State of the County Response From Leg. Stern

As your Suffolk County legislator for the 16th district, it was my privilege to represent our community at Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s State of the County address.  

In my position as our representative to county government, it is my strong belief that I have the responsibility to attend the event to hear from the County Executive about his vision for the upcoming year, particularly as it may affect our community.  

Unfortunately, not all of my colleagues share this belief and chose not to attend; that was disappointing.  I believe it was important to be there, not just out of respect for the office of our chief executive, and not just because of the appreciation I have for the great responsibility I have been given by our community to serve, but also because, especially during these challenging times, our collective success depends upon the strength of our relationships and ability to work together to get things done.  

I believe the more appropriate message to send this year is that “we’re all in this together” and that regardless of the challenges, we will continue to make the extremely difficult decisions in order to provide fiscal responsibility, protect our environment and preserve our quality of life.

During a time in our nation when so many municipalities at all levels of government are struggling for solutions, unable to provide a balanced budget and even contemplating bankruptcy, I am proud to report that Suffolk County does not face either of these problems.  

Every year since I have served as your legislator, Suffolk County has produced a balanced budget and held the line on taxes. When the legislature passed the 2011 operating budget, for the seventh straight year there was NO increase in your County General Fund Property Tax.

Just as important, this balanced budget provides for the hiring of additional police, secures funding for essential services and  still maintains Suffolk’s highest bond rating in our history.  

No other county in New York State and no other levels of government have been able to provide this exceptional level of fiscal responsibility and protect our taxpayers during this challenging time.  This is hard work that I am proud of and hard work that can only come when we work together and when we work well with our County Executive.

During his annual address, the County Executive described the successes of the past year and he also outlined the challenges ahead.  Of those challenges, reduced funding from the federal government as well as New York State, and outrageous pension costs are the most worrisome.  

But he also reassured us that we have a proud record of being proactive, innovative and willing to make the difficult decisions.  More important than the messenger is the message: We must continue to be vigilant and be responsible with your tax dollars, and that due to a record we can be proud of, we will continue the solid record of fiscal responsibility our community deserves.