Hempstead Town Turns Budget Around, Creates $5 Million Surplus

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino announced on Tuesday that the town's $23.5 million deficit has been turned around, turning into a $5 million surplus.

Santino said that the fiscal controls he put in place when taking office turned the budget around.

"Aggressively managing our town’s budget, controlling costs and accounting for every dollar of revenue that is due our government have been key priorities from the moment that I took office as town supervisor," said Santino. "By doing more with less and putting taxpayers first, I was able to transform a budget that called for the further depletion of $23.5 million in town reserve funds into a solid fiscal success that actually added $5 million to the town’s surplus accounts in just one year."

Hempstead’s net operating and expenditure budget for 2016 totaled $436.4 million. That spending plan included the use of $23.5 million in reserve funds to meet operational expenses. When he took office last year, Santino said he pored over the budget to determine where costs could be cut and how to ensure that all revenues due to the town were maximized. As a result, he said, both revenue and expense estimates outperformed budget projections, presenting positive news for the residents of America’s largest township.

Contributing to the $29 million budget turnaround were some major cost-cutting measures instituted by Santino in the areas of labor costs and discretionary spending. Santino reduced overtime, cut staffing and put an early retirement program in place, cutting labor costs by $7 million. In total, Santino cut $10.9 million in discretionary costs (those costs not mandated by state or obligated through contractual negotiations) from the $82.1 million budgeted figure.

Santino also said he helped save money by purchasing used trucks for the town, using beet juice brine instead of salt for town roads, using high-efficiency LED streetlights, posting legal notices online instead of in newspapers and employing part-time plow drivers during snow storms to save on overtime.

On the revenue side of the budget, departmental revenues were up by $4.6 million over budgeted amounts from building department fees, clerk’s office receipts and parks facilities’ fees. Additionally, sales tax revenues exceeded expectations by $1.5 million, and mortgage recording receipts outpaced the town’s prediction by $6.3 million.

To keep expenses down, Santino cut the proposed 2017 budget by 3 percent, or $13.4 million, citing the reductions in staffing.

"Families in Hempstead Town and across our nation have to live within a budget, and they deserve at least one level of government that shares their commitment to fiscal responsibility," Santino said. "By aggressively controlling costs and holding town managers accountable, we were able to turn a $23.5 million shortfall in the township’s 2016 budget into a $5 million surplus. Excellent fiscal management is my commitment to Hempstead Town’s residents."

Photo: Town of Hempstead