Local and state leaders are still working on ways to deal with dangerous levels of lead in some homes throughout Onondaga County but this time, they got time with the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Secretary Ben Carson heard about the issues and offered some solutions. Carson says it's to remediate and manage these older lead-contaminated homes in Syracuse, while educating people about the dangers of lead.

He also mentioned the importance of primary prevention -- testing and cleaning up homes before families move in. Carson says his department is currently getting rid of regulations to make remediation and prevention efforts happen more efficiently.

Also, the county can apply for $9 million in federal funding to fix some of the lead issues. Carson told officials to "aim high."

Representative John Katko also spoke about some a new bill aimed at ensuring children enrolled in both Medicaid and CHIP are tested for lead at the proper ages. Many children in Onondaga County are already at risk.

Katko says Syracuse had the nation's highest percentage of children with lead poisoning between 2009 and 2015. Leaders say teamwork is needed to fix this decades-old problem.

"I knew Syracuse has a lot of aging housing and that this was a signifcant problem here,” said Secretary Ben Carson. “I think this is a problem we can actually solve. This is an excellent laboratory to see if we can get this completely under control."

The city of Syracuse also received a $4.1 million HUD grant last year to fix lead-contaminated homes. They expect to remediate 230 units.

The county received a $3.4 million Hud grant in 2016 to make 195 units safe.

City officials are also working on passing an ordinance so code enforcement officers can perform dust wipe tests in the interior and exterior of all rental properties.