Rockland Revenue Ideas: Hike The Sales Tax, Sell The Sain

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Because Rockland County needs revenue to offset what he called a "fiscal tsunami" caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, County Executive Ed Day has sent three resolutions to the Legislature.

Between the predicted revenue shortfall of $40-50 million and New York State now cutting 20 percent of promised state aid and reimbursements, "we are being battered from all sides," he said. "If we just accepted this fiscal situation it would result in the need for 200 layoffs. That is why we need to take these additional steps to protect our employees from possible layoffs and property taxpayers from the double-digit rate increases of the past."

He's recommending raising the sales tax, selling the Sain Building and delaying submission of the the county budget to generate additional revenue, help stabilize Rockland’s finances, and allow for proper fiscal decision-making for 2021.

Day said actions already taken have reduced year over year spending by more than $18 million at the end of June. Without more revenue, more cuts in spending will be necessary.

"A layoff is not a fair reward to our employees who have worked so hard during this pandemic; I will continue to do everything in my power to keep that from happening," he said. "We are facing never-before-seen impacts on our budget and need to do everything possible to decrease spending while finding ways to increase revenue."

The first resolution authorizes the sale of the Sain Building, 18 New Hempstead Road, New City, with all proceeds from the sale to be applied to offset any financial losses caused by COVID-19.

The second resolution calls for the temporary addition of one-half of one percent to the local sales tax to take effect December 1, 2020, or as soon thereafter as possible, for a period of three years until November 30, 2023. This Resolution would also need to be passed by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Cuomo. The current sales tax rate in Rockland County is 8 and 3/8ths percent, this Resolution would raise it to 8 and 7/8ths percent equal to the rate of Yonkers and NYC.

The third resolution would push back the 2021 proposed County Budget submission requirement from Oct. 1, to Oct. 23. Rockland is due to receive two sales tax disbursements from NYS on or before Oct. 1, with two additional disbursements due to the County on Oct. 7, and Oct. 13. This three-week delay will allow for the collection of more data and therefore a more accurate projection of the 2021 proposed county budget, he said.

“The temporary sales tax Resolution is the lynchpin of our ability to successfully navigate these unprecedented times and the passage of all these Resolutions by the County Legislature and NYS Legislature will help us continue to chart a responsible path forward. We have already met with Legislative leadership and notified every Legislator of the criticality and need behind these Resolutions,” Day said.

The next legislative session is Sept. 1.

Meanwhile, Day notified the County Legislature last week that the County would only move forward with $19,975,000 in Capital Borrowing, down from the $40 million that was planned for pre-pandemic. This borrowing reduction will not influence the 2020 Budget but will cut principal and interest payments on these projects from $3 million to $1.5 million in 2021.

“We closely reviewed the necessity of each of these projects and are only moving forward with those that are already in progress, those which will show a positive return on investment or those which are critical infrastructure improvements. The last economic recession resulted in the delay of many of these projects and since taking office I have refused to kick the can down the road for future generations of Rocklanders to deal with," said Day. "But make no mistake, we are moving forward in a fiscally responsible manner and will not repeat the mistakes of the past which led to the $138 million deficit I inherited upon taking office."

• Implementing austerity measures in March which permitted only COVID related and essential purchasing to take place.
• Instituting a hiring freeze in May except for essential personnel and those working directly on the COVID response.
• Immediately applying for FEMA Disaster Assistance and becoming one of the first municipalities in the country to have the reimbursement portal for COVID related expenses up and running.
• Abolished 18 vacant and unfilled positions in July for nearly $1 million in savings.

Rockland County’s workforce has been reduced by 21.7 percent since 2014. Yearly position totals:

• 2014: 2,161
• 2015: 2,021
• 2016: 1,697
• 2017: 1,697
• 2018: 1,694
• 2019: 1,707
• 2020: 1,691 (after the abolishment of 18 vacant/unfilled positions in July)

The original purchase offer for the Sain Building in March of 2016 was $4.51 million. The building was officially closed in December of 2017.

County officials estimated the sale would have returned the building to the property tax roles and generated $500,000 in total annual property tax revenue for the Town of Clarkstown, Clarkstown Central School District and County of Rockland.

However, Rockland County Legislators refused to move forward on the sale at the time. Lawmakers said there were irregularities in the process and also said they thought the space was needed for parking.