WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS PASSES ’05 BUDGET PLAN WITH ZERO PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
For Immediate Release: December 14, 2004
Contact: Marty Rogowsky, Tel: 914.9952834, Rogowsky@westchesterlegislators.com
---Board of Legislators’ budget takes care of county’s most needy citizens as well as its taxpayers---
In a bipartisan, early morning vote, Westchester’s Board of Legislators rang in the new fiscal year with a $1.48 billion budget for 2005 that gives County residents no increase in their property taxes and no loss of services or programs.
The budget, which passed 13-4, also establishes a contingency, or “rainy day” fund that Legislators say will reinforce Westchester’s position as the best fiscally-managed county in New York State.
“This is a sound budget that keeps tax rates stable, strengthens our ability to maintain our Triple A credit rating and creates the likelihood that many taxpayers will actually see a decrease in the property taxes they pay to the County,” said Marty Rogowsky (D) County Legislator for the Sixth District.
Rogowsky also noted that “the Board restored funding for much needed social service and quality of life programs that had taken a hit in the previous two budget years,” a reference to budget actions that restored 75% of the funding cuts made two years ago to non-profit agencies that administer those programs. The budget also holds the line on any Bee Line fare increases and doesn't eliminate any routes.
The Board’s Budget Committee undertook an exhaustive department-by-department review of projected costs and recommended the Board’s placing $7 million into a contingency reserve fund.
“Just as a family puts aside some funds in case of an unforeseen emergency, we considered it prudent that the County put aside funds in case costs run higher or revenues lower than projected,” Rogowsky said. “Increasingly, the County’s faced with budgeting for expenditures imposed upon us by the state and federal governments. An unfunded mandate like Medicaid, which chews up more than half of our budget, can increase unexpectedly. The best way to provide more stability to our budget and insure continuation of the County’s stellar credit rating is to put aside funds to address these kinds of unforeseen contingencies.”
Rogowsky added, “Certainly we hope that we won’t need to tap the reserve. The contingency fund is an insurance policy that the programs we funded will remain funded at the levels we promised for the entire year. The contingency reserve is sound fiscal policy that needs to be considered in every budget going forward.”
Responding to the concerns of parents, the Board also chopped off a quarter of the costs individuals pay to use the County’s child care programs, reducing the contribution level from 33% to 25%.
“We heard what our working families told us, that 33 % of the total cost of child care was too heavy a burden,” said Rogowsky. “This Board has a commitment to them and to investing in the future of the County’s children.”
Rogowsky also said that the Board set May 1, 2005 as the start date for the reduction in fees, two months earlier than planned. “We hope this particular budget action lightens the already difficult job of parenting while working,” he said.
