Legislators say budget cuts likely
At a Sept. 15 forum that brought together current members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators and a number of candidates for board seats, representatives of each party cited the need to reduce costs when budgeting for the 2012 fiscal year.
The challenge will be maintaining the county”™s infrastructure and services while finding areas to reduce costs, said Lyndon Williams, D-13th District, the board”™s vice-chairman.
Across the aisle, James Maisano, R-11th District, the board”™s minority leader, echoed Williams”™ sentiments and said the county would likely be faced with significant belt-tightening in budget talks.
“I predict that this year”™s budget is going to be very difficult for the Board of Legislators and the county executive,” Maisano said. “We have no choice but to be cutters this year,” he said, estimating the board will need to slice $100 million from the budget.
Both Democrats and Republicans agreed that consolidating services currently provided by both county and municipal governments would be an appropriate starting point.
The forum was sponsored by the Westchester Business Alliance, which is made up of the Business Council of Westchester, the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors, the Building and Realty Institute and the Construction Industry Council.
BOL, Astorino disagree on housing settlement
At a Sept. 16 meeting several county legislators expressed issues with what they say is the Board of Legislators”™ lack of involvement in the county”™s ongoing affordable housing settlement dispute with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
On July 13, HUD sent a letter to County Executive Rob Astorino in which it rejected the county”™s “analysis of impediments” ”“ the fifth such rejection. In response, the Astorino administration sent a letter July 22 to the appointed federal housing monitor James Johnson, requesting that he serve as negotiator between the federal government and the county.
Several legislators have complained that the Astorino administration acted independent of the board in its exchanges with HUD over the past several months, despite a county statute that requires the board to have an active role in the process.
“There was a law that was passed here locally that says the board has to directly participate in the process of developing an implementation plan that is satisfactory and acceptable to the federal government and the court,” said legislator William Ryan, D-5th District, following the hearing. Ryan was chairman of the board when it first approved the agreement between HUD and Westchester for the county to provide for 750 units of affordable housing.
“It has been the position of this administration to do it on its own,” Ryan said. “That violates the law.”
However, Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Astorino, said that for more than a year members of the Astorino administration have met on a biweekly basis with the Housing, Planning and Operations committee of the Board of Legislators.
She said Astorino would welcome additional support from the board. “It”™s the executive”™s obligation to administer the stipulation, but the executive has been very open to them having oversight and involvement,” Proud said.
