Rockland Legislators Amend, Approve 2022 Budget

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County legislators voted 15-1 Wednesday to amend and approve a 2022 County Budget that has no property tax increases, program cuts or layoffs, eliminates the county's motor vehicle tax, starts the phasing out of the residential energy tax, and gives raises to the lawmakers, the county clerk, the county sheriff and the county executive.

“More than a decade ago, we were forced to increase taxes and add new ones to help us address a fiscal crisis, moves supported by the State Comptroller and the credit rating agencies. I’m elated to say that we have finally gotten to the point where we can begin reversing many of those actions for the benefit of our taxpayers," Rockland County Legislature Budget & Finance Chairman Michael Grant said.

Their vote moves forward an annual process that takes more than two months. A $774 budget proposal was unveiled Oct. 1 by Rockland County Executive Ed Day, who now has five working days to go over the Legislature's amended version. He has line-item veto power.

The $789.7 million amended adopted budget includes $130.77 million in property taxes, which represents a zero percent tax levy increase over the 2021 budget.

“I am happy that both the Minority and the Majority members of the County Legislature were able to work together with the County Executive’s Administration in coming up with the amendments which will not only not increase property taxes but in fact, give back to our residents,” Legislature Minority Leader Lon Hofstein said.

The amended budget contains $346,370 to provide pay adjustments for elected officials, completing a process begun two years ago to ameliorate a 14-year gap in raises. The proposal increases salaries for the county executive, sheriff, county clerk and all 17 legislators. The money would come from a Reserve for Non-Union Management already provided for in the County Executive’s proposed budget and result in no additional tax increases.

The amended adopted plan adds four positions to the Board of Elections, which the department says it needs to better serve growing constituent demands for faster turnaround of election night results, enhanced opportunities for voter registration and absentee voting, and administering multiple early polling sites and hours of operation. The $400,000 in funding (salaries, MTA tax, health benefits, etc.) will be paid for via election services fees.

It also maintains the $8 million the County Executive included in a contractual reserve account to settle union contracts that expire by the end of this year.

It also includes, from the administration:

• $10 million for the Open Space program which has a goal of acquiring areas of scenic beauty, environmentally sensitive lands, farms, and Hudson River waterfront areas.
• $2.5 million for the renovation of the current highway garage in New City.
• $467,000 for possible increases in funding to nonprofit contract agencies and 224 agencies.

From the legislature:

• $70,000 for a new Gun Violence Prevention Program
• $7,500 for the African American Historical Society
• $7,500 for the Parkinson’s Wellness Project

County Legislator Harriet Cornell worked with Day to locate the Parkinson’s Wellness Project under the auspices of the Rockland County Department of Health, with the funding to come from the county’s contingency fund.

The organization helps people with Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders. Rockland has nearly four times the national average of people impacted by Parkinson’s, lawmakers said.

County Legislator Toney Earl sponsored the amendment to provide funding to the African American Historical Society of Rockland. Funding will be provided from the existing 224 reserve account for public-benefit nonprofits that meet strict criteria.

County legislators met with Sheriff Louis Falco regarding the new gun violence prevention program in recognition of what they called "the alarming increase in gun violence." Sheriff Falco will administer the program with funding to be provided from the county’s contingency fund.

The amended adopted budget also maintains the $10 million budgeted by the County Executive for the Open Space program to acquire areas of scenic beauty, environmentally sensitive lands, farms and Hudson River waterfront areas.

The amended adopted plan also looks to future tax cuts. In cooperation with the County Executive and Commissioner of Finance, lawmakers plan to establish a Debt Service Reserve in January with the expressed intent of using fund balance, sometimes called surplus, to pay principal and interest related to the county’s Deficit Reduction Bond and to eliminate the Residential Energy Tax in 2023, a year earlier than expected. The bond expires in 2024.

The Motor Vehicle Tax will be eliminated in 2022, with $1.5 million of $1.8 million originally budgeted cut down to $300,000 because it will take several weeks to work with the state to eliminate the county tax. The $1.5 million reduction is the equivalent of a 1.14 percent property tax decrease.

Grant thanked Director of Legislative Fiscal Affairs Nicole Doliner, Commissioner of Finance Stephen Degroat and Deputy Budget Director Steven Grogan among others for their diligent work on the budget.

“We are especially grateful to County Executive Day and his staff for the cooperation and collaboration on the proposed changes to the proposed budget and we look forward to working together to accomplish our shared goals,” he said. “We applaud the members of the County Legislature who have worked together in a non-partisan manner and showed their concern for the County as a whole and all its residents.”

Legislator Charles Falciglia cast the sole no vote. Legislator Vince Tyer was absent.

Day said he would immediately review the amended spending plan, saying "These ideas and suggestions are a victory for Rockland residents and provide a clear path forward as we work to fully recover from the fiscal crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the County Legislature in 2022 and beyond to benefit the people of Rockland."

Editor's Note: Minority Leader Lon Hofstein said he was pleased that the amendments will not increase property taxes but will provide more for Rocklanders. The word "not" was left out of the original version of his comment that "I am happy that both the Minority and the Majority members of the County Legislature were able to work together with the County Executive's Administration in coming up with the amendments which will not only NOT increase property taxes but in fact, give back to our residents." Patch regrets the error.