A Much Better Budget Could Have Been Adopted
Minority Conference offered real alternatives
to cut tax hike in half

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2007

Contact: George Oros, Tel: (914) 995-2828

The Minority Conference of the Board of Legislators began this budget season with a modest and realistic challenge to our colleagues: adopt a budget better than what was presented by the County Executive, who time and again proposes budgets with tax increases that far exceed the growth of the cost of living. Unfortunately for the hard working taxpayers of our County, the majority have failed to meet that challenge.

Once again, the legislators are asked to vote for a bloated $1.78 billion spending plan that exceeds the growth in the cost of living. Once again, we are asked to adopt a budget that grows the bureaucracy and, once again, the minority is compelled to vote no.

Our County is suffering the bitter harvest these continued runaway spending plans have sown. Westchester has rapidly become a County of the very wealthy and the under-class. The ever increasing tax burden in our County has driven out middle class families, retirees and young people who cannot afford to raise their own young families in the same County in which they grew up.

The never ending tax increases in recent years have forced far too many residents to flee Westchester.

In the past seven years, county taxes have skyrocketed an unconsciounable 57%. Simply do the math; the numbers come directly from our adopted budget tax figures. Meanwhile, a review of the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Consumer Price Index for the New York City metropolitan region during the same period rose 26%, less than half the increase in the tax rate.

The time has long passed to get serious about eliminating duplication and overlap in county government, about halting an ever expanding bureaucracy so taxpayers can get relief. For example, could we not take at least a baby step today and eliminate the County Tax Commission ($376,692)? Could we not take another small step for taxpayers and eliminate funding for vacancies and a few new positions in the Law Department and Social Services (more than $1 million)?

The Minority Conference notes that while many in the private sector are using modern technology to accomplish more work with less labor, the County workforce has expanded 8% over the last three years. More than 300 new positions were created by this administration. With fringe benefits, pension payments and health benefits, the average County employee costs the taxpayer $79,500. These new positions will cost our taxpayers over $23 million this year. Had none of those positions been established, without any other budget cuts, the tax increase would have been a very modest 0.2%. Not funding unnecessary positions is not a “one-shot” gimmick as has been alleged by some in the majority. Indeed, it is quite the opposite. With new positions come the ever increasing “legacy costs” of pensions and lifelong health benefits that will hamper our future colleagues in reining in taxes.

The Minority Conference took great pains to review the 2008 budget. We revealed our Taxpayer Friendly alternative four days ago to give all legislators the opportunity to study our proposal. We did not play games. We did not eliminate all new positions; we did not add phony revenue. Instead, we actually cut sales tax revenue projections in view of recent economic forecasts. We submitted to our colleagues, the media and the public a truly defensible, workable 2008 budget with a 1.39% tax increase that is not filled with gimmicks or over estimated revenues. It is a proposal based upon sound fine tuning of the budget submitted by the county executive. Now, we clearly embrace and fully support the cuts made by the majority and ask they be included into this plan. These cuts in the Miscellaneous Budget for Court Facilities, Retirement, FICA, contributions to the 6N and 6J funds would reduce the real property tax levy by $2,563,000 or an increase of .08%.

As the minority, it would be easy to simply vote in the negative, proclaim we were not in charge and walk away blasting the administration and the majority for once again saddling our constituents with an above cost of living tax increase. However, in the true spirit of a loyal opposition, we submitted our own plan. This is the only way the taxpayers could judge openly and fairly. If the minority were unable to submit a viable budget plan, it would be irresponsible to vote no.

Finally, as our conference has done over the past four budgets, we renew the call to look ahead. The time is in January, not November, to start the review process on how to eliminate unnecessary spending. We renew our call to work with a private/public partnership to identify areas of waste, duplication and overlap in county government. Similar to the state’s Berger Commission and the federal military base closing commission, this partnership’s recommendations would have to be accepted and enacted.

Other levels of government seem to get it, but not this administration. The Westchester County Association and Governor Spitzer have established working groups this past year on eliminating duplication and overlap of government programs and services. This is something our members first called for in 2003 and in 2008 we renew the call. If the County Executive is unwilling, our Board should be willing to do it on our own.

The tax burden can be cut. Two communities we all know have done it: Town of Cortlandt, which has averaged a zero increase the last 10 years, and the City of Peekskill, which has posted zero increases the last three years.

Neighboring counties have also demonstrated how it can be done. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi proposed a fifth consecutive budget with no tax increase. In Suffolk, County Executive Steve Levy delivered a fourth straight budget that reduces taxes.

In 2007, the Minority Conference proposed $20 of spending cuts, including not funding 77 new unneeded jobs. For 2008, we proposed reducing the budget by $16 million. For the last four years, we have consistently offered real alternatives and an olive branch to work in a true bi-partisan manner to get taxes down.

The County Executive stated when he released the 2008 budget “no one wants to raise taxes.” We believe neither do our colleagues. Unfortunately, neither the County Executive nor the majority saw fit to “put taxpayer money where their mouth is.”