While continuing to express overall satisfaction with the 2012 budget negotiated with the Board of Legislators, County Executive Robert P. Astorino today issued a targeted series of vetoes that express his concern over items in the budget that he considers wasteful, harmful to the funding and operation of county government, or not in the best interest of taxpayers.
Astorino sent down 27 vetoes totaling $5.4 million of the $1.689 billion budget. The number is about 10 percent of the 247 vetoes he issued last year.
“That the number of vetoes is much smaller than last year is indicative of the fact that the 2012 budget was forged with bi-partisan support,” Astorino said. “Republicans and Democrats delivered a budget within the broad goals I set – do not raise the tax levy, preserve essential services and protect the county’s triple A credit ratings. But the public also needs to know that there are areas where I think stronger or different actions were needed to address, rather than merely postpone, some of the county’s fundamental financial problems.”
Though he had initially proposed 210 layoffs, Astorino said he would not veto the roughly 180 jobs restored by the Board of Legislators. He hoped this action would be taken for what it is – a good-faith gesture intended to bring a sense of urgency and seriousness to the bargaining table – and not an excuse for the unions to delay talks until the brink of budget negotiations late next year.
“Once again I am renewing my offer of jobs for savings,” Astorino said. “The unions need to know that every month without healthcare contributions means more potential layoffs next year. The math is the math. Union members have to start contributing in a meaningful way for their healthcare – just like everyone else. Otherwise, layoffs are inevitable and the number will be determined by a board that no longer has a Democratic super majority.”
The vetoes for the 2012 budget targeted the following items:
The board’s addition of $1.9 million for a non-mandated subsidy to three non-county neighborhood health centers, while cutting $848,000 from the Health Department’s mandated budget for Early Intervention. The non-county health centers all receive federal, state and private funds and have been operating with surpluses. “To take money from county programs that are mandated and give it to outside agencies for non-mandated programs just doesn’t make sense,” said Astorino.
The board’s addition of $4.3 million for non-mandated day care subsidies, while cutting $5.1 million from the Department of Social Services budget, including $1.3 million from Emergency Assistance to Families and $1.9 million from Child Welfare, both mandated programs. Overall the county will spend $26 million on day care subsidies in 2012. To stretch those dollars to meet the demand, Astorino had proposed raising the parental portion to 35 percent from 20 percent, which would increase by 622 the number of children who could be served. DSS has warned that by keeping the level at 20 percent, it is likely to run out of money for the program in October.
The board’s addition of $243,436 to restore the Route 76 bus line. The county had been losing $8 per rider on this route which only serves 160 passengers. The County Executive had proposed having the route largely absorbed by Route 13. The move would have affected only 30 passengers on Route 76, while eliminating the losses and adding a direct service between Rye and White Plains.
The board’s addition of $990,000 for Cornell Cooperative Extension. Astorino continues to argue that the programs run by CCE duplicate other county-run programs and are non-essential.
The board’s addition of $378,000 for Invest in Kids. Astorino leaves intact funding for $1.3 million in Invest in Kids programs (generally as proposed in his original budget), but vetoed funding for a number of programs run by outside agencies that had either not participated or passed muster during the county’s RFP (request for proposal) process.
Overall, Astorino reiterated his concern that the entire budget process could be more transparent and less rushed. Of specific concern is the board’s practice of having a budget vote the same day that it issues its final recommendation for budget deletions. “Until the deletes are presented, there is no way to have meaningful discussions on the final budget,” he said. He urged the board to change this “self-imposed” practice and allow sufficient time for the public and press to evaluate and comment on budget changes.
