Stern: Pension Increases at Crux of $530M Deficit

State mandated pension plan increases and health care costs will be the biggest hurdle in overcoming a projected $530 million deficit in Suffolk County, Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) said.

County Executive Steve Bellone formally declared a fiscal emergency Tuesday after Suffolk’s independent Fiscal Task Force estimated a $33 million budget gap to end 2011, the first county deficit in nearly 20 years. The task force predicts an additional $148 million budget hole by the end of 2012 and $349 million in 2013.

Stern said that it is tough to know if the figures are entirely accurate since the expected budget holes are mainly based on hypothetical sales tax revenues, which continue to sink. 

While sales tax revenues are somewhat unpredictable, state mandated pension plan increases and expensive health care costs must be controlled, Stern said. 

He said the county’s pension plan contributions increased by $200 million in 2010, and another $180 million in 2011. Since the new tax cap limits the amount of revenue the county can bring in, relief from state mandates is seen as a crucial measure.

“New York State government has to put its money where its mouth is. There needs to be real mandate relief,” he said.

When it comes to health care reform, the legislator said he hopes the costs will be reduced.

He also said that the county would have to closely examine which services it will continue to provide. The county nursing home is one of 200 endeavors that will no longer receive funding as of July. Lawmakers are still debating whether it should be closed or privatized.

Bellone said in a press conference Tuesday that 500 jobs would likely be eliminated this summer.