Q&A with the County Executive
The Business Journal sat down with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino Oct. 14 to discuss the budgeting process for the 2012 fiscal year, the status of the Tappan Zee Bridge project and other issues the county government will be addressing.
Business Journal: Going into the 2012 budgeting process, what challenges do you expect in discussions with the unions that represent county employees, particularly when it comes to negotiations over health care contributions?
Astorino: “Quite frankly, there hasn”™t been much cooperation over the last 20 months. We”™ve been asking the unions to realize the sense of urgency and that time is not on anyone”™s side right now. The deficit is big and has to be made up by the end of the year with a balanced budget. The reserves have been drained over the last six years to the point that they are at a dangerously low level and there”™s not much wiggle room anymore.
“Very difficult choices have to be made. We”™ve been asking the unions to pay their fair share ”¦ just like everyone else and if they do they can save jobs, which is really the goal here.
“I certainly don”™t want to have to lay people off. It”™s not pleasant and it affects families. But it”™s a simple math problem right now and everyone has to recognize that these costs are unsustainable. Short-term, we have a $114 million budget gap that has to be made up and as the cost of labor continues to rise at levels that are just unaffordable, we either have to cut programs and services or have less people provide them.
“The average county employee is making far more than the average private-sector worker in this county and more than their counterparts in other unions. So there has to be a little more balance to the equation because right now the taxpayers are getting crushed. They are feeling the loss of jobs, of wages that have been stagnant and of rising health care costs that they are paying for.
“I”™ve been very consistent since I came into office that this is not an attack on unions. But the system is broken and we”™re seeing it at all levels of government. Gov. Cuomo understands the problem and is trying to fix it on a statewide level. It”™s a mess at the federal government level as well and we have not been immune at the county level. To fix the problems, it has to be done long term. You can”™t just limp from budget to budget and put your fingers in your ears and cover your eyes and pretend the problem doesn”™t exist.
“Having said that, we can”™t look for a 10-year solution to this problem. It”™s got to be here and now. We”™re asking for our county workforce to pay the same percentage of health care premiums as their colleagues in state government ”“ and in the same union by the way. Gov. Cuomo asked for and the state unions have agreed to pay 31 percent for their family health care plan. We”™re asking for the same thing. We think it”™s fair, we think it”™s reasonable and it”™s in line with what everyone else is paying in public unions, with the trades and with the private sector. Westchester County unions shouldn”™t be a class unto themselves. Parity with other unions will take the pressure off and that will allow more people to stay employed.
“The numbers don”™t lie ”“ they just don”™t. No matter what spin they try to put on it, the union leaders have to recognize that it”™s a very different world today and to ask for the taxpayer to pay 100 percent of their health care costs is just not reality and it”™s not affordable anymore.”
[Westchester County Communications Director Ned McCormack: Private-sector employees who work in Westchester are making $62,900 on average and paying individual and family-rate premiums of 20 percent to 31 percent for health care. The average county worker is paying zero for health care premiums while making $71,324.]
Astorino: “That”™s base salary. That”™s not including overtime, that”™s not including their benefits, not including their longevity ”¦ Locked into that are salary increases and step increases for people just for walking in the door as opposed to productivity changes or merit or anything like that. That”™s all unheard of in the private sector.”
[McCormack: Since 2006, the salaries of CSEA members, the county”™s largest union, are up 18.5 percent. The CPI (consumer price index) is up only 11.7 percent and the county”™s management employees, who started contributing to their health care costs last year, haven”™t gotten a raise since 2006.]
Do you feel that agreements reached between New York state and the CSEA and PEF unions will strengthen the county”™s position at the bargaining table?
Astorino: “I think it”™s helpful. I think it shows that it can be done and should be done. But state employees have been paying for their health care for quite a while now, while the county employees have been getting a free ride for a very long time. All we”™re asking is for parity. We”™re just asking for them to start contributing to their health care costs just like everyone else is. And certainly like their colleagues that are in the same union, just at a different level of government.”
With regard to the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge, what is the status of the reported sources of funding for the project as they stand today?
Astorino: “It”™s a big question mark. We don”™t have any information other than what the press release said. I want to be as helpful as I can to the governor to get this bridge built, but we have no clue how they”™re going to pay for it. ”¦ Having said that, I”™m glad that the president fast-tracked this so it will presumably get done faster, get more people back to work and get a bridge that”™s deteriorating re-built in a fashion that can help this area.
