Westchester League Calls For Mandate Relief, Reval and Flood Mitigation Funds

The Westchester County League of Women Voters, lead by Scarsdale’s Sharon Lindsay has issued the following statement on the proposed Westchester County Budget. The League of Women Voters of Westchester thanks the Board of Legislators (BOL) for this opportunity to present its views on the proposed budget. A copy of this statement will also be given to the County Executive.

The League appreciates efforts made thus far to make budget information more accessible to the public through the County and BOL websites and to bring greater transparency to the Board of Acquisition and Contract, a matter of long-term concern to the League. The on-line Media Center, where the public can view both live and on-demand video of the public Budget and Appropriations Committee meetings with Commissioners, is very helpful. However, we ask that the BOL hold public budget discussions to allow more scrutiny of its own budget.

The League recognizes that the budget process is dynamic; our statement is based on the information available to us when we developed our positions by consensus on November 28, 2011. In this context, we offer the following comments and suggestions.

There is much to like in this budget proposal… much that is not likable but necessary… and much yet to be addressed.

First, what we like.

We applaud holding the county tax levy flat. This is an appropriate measure in light of our residents’ and businesses’ current economic stress.

The League particularly commends the County for not invading the undesignated fund balance. This sound financial policy should help preserve our AAA Bond rating. The ability to borrow, at low cost, could finance much needed infrastructure projects.

Next, what is not likeable, but necessary.

The proposed layoff of 210 County employees, while regrettable, is a consequence of the failure to negotiate new contracts, especially involving shared costs of health benefits. It appears to us this leaves the County with no other alternative.

We understand the program and agency cuts were made to achieve the flat tax goal. But there is the assumption built into the budget that as the County steps back, the cuts will be replaced by Federal and State support, other non-County-government service providers, and private (personal or business) contributions. The League is concerned that the County remain aware that many of these programs and agencies provide services and aid to our residents most in need. Therefore, the League recommends that the County establish a system to carefully monitor and analyze the impacts of these cuts throughout the next year. “Safety nets” for the most in need must continue, even if not paid for by the County.

Finally, we believe there are three major problems not addressed in the proposed budget.

The first, obvious and unrelenting unfunded State mandates. The League recommends that the County develop a strategy and assume a leadership role in lobbying for mandate reform, even if it requires additional resources, and focus on mandate relief in its 2012 County Legislative Agenda for the State.

The second area we urge you to address is county-wide reassessment (“reval”). No matter how much you decrease property taxes, if they are unfairly assessed meaningful tax relief has not been accomplished. There is no allocation in the budget to support “reval”, which is widely acknowledged to be long overdue. The Collaborative Assessment Commission, created by BOL resolution, recommended that the County provide support to local municipalities for reassessment. Those recommendations, supported by the League, have seemingly been ignored in this budget. We are cognizant of the need to restrict expenditures, but the County has presumably budgeted in 2012 for at least the $12 million it expended this year on tax certiorari proceedings and must recognize that each local municipality bears similar substantial costs. If the County is serious about tackling taxation in Westchester, we urge you support and encourage reassessment efforts.

The third, and we believe most important omission in the proposed budget, is flood mitigation. It has been almost five years since the 2007 100-year storm, where the six major watersheds in the County flooded and caused not only disruption of public and emergency services, but also caused substantial property damage for our residents. This is a local, a County, and a regional issue. Floodwaters do not respect municipal boundaries. By not continuing to appropriate funds to support mitigation programs, by not coordinating and bringing pressure to bear on State and federal authorities to deal with this problem, the County is abandoning an appropriate leadership role. Once again, we are aware of the need to conservatively spend County revenues but, in a climate of historically low interest rates and given the County’s AAA rating and low debt, the funds necessary to accomplish this could be raised by debt issuance and appropriately so, since flood mitigation projects will convey benefits to our residents over decades to come

The League of Women Voters of Westchester thanks Mr. Lawrence Soule, Budget Director, for his availability and the information he provided to us and to the public at the League-sponsored informational meeting on the budget. We also thank the Board of Legislators and the County Executive for their consideration of our concerns and suggestions.