Day Challenges Lawmakers to Help Fund Nonprofits

NEW CITY, NY – Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced a three-point plan Wednesday to provide funding without damaging county finances to nonprofits that were not included in the 2017 budget, the same day the Legislature voted to fund the nonprofits from this year's surplus funds.

"If your checking account is overdrawn, you do not keep writing checks," Day told members of the media and leaders of nonprofit agencies who gathered in the county office mail room. "Rockland County's checking account is still overdrawn. The Legislature wants to keep writing checks."

In a written statement after the press conference, he outlined a plan that includes him giving up $50,000 to do his first countywide mailing since he took office. That money would instead be put in an account for the nonprofits once the Sain Building is sold. And he challenged members of the Rockland County Legislature to do the same.

Day's 2017 budget provides $16.3 million in funding for nonprofit agencies that serve Rockland. Another set of nonprofits were not funded. Day had asked the Legislature to approve breaking the tax cap for $1.3 million in nonprofit funding, which it did not do. The Legislature passed an amended budget which included the extra funding, in part by raising estimated sales tax revenue projection by an additional $1.5 million. Day vetoed their amendments.

The Legislature on Wednesday voted a total of $673,941 to be paid to the public benefit organizations from 2016 dollars, saying their move would allow the public benefit organizations to know they will have money coming in to pay their bills and provide time to identify additional funding to cover the second half of the year.

SEE: Rockland Lawmakers Vote Funds for Nonprofits Left out of 2017 Budget

That could increase the deficit, Day said.

Wednesday Day asked the lawmakers to do something else: put all but $3,400 of their $34,600 budget for 2017 into an account for the nonprofits – the same amount he will retain for postage.

"Let that co-equal branch of government pledge the same amount from its postage budget to fund these nonprofits that they say they care about so much," he said.

Day's plan:

• Sell the Sain Building. Rockland has an offer for $4.51 million. That's $510,000 over the appraised value. Once the building is sold, both branches of government can talk about how to allocate those funds. " I am certainly willing to look at that $510,000 – true surplus – as funding for these nonprofits," Day said. The bulk of the funds would go toward deficit reduction. However, while Day and the lawmakers agree that the building should be sold, squabbling could prevent it for another year.
• Mailings. On Jan. 2, $50,000 from the County Executive's postage account will be transferred to a special reserve account to assist the community based organizations that the Legislature did not fund. In Day's first two years in office, he spent $3,810 for postage, he said. He wanted to do his first mailing in four years. The 17 members of the Legislature are each budgeted for two mailing annually. During that time that that Day spent $3,810, the Legislature spent a total of $54,516. For 2016-17, he budgeted $56,000 for mailings. The Legislature budgeted $69,200 for the same period. Day will retain only $3,400 for postage in 2017.
• A challenge: He asked Legislators to put all but $3,400 of their $34,600 mailing budget for 2017 into an account for the nonprofits – the same amount Day will spend. "After all, we serve the same number of constituents," he said.

Here's the math:

• $50,000 from the County Executive's mailings budget
• $31,200 from the Legislature's mailing budget
• $510,000 from the sale of the Sain Building.
• That equals $591,200 for the nonprofits, nearly half of the $1.3 million in funding.

Day also proposed making the nonprofits formal contract agencies with the county.

His long-term goal is to avoid this end of year scramble and enter into contracts with these organizations, he said. That would ensure their funding, take them out of the political arena and set goals and expectations in return for the taxpayer money they are receiving

"I value the work that these organizations do, as much as I value the work done by the nonprofits that will receive $16.3 million in funding in the 2017 budget," he said.

Rockland County is still in deficit, he pointed out. That deficit, which was $138 million when Day took office, is a lot smaller now – $16.3 million.

Still, any unspent or unanticipated funds or savings needs to go toward paying down the remaining deficit, he said.

"Someone has to be the grown-up in the room and say no, we can't spend money we don't have when we are still in a deficit," he said. "My plan is both better for the taxpayers, the nonprofits and the long-term financial health of Rockland County: Sell the Sain Building."

PHOTO/ contributed