By Dan Murphy
On Dec. 10, the Westchester County Board of Legislators approved a $1.94 billion county budget for 2019 that includes a 2 percent property tax levy increase and stays below the property tax cap. The first budget submitted by County Executive George Latimer was adopted by a vote of 13-4, with the four republicans on the board voting no.
Many of the promises made by Latimer and the democratic members of the County Board are included in the 2019 budget. After two years of deficits that resulted in the county drawing down its rainy day funds by more than $70 million, the 2019 operating budget does not require the use of the fund balance.
The budget provides increased funding for nonprofits; restores funding for additional daycare slots; and maintains current funding levels for public safety, health and mental health, consumer protection, parks, seniors and youth. The number of county employees remains the same and the county now has contracts with all its unions after reaching an agreement with the Civil Service Employee Association – the county union with the largest number of employees.
Some one-shot revenues are used to balance the operating budget. In the past, legislators have criticized the use of one-shots as not sustainable, but given the county’s short-term financial position – including the need to pay for contract settlements that were not budgeted for more than seven years – the county must resort to some one-shots now.
The biggest one-shot is the transfer of the County Center parking lots from one government entity to another. This $23 million deal will allow the county to monetize in 2019 future revenue at the lots. It will not change the use of the land in any way.
The use of revenue from the parking lot allowed Latimer and the democratic members of the BOL to keep the budget under the property tax cap and at 2 percent.
“The people of Westchester won today,” said Board of Legislators Chairman Ben Boykin. “This is a budget that will move us forward to begin the process of rebuilding our finances, adding back to our fund balance and continuing to provide the services that the people of Westchester County need, want, and must have.”
Budget and Appropriations Chairwoman Catherine Borgia said the 2019 budget is one that “starts to right the ship. It is the first of many years where we will have to find strategic solutions that will help regain the fiscal solvency of Westchester County and put us back into the position we have always traditionally been – an example of how to run county government effectively and efficiently,” she said.
Majority Leader Catherine Parker added: “I’m proud that our new leadership has begun putting the county’s finances back on track. I’m also particularly happy that we’ve been able to reduce the aggregate sewer district tax levy to 2 percent from 2.9 percent after a thoughtful analysis by Citizens Budget Advisory Committee member Rodman Reef.”
The BOL’s three Republicans and one Conservative member voted against the county budget, and based their “no” votes on the tax increase, the use of one-shot revenue, borrowing to pay for tax certioraris and other fee increases.
Minority Leader John Testa has long advocated for the county to pursue private partnerships to generate ongoing revenues instead of raising taxes and fees on homeowners and small businesses.
“I cannot vote in favor of a budget that takes more money out of the pockets of Westchester County families while there are fully vetted and approved private partnerships available to us on major projects like rehabilitating Playland, building a $1.2 billion bio-science center, and a bipartisan deal to unlock tens of millions of dollars through a public-private partnership to operate the county airport,” he said.
“For a year now, I have repeatedly asked my colleagues on the board as well as the county executive to move ahead with these smart, and thoroughly vetted partnerships,” continued Testa. “Their preference to sell off parkland and raise taxes instead is baffling to me. Their only fallback position is expecting the New York State delegation to extract the approval for a significant county sales tax increase in Albany. There is no guarantee or any communication from our state representatives that they would support such a regressive sales tax increase.”
Minority Whip Gordon Burrows questioned the viability of revenues that were included in the budget.
“We have been given almost no information from the county executive or the board’s Democrats about how the sale of this parkland will take place,” he said. “There has been no appraisal; there has been no opinion offered from Westchester’s state legislative delegation about whether they are willing to cede the authority to the county to sell parkland. Parks advocates have stated on the record that they believe the plan is illegal. If selling the parkland is ultimately not allowed, what will happen? At least $23 million in assumed revenues in this budget are far from certain and could very well mean a catastrophic hit to our reserve fund.”
Legislator Margaret Cunzio represents the district where the “North 60” bio-science center has been approved.
“I cannot support this collection of tax and fee increases while a $1.2 billion project, which would bring tremendous revenue and high-paying jobs to our county, is being held up,” she said. “The project has been approved unanimously by the BOL, and the municipality and the developer is ready to start work. Westchester County is home to a tremendously well-educated workforce and this project, along with the medical center, medical college and firms like Regeneron could make Westchester a leader in bio-science-centered business globally.”
Legislator David Tubiolo said his constituents simply could not afford additional taxes. “With the federal government implementing its recent State and Local Tax Law, now is not the time for a tax increase for our residents of Westchester, especially for seniors. Further, I don’t feel comfortable supporting a budget that uses the proposed sale of the Westchester County Center parking lot to fill a $23 million hole.”
After the vote, County Executive George Latimer signed the $1.94 billion 2019 county operating budget.
“This budget comes from realities we all must face here in Westchester,” he said. “Behind numbers are human beings and services that are essential to them. That is the correlation that people need to make; this budget is more than just the total cost of governing, but rather the services provided.”
According to Latimer, this budget was adopted with four main ideals at the forefront: keeping property taxes at or below the tax cap, maintaining basic county services and facilities, establishing a multi-year plan for financial solvency, and open and transparent communication with the residents of Westchester.
Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins said this was the first time that the county executive went out to hear from the public before the budget process even started. “Today was a good day for the people of Westchester because things are transparent and moving forward,” he said.
Latimer added: “Tonight, I am going to stop by the south side of Mount Vernon and go down the street that I grew up on, look at that little house and be thankful I was born in this county and that now I have a chance to help this county in a concrete way.”
The budget also pays all county employees the 2019 state minimum wage of $12 per hour, increases support for daycare and not-for-profit service providers, and implements the raising of the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 years old.