“What I”™m concerned about is: How are they going to pay for this? You cannot keep raising the tolls to an unacceptable level, which is what we”™re seeing all over at the George Washington Bridge, the Whitestone, the Throgs Neck ”“ it”™s getting crazy. I am not afraid of having a public-private partnership; I think we”™ve got to start looking that way. ”¦
“I think the bridge needs to be built but it also needs to be built not just for today but for the next 25 to 50 years. The problem with the original Tappan Zee was it was almost outdated the day it was built. Why are we going to make that same mistake? We cannot build a bridge for the 21st century with a bridge that was meant for the 20th century, and that”™s a big fear of mine ”“ that they”™re going to replace the bridge today with another 1955 span.”
Proposals for the bridge project that were made public in 2010 included a wide range of mass-transit options. What is your reaction to the reported lack of significant mass-transit options in the new plans?
Astorino: “I just don”™t want the state to be penny-wise, pound foolish. I”™m not one to throw dollars around freely. But if you”™re going to spend money, spend it wisely. And without a mass-transit component on it, you”™re basically going to open a brand-new bridge after spending billions of dollars and have the same traffic problems you have today, and that”™s got to be avoided.
“I think bus-rapid-transit has to be part of this. But it”™s not just filling up buses with commuters and getting them stuck once they get off the bridge in the same kind of traffic delays we now have. The reason people would take mass transit is to avoid traffic jams and to get to work quicker. I”™m concerned that, at this point, there is no money set aside for bus-rapid-transit off the bridge and that there (is no) design for light-rail for commerce and or for commuter rail to get people to and from (work). To just spend billions of dollars to put the same kind of bridge and not address the problems seems like a waste of money.
“But I”™m optimistic that they”™re actually moving forward on rebuilding the bridge. It”™s something I”™ve been screaming about since I got into office because if that bridge were to shut down for any reason it would be economic chaos, as well as commuting chaos, in this region for a pretty long time.”
What role will county government play next year to limit the effects of major flooding encountered with Irene and other storms?
Astorino: “We can certainly play a role and must play a role in some of the regional planning for mitigating the flooding issues. Unfortunately, we don”™t have the money or the power to fix all the problems. ”¦ When you have the federal government with the Army Corps of Engineers, the state, local municipalities and the county all trying to do something, it seems like nobody does anything. And whether it”™s Elmsford or it”™s Rye or it”™s Mamaroneck ”¦ it”™s been the same problems over and over, and some of them are getting worse because of development.
“We have started a reconnaissance plan where we”™re taking the lead to look at and identify the areas of flooding, why they”™ve come about and how to potentially fix them throughout the county. We have partnered with several communities on projects to mitigate flooding in their areas. Rye, Mamaroneck, Elmsford, Tarrytown, Scarsdale ”¦ so those are areas, communities that we are working in partnership with. Part of the partnership includes matching dollars where these communities have to come up with a portion of money themselves.
“One thing I want to shoot down is this myth that in 2007, the previous administration and the county board went around touting a $50 million fund for flood mitigation. There is no money. There never was any money for that. It was a press release and maybe good-intentioned. People think there”™s this huge pot of money sitting there and why aren”™t we spending it. There never was any money. But we have been putting money into specific projects as they come about and where we think the money can make a difference.”
With small businesses accounting for nearly 70 percent of the businesses in Westchester, what initiatives will the county government push for in the coming year to assist struggling owners?
Astorino: “One of the things that we can do is help train people for the jobs of today and tomorrow as opposed to (teaching) outdated skills. Our health care industry is growing and you”™ve got hospitals that are employing a lot of people. We want to train people for the skills that those new facilities are going to be hiring for. ”¦ It”™s really seeing what the need is and trying to fill it, as opposed to just guessing where the work is and where it”™s needed. ”¦
“As we try to expand the economy and add jobs, we want people to have the knowledge (so) that if they”™re going to start a business they know what they”™re getting into and how to actually launch a startup. The biggest problem with startups is financing. Often times, we”™re trying to work with the banks to see what it is that they need when people come in the door looking for small-business loans.
“Also, we can”™t lose sight of the fact that aside from most of the small businesses in the county, we also have corporations and they”™re big employers, too. We have been reaching out to them to let them know how honored we are that they”™re doing business in Westchester, that they choose to have their corporate headquarters here. I think the biggest thing they all want is just some certainty. They want the county government, and government at all levels, to get their acts together, to not tax businesses and people out of their homes. A long-term project that we”™ve begun to work on is to get our own finances in place, to bring some stability, to look at some of the rules and regulations that our own county government controls, to make the environment more business-friendly and to make this area more comfortable for people to live in as opposed to them getting banged over the head with a new tax bill every year.”