Blaming Trump, Jenkins Signs Westchester Austerity Budget

$2.5B Westchester Plan Slashes Departments 8%, Eliminates 180 Jobs But Spares Layoffs and Core Services

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Dec. 16, 2025) — Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins signed the 2026 county budget Monday, a $2.5 billion tax cap-compliant plan that cuts nearly every department by 8%, eliminates 180 positions and reduces the county workforce by almost 5%.

“This budget was not shaped by ideology or politics, but reality,” Jenkins said during the signing ceremony. “In our uncertain times, our responsibility is to lead, and this budget does exactly that.”

Jenkins described the spending plan as “a direct response to the Trump turmoil coming out of Washington” and said financial difficulties from 2025 would carry into 2026 and likely beyond.

The cuts include a hard hiring freeze and elimination of 180 positions, saving $28 million; reductions in contracts, technical services and expenses totaling $34.5 million; reductions in overtime for hourly wage employees of $1.6 million; right-sizing of social services relief worth $5.2 million; and reductions in equipment purchases, materials and supplies.

Despite the reductions, officials said no layoffs occurred and essential services were preserved.

Board of Legislators Chairman Vedat Gashi called it “the toughest budget that I’ve been around” and said it was made difficult by “the actions of the federal government and the president.”

Gashi praised the absence of layoffs, noting the budget is “tax cap compliant,” fiscally responsible, balanced and adopted on time.

Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Jewel Williams Johnson described the process as “one of the most difficult budget seasons in recent memory” marked by federal decisions, but said the final product braces the county “for what’s to come down the road.”

Jenkins said the average homeowner will pay roughly $3 more per month in county taxes.

The budget maintains funding for food security efforts, domestic violence resources, free vaccine clinics, recycling programs, workforce development, senior nutrition, telehealth initiatives, mobile crisis teams and youth mental health programs.

Specific allocations include $16.6 million for low-income daycare, $3.7 million for access to counsel eviction prevention, $2.5 million for child care scholarships, $1.5 million for mental health clinics, $1 million for federally qualified health centers, $500,000 for black maternal health care and $300,000 for the HERO program.

Unavoidable cost increases cited in the budget include nearly $50 million in rising health care costs, $14 million in state-mandated pension growth, $10 million for transportation for children with special needs and $13 million in increased debt service.

Watch the news conference here:

This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.