The Westchester County Association invited the three leaders of the county legislature ”“ Chairman Ken Jenkins, Minority Leader James Maisano and Majority Leader Peter Harckham ”“ to Tarrytown March 2 for its annual “Breakfast with the Leadership of the Westchester County Board of Legislators” at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill.
The legislators agreed on the need for work in arenas like pensions and health care and cited much comity leading to accomplishments such as workforce reductions. But a ruckus over Section 8 housing staffing that surfaced late in the morning indicated slings and arrows remain part of the county political scene.
The crowd was a full house of some 150 WCA members and guests. The WCA had similarly hosted a breakfast with County Executive Rob Astorino in January.
“It”™s all about balance,” said Jenkins, accepting the microphone from WCA President William Mooney. “We must strike a balance between those who pay for services, those who receive services and those who deliver them.”
Jenkins acknowledged many legislature votes are unanimous, but only because the real wrangling has gone on in committee. “We are now streaming committee actions, where most of the work is done,” he said. “We had between 800 and 1,000 people streaming the budget process. Phones and Blackberries were going off from the instant feedback we were getting. People were saying: ”˜He”™s lying; ask him another question.”™”
Jenkins hailed recent achievements such as a 10 percent reduction in the county workforce and a $30 million reduction in spending. Additionally, he said, the county has a $54 million surplus and a bond rating of “AAA.”
Jenkins said, “There”™s no one who doesn”™t want to save money. But we have to work together to deal with the issues at hand.” Quoting a speaker from a different meeting, he said, “”˜We have to right-size, not capsize government.”™ County government is involved in valuable services in Westchester: shelter, mental health, the safety net. I”™d like to reduce taxes, but it doesn”™t make sense if the county gives you a tax break and the local municipality has to raise taxes to make up for it.
“We need to make sure we keep businesses from running away because they can”™t afford to stay here,” he said. “But we can”™t destroy the safety net that is so important here.”
A battle over 38 workers affiliated with a Section 8 housing office re-erupted in civil tones, with both sides staking out their ground: Jenkins and Harckham for the Democrat majority defending the jobs ”“ mandated as they interpret the law ”“ and Maisano for the GOP minority, who said, “These workers show up and their jobs are gone; they have nothing to do.”
The give and take attracted the attention of Mooney, who said in closing (to laughter): “I hope you”™ve enjoyed the nonpartisan event.” Acknowledging numbers often present dual edges, Mooney said, “If you are getting money, you believe one set of numbers. If not, you believe a different set of numbers. It”™s up to you to figure out which side you”™re on.”
one area you must look at is the cost of your labor on construction projects in the NY market. we are a nationally based roofing contractor that does prevailing wage projects in 15states. the average cost of a low skilled laborer position is approx $18 or 2 1/2 times what the minimum wage is. in NY that same individual recieves approx $55hr plus benefits. really does anyone wonder why everything is over budget. a pharmasist with 7yrs of education(which my daughter has) only makes a maximum of $58hr. do we want to constantly overlook the obvious? its like nothing i have ever seen. the prevailing wage work in Washington DC is half the price in NY. start with the low hanging fruit and you can control costs.