Suffolk County In Financial 'Emergency;' Salary Freezes Coming

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk is in a state of "financial emergency" as it staggers under the weight of the coronavirus crisis, said County Executive Steve Bellone, who signed an executive order Monday to freeze salary and step increases for all non-union employees.

Bellone also submitted a resolution to the Suffolk County Legislature that would extend the action through 2021, a move that will save taxpayers nearly $3.4 million.

"Facing a shortfall due to the catastrophic impact of COVID-19, we all have to make sacrifices, and government needs to make tough choices, just like families are doing every day," Bellone said. "Of course this does not change the fact that we need the federal government to provide relief to our front line and county workers. But in the meantime, we will take action on the local level. Today’s actions do just that."

In recent days, Bellone has stated emphatically that the federal government needs to step up with aid as Suffolk County confronts "catastrophic, cataclysmic numbers — beyond anything we have ever seen or anticipated."

Last week, Bellone said Suffolk is facing a staggering $1.5 billion budget gap over the next 15 months, and the time for federal help is now.

Bellone said a meeting of the legislative budget committee was held last Tuesday and a report given by the non-partisan budget review office that "laid out, in stark detail, the emergency this county is facing from the impacts of COVID-19."

The report, he said, indicated that Suffolk County is facing an $800 million budget hole over the next three months, echoing what an earlier report from an independent COVID-19 fiscal panel, made up of municipal and independent financial experts, stated. That first report said that in a "best case scenario," the county would see an $829 million budget gap over the next three months.

The most recent news, Bellone added, only looked at what needed to be done for the budget due in September.

Over the next 15 months, he said, the county is staring at a gaping $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion budget hole.

It's time, he said, for the federal government to act.

"Our immediate need is $1 billion in federal relief," he said.

While that amount won't solve all the problems and tough choices will need to be made, along with efforts to transform government and make it more "productive, effective and efficient," the funding "will prevent the worst impacts from COVID-19 from happening."

Those impacts, Bellone said, will be borne by taxpayers, essential employees and first responders, who will have to cover the cost of the pandemic response.

The federal government, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bellone said, stated "quite clearly that the response to this virus was to effectively shut down the economy in order to reduce transmission of the virus. We did that, and it worked. We flattened the curve here. I have no doubt that we saved countless lives — but there was a cost to this."

He added that it's important to remember: "This was a declared national emergency."

For the federal government, at this point, to tell residents and first responders to foot the bill for the pandemic response, Bellone said, would be "absolutely outrageous."

And, Bellone reminded that every year, Suffolk County gives billions more to the federal government than it ever gets back. "This is not a handout," he said.

Suffolk County, he said, was one of the hardest hit regions in the country and is one of the largest counties in the nation. "This pandemic that struck us here is really no different than if we were hit by a Category 5 hurricane. It's just a natural disaster of another kind," Bellone said.

And so, he added, Suffolk County is just asking the federal government to "give us back a little bit of our money, just a fraction of what we sent to Washington, every single year – just one time. This is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do."

If the federal government does not step up to the plate, he said, the region's recovery could drag on for more than decade. "The devastation we have faced in this region will be longer, deeper and wider than it otherwise would be or should be and that is unacceptable," he said.

If the federal government does not provide relief, Bellone said, it would be akin to saying, "We are okay with hollowing out, or gutting, the level of government that provides public safety, public health and social services, critical in dealing with this virus and even more critical in recovering from all the impacts from this that will reveal themselves over time."

A list of mitigation measures were presented that could be implemented, including layoffs, lag payrolls, raising energy and sales taxes, and amortizing pensions.

And those mitigation measures — with all the hardships they would mean to taxpayers and first responders — would only add up to $150 million, Bellone said, when $829 million is needed.

Still, immediate action needs to be taken soon, Bellone said.

To that end, he said, the county's budget office has put aside and embargoed $29 million in funding from various departments; resolutions have also been forward to mitigate impacts totaling $77 million.

Tax stabilization funding streams would be used to help mitigate impacts, as well, Bellone said.

None of the measures he presented, two of which would be voted on by the public, would impact employees or substantive police, including environmental policy.

Looking forward

On Monday, Bellone said in addition to the executive order, he is analyzing additional cuts and department heads, as well as the county budget office, will be looking at additional ways to streamline.

Of the executive order signed Monday, he said: "We need to be able to move toward with these measures before even more painful ones. This is an important step forward."

For the federal government not to act, he said, would be "unconscionable."

And, Bellone added, now is the time for investment in infrastructure, a move that would also mean a boon to the economy.

Hospitalizations continue to dip

As Suffolk County moves toward Phase 3 of the reopening of the economy Wednesday, the numbers, Bellone said, "continue to look very good."There were 38 new positive cases over the past 24 hours, with a just-below one percent infection rate countywide — and a total of 41,010 positive cases reported.

Hospitalizations fell below 100 for the first time since March on Sunday; that trend continued Monday, with a decrease of eight meaning that a total of 90 patients were hospitalized in Suffolk County.

The number of patients in ICU increased by six, for a total of 27 countywide.

Hospital capacity stands at 3,075, with 1,139 available beds, or 63 percent; there are a total of 516 ICU beds in Suffolk, with 218 available, or just below 60 percent, Bellone said.

A total of 17 patients went home over the past 24 hours. And another life was lost, bringing the total to 1,965.