Astorino: Westchester is "Going Broke"

Westchester is "going broke" thanks to years of overspending and increasingly burdensome state and federal mandates, but catastrophe could be averted if county officials, employees, and residents band together and accept a slew of sacrifices, County Executive Rob Astorino said Thursday night in his State of the County Address.

It was the newly minted Republican's first annual address, and he gave it to a capacity crowd in the chambers of the County Legislature in White Plains. 

"The county's bills for next year are running ten percent higher than our income. In the real world, that's called 'going broke'," he said.

"But do governments operate in the real world? For too long, we all know that the answer has been no."

He likened the situation to that of the average family struggling to pay its bills, and his advice was simple.

"Buy what you can afford, and pay the bills when they come due."

Most of the speech was a reiteration of the promises that helped Astorino defeat popular three-term Executive Andy Spano last fall – including a pledge to freeze tax rates - and a recap of the proposals Astorino has rolled out this year to deal with an impending $166 million deficit, including cuts to transportation and daycare programs.  

But he did announce a proposed incentive program for county workers who are willing to retire early and proposals to slash health care costs for the employees who remain. In March, Astorino said the county could be forced to lay off as many as 1,600 employees if the budget gap isn't closed through other cuts.

The incentive package could save the county between $6.8 and $19 million a year, depending on the number of employees who participate, he said. He is also asking county employees – and their unions – to pay 15 percent of their health care costs. Both initiatives would have to be approved by the Board of Legislators.

And while a handful of Democratic legislators took issue with some of Astorino's proposed cuts, the Board was largely receptive to his words.

Board Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) called the speech "sobering yet uplifting."

Astorino "provided a vision for the future comprised of serious, achievable, bipartisan goals that will move our county in the direction our residents have long desired but have not been able to accomplish," Jenkins said.

Majority Leader Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh) also struck an amicable tone.

"Tough times mean tough decisions. We made them in crafting the county's 2010 budget and we'll keep making them during this year to help our community and protect our working families," he said.

But Judy Myers (D-Mamaroneck) took aim at Astorino's proposal to cut subsidized day care.

"The county must protect investments in these programs, as they are cost effective, produce good outcomes for families, and ensure that the county can avoid the fiscal burden of more costly intervention in the short- and long-term," Myers said.

She noted that last year, the Legislature approved the subsidies while increasing the share that parents have to pay from ten to fifteen percent of the total cost of the program.

"The county executive shouldn't unilaterally eliminate funding that was approved by this Legislature," she said.

Astorino alluded to the cuts in his speech, noting that 75 percent of the bill is paid for by state and federal grants. But he raised the specter of a rainy day fund whose balance is "dangerously lower" than the $90 million or so it should be.

He also took the opportunity to place some of the blame on dire straits at the state and national level.

"For those waiting for the cavalry, in the form of Washington and Albany, to come to our rescue, it won't be happening this year or in the foreseeable future," he said.

"Albany and Washington are going broke faster than we are. Whatever money we receive from them won't be enough to close our deficit."

Astorino also defended his proposed cuts to transportation, including the elimination of the BXM4C express bus to Manhattan, by noting an $11.4 million decrease in funding on the federal, state, and county level over the last couple of years.

"So if anyone wants to know why we have proposed eliminating the express bus to Manhattan and other routes, it is simply because we no longer have the money to pay for them," he said.

The transportation cuts are among the executive's most unpopular proposals, and Legislator Jose Alvarado (D-Yonkers) echoed the outrage.

"Options have been presented like laying off workers, cutting back service, and raising fares at the worst possible time," Alvarado said. "The county executive's plan to eliminate transportation lines for commuters leaves residents with few choices. They are being left stranded without access to lifeline services."

While repeatedly referring to the county's property tax burden – the highest in the country for the last two years – Astorino avoided the idea of consolidating services between the county and its municipalities, an idea that was on the table before the recession even began.

Legislator Peter Harckham (D-Katonah) used the opportunity to call on officials to explore consolidating everything from printing and purchasing to information technology and public safety.

"County administrative costs should be slashed first, not last. Let's look at duplicative departments and overlapping administrative costs and introduce competition into health insurance administration," Harckham said.

"The Legislature recognizes the fact that we need to find new savings in this budget and run a smarter, smaller regional government. Sharing services between the county and municipalities is an effective way to generate savings and to help keep taxes at manageable levels while maintaining high quality services."