naturalization ceremonies uncertainty
State DMV system upgrade shutdown
Workforce development ten-point plan
IDA appointments and economic development direction
Good Food NY Bill (S.7638.B/A.8091.B)
No direct county cost; could redirect millions in institutional food spending to local farms.
Workforce development board reorganization
Biomedical research funding advocacy
Requested state investment of $165 million; NIH estimates $2.50 of economic activity per research dollar.
Cayuga Medical Center unionization resolution follow-up
Decisions during term (0)
Recorded while Black was in office — not necessarily decisions they moved, spoke to, or voted on.
No decisions found matching Business Jobs.
Voting record (0)(Business Jobs)
No votes found matching Business Jobs.