If Kathleen Jimino could eliminate Rensselaer County”™s Medicaid obligation, she could cut county taxes overnight by 60 percent.
Jimino, who as Rensselaer”™s county executive was making no such appeal, cited the figure to drive home the burdens Albany places on counties via mandates.
As the property tax cap has come to dominate headlines, a chorus of county executives is sounding off that a cap without mandate relief is, in the words of Dutchess County Executive Bill Steinhaus, “a hoax, a fraud, a scam.”
Four county executives ”“ Robert Astorino from Westchester and Scott Vanderhoef from Rockland, plus Jimino and Steinhaus ”“ took the dais June 7 at Dominican College in Blauvelt and told 100 guests of the Palisades Institute of Dominican College that mandates, more than any other issue, are strangling their budgets.
Pensions and Medicaid taken together ”“ two of the largest mandates ”“ would outpace a 2 percent property tax cap by 348 percent in a typical scenario, the audience learned.
Steinhaus said in some ways he runs a $400 million-per-year business. But, unlike a business, Dutchess workers “cannot plow every other snowstorm or answer every other 911 call to make ends meet. Taking a 911 call on the second ring is not the same as calling customer service at Sears,” he said.
Astorino said he oversees a budget with a $103 million deficit “and no low-hanging fruit.” He called Westchester”™s system of 425 different tax districts “ludicrous, insane.” In the arena of better communication and/or consolidation, Astorino drew a laugh with a snowplow scenario apparently familiar to all: “The state plow goes by, then the county plow, then the town plow and then the village plow just to make sure it”™s all off the road.”
Astorino said county government must choose its tasks: “If we”™re going to survive, the counties need to get out of the businesses we should not be in.” He said Westchester, like other counties, is getting out of the mental health clinic business ”“ a relationship fraught with conflict-of-interest potential since the county oversees such clinics.
Vanderhoef forcefully said that for all of the property-tax cap talk, “There has not been one vote to limit mandates.” He said that, absent Medicaid alone, he could forestall tax increases for 10 years.
Steinhaus said there is a “Grand Canyon” in difference of perspective between state legislators and county executives, namely, “The amount of money you have should directly relate to the amount of money you spend.” Both he and Astorino referred to Albany as “the beast” or “the beast that eats and eats” and they similarly agreed, in Steinhaus”™ words, “If the money”™s there, the beast eats.”
Jimino, who is in her third term as Rensselaer”™s executive, described a “pressure cooker” ”“ pressing her hands together ”“ to illustrate the battle between money and services.
The executives must deal with mandates and then dispense the leftovers to budget lines like drug intervention and parks. “When your budget is tight, you don”™t have steak; you have hamburger,” she said. “But the state has steak and sends us the bill. Albany should try hamburger for a while.”
