Astorino Presents Views on Fiscal and HUD Challenges

POSTED: JANUARY 2012

County Executive Rob Astorino, speaking at the December 20th meeting of the Local Summit of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, laid out his thoughts on his current budget proposal and other issues impacting Westchester, including the impasse with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the 2009 affordable housing settlement.

In Astorino’s view, county and other government expenses have far exceeded taxpayer ability to pay, which has made the definition of “essential services” critical. As an example of this process, he mentioned Playland, which currently runs at a significant deficit, as a county offering that is nice, but not essential. Even essential services such as child care, however, are potential targets for restructuring and increased cost sharing. Astorino contends that the budget he presented on November 13th manages to hold the line at no county property tax increase for the second year in a row while preserving essential services.

He hopes to accomplish this without significant layoffs in the county workforce, although that is ultimately up to union leadership. Saying that the county’s biggest issue is its cost of labor, Astorino made the case that the salary and benefits of county employees have become so imbalanced compared to the county’s private sector workers that the people paying the tax tab can no longer afford it. According to his figures, the average county employee earns $71,000 per year, with fringe benefits bringing that value up to $110,000. The average private employee working in Westchester earns $63,000, must contribute significantly to health care and doesn’t always have a pension. The county’s 500 CSEA workers currently do not pay any cost of their health care, but Astorino is seeking to change this with a cost-sharing deal similar to that negotiated with state employees. Based on the reaction at his recent Town Hall meetings, he believes that most county employees understand the need for this, but added that union leadership so far has not been willing to bend. If an agreement is not reached, the budget must be balanced through layoffs and service cuts.

Astorino reflected that this type of hard decision making is occurring throughout the country, not just here, saying, “it is a harsh reality, but we can no longer have government by ostrich, always counting on the economy to keep pace with our pension and healthcare expenses. We can’t pretend these problems are going away. Today, make no mistake, is when we have to deal with them.”

One bright spot for the county is our shrinking unemployment rate. Currently at 6.2%, it is one of the lowest in the state. Economic development is one of the County Executive’s budget priorities, and he is also seeking ways to make county government more business friendly. Although Astorino feels his administration has been successful at keeping businesses in the county, mentioning Pepsi Bottling in Somers and Atlas Air in Purchase as two success stories, he admits to needing to make the switch from playing defense to adopting more proactive strategies to entice companies to relocate to Westchester. He is particularly excited about the prospect of a “bio tech” corridor that is beginning to take shape in Mount Pleasant, Greenburgh and Yonkers.

Although the county budget is the hot topic, Astorino also took some time to explain his position on the county’s settlement with HUD to create affordable housing units in designated communities where minorities were found to be underrepresented in the 2000 census. Astorino contends that the government is seeking to impose requirements that go outside the scope of the signed settlement agreement and that the demands of the government now are larger and intrusive. In particular, there are two new requirements he feels are outside the scope of the agreement. The first is the demand that the 31 impacted communities revamp their zoning codes, or be sued by the county. The second is the requirement that landlords with four or more rental units accept Section 8 housing, which goes beyond current federal and state law. The county is seeking a federal court ruling on these two issues. This is a case being watched nationally, as the precedent it sets for federal involvement in housing and community planning has consequences across the country.

Since his time for questions was limited, Astorino welcomed hearing from county residents via email sent to ceo@westchestergov.com.

The program was hosted by the Local Summit, an informal, non-partisan community council that seeks to make Larchmont and Mamaroneck a better place to live for everyone. The Summit’s public programs on issues of concern to the community take place at 7:45 a.m. the third Tuesday of every month, at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck.

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