Astorino projects $114 million shortfall
The Westchester County government is likely facing a $114 million budget shortfall for 2012, but said at a press conference Oct. 5 that he hoped to avoid layoffs in exchange for employee concessions.
Preliminary projections of the county”™s fiscal year 2012 budget show that expenses are expected to increase by 5 percent to a total of $1.802 billion, with revenue predicted to increase by just 1 percent to $1.688 billion.
“A tax increase is off the table,” Astorino said in a statement. “Living within our means will require tough decisions.”
County law requires the executive to present a plan for a balanced budget to the Board of Legislators by Nov. 15.
Astorino”™s proposals include asking each department head to reduce their respective budget by 10 to 20 percent, which would save the county an estimated $52 million; and asking for concessions from public employees, including for all public employees to accept a one-week furlough and for union workers to contribute to their health care costs.
If accepted, the concessions could save the county $23 million, with the remaining $39 million of the projected deficit coming from the county”™s reserve fund and from a combination of savings that have resulted from lower interest rates on county bonds, from lower retirement costs, and lower insurance claims in 2011.
White Plains extends ban
At a White Plains Common Council meeting held Oct. 3, the council unanimously voted to extend the citywide moratorium on open space developments, which was set to expire Oct. 17.
With the council”™s vote, the moratorium is extended to May 17 while the council continues to explore a new zoning proposal that would restrict development to 5 percent of an open-space property and require 300-foot buffers between buildings on open-space properties and neighboring homes.
The city has commissioned VHB Engineering and Silverberg Zalantis L.L.P. to review traffic, planning and legal issues surrounding the city”™s comprehensive plan and land-use statutes as the relate to the zoning proposal.
While the moratorium is in effect, the application process for developments may continue, however any final decisions will be put off until after May 17, at the earliest.
Yonkers gets rating cut
Moody”™s Investors Service Inc. downgraded the city of Yonkers”™ bond rating by two notches Oct. 3, citing projected budget gaps through 2015 combined with the New York state-imposed 2 percent tax cap that Moody”™s analysts said will leave the city in a weakened financial position.
The ratings agency dropped Yonkers”™ general obligation bond rating to Baa1, just three levels above “junk” status, down from A2, which is the sixth-highest investment-grade rating.
A steady decline in revenue has placed the city in a difficult position, said city spokesman David Simpson.
“It comes down to a basic problem of revenues for us. It”™s not an expenditure problem, it”™s a revenue problem,” Simpson said. “Every major source of revenue we”™ve had is down ”¦ It”™s very hard to keep pace with rising costs when your revenues go down as they have.
“On top of all that New York state has imposed a two percent property tax cap, so that further hampers our ability to collect revenues.”
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New state agency opens
On Monday Oct. 3, the New York State Department of Financial Services officially opened for business with Benjamin M. Lawsky at the helm.
Lawsky, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor and most recently served as an adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo when Cuomo was the state”™s attorney general, now heads up an agency that has been tasked with overseeing 3,900 banks, insurers, mortgage brokers, and loan servicers that operate in New York state.
As of Oct. 3, the New York state departments of Banking and Insurance ceased to exist, with their operations consolidated under the new Department of Financial Services.
