SCHENECTADY COUNTY Officials see up to $16M shortage Budget picture looks bleak for 2009 BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
When the Schenectady County Legislature last November passed an “austerity” budget for 2008, legislators warned that there could be more difficult fiscal times ahead. Well, the warning bells are now ringing. Two months into a new fiscal year, county officials are confronting a revenue shortage estimated at between $12 million and $16 million looking toward 2009. At least three Democrats are calling for a minimum tax increase coupled with budget cuts, and the county has started working on its budget months ahead of schedule; it must adopt a budget by Nov. 1. County officials are also suggesting they may take steps this year to reduce costs to lessen 2009’s problems. The scope of the reductions has not been determined. “We are starting the process early. When you lose a million here and there, you have to look at the budget earlier,” said Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee. “There are gaps in revenues, which are estimates and they change.” County Manager Kathleen Rooney, who develops the tentative budget that goes to the Legislature in October, said “overall, we will have less money,” compared to projections, and “we may need to look at things differently. We are doing a number of things to mitigate any potential hits.” PLANNING, NOT PANIC County Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, called the revenue projections part of the planning process and urged calm. “The county is a solvent corporation. We are undertaking a real-round budget process, which is to continue looking at ways to maximize efficiences [and] work toward a streamlined budget in 2009,” Savage said. In the end, Fields said, “we will balance the budget. The balance is not there yet. It is premature to say what the results will be, but certainly we may have to start thinking about things to sacrifice. We are not looking at balancing the budget on the backs of taxpayers.” Fields plans to hold a special meeting Saturday to outline the county’s financial predicament. He plans to invite economists and representatives of the New York State Association of Counties. “We can bring the problem to the people and let them understand the tough decisions we may face,” Fields said. “It is going to take a lot to get there. Mountains will have to be moved.” Mark Lavigne, spokesman for the state association of counties, said Schenectady is not alone in its fi scal problems. “There are other counties, like Chautauqua and Rockland, facing shortfalls.” He said “right from get go, and before you look at the governor’s budget, you have a 3 percent increase in Medicaid spending. And that’s without any additional programs and service cost increases.” LOOKING FOR CUTS Schenectady County adopted a $283.4 million budget for 2008 with a 5 percent increase in the property tax levy. The budget itself only grew by 1 percent in expenditures from the prior year. The initial tax levy increase was 9.7 percent. To reduce it, the Democrat-controlled Legislature cut around $3 million from the budget. The items cut came from so-called discretionary areas in the budget, areas such as supplies and equipment, staffing and professional service contracts. Under the adopted budget, a homeowner in the city with a house valued at $110,000 would pay $1,107 in county taxes while a homeowner in Glenville would pay $773 for a house with the same value. Legislators say approximately 80 percent of the county budget is mandated, leaving approximately $30 million open to cuts. Non-mandated areas include services for senior citizens, veterans and youths, public health and the library system, among other departments. Fields said the county’s fiscal problems reflect a mix of many factors. He said the county will see approximately $7 million less than expected in sales tax revenues and $1.5 million less in mortgage receipts between 2007, 2008 and 2009 due to a worsening economy. Except for one year, the county has budgeted conservatively for these revenues. It over-estimated the fi gures for the 2008 budget. The county also will lose approximately $2.7 million in federal revenues for the Glendale Home, the county-owned nursing home, and for the county’s program for children with special needs, Fields said. The county expects to spend more than $7 million in 2009 to subsidize the Glendale Home. MANDATED BURDENS Should Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s Executive Budget take effect, the county could also lose an additional $1.5 million in state aid and would have to pay more for some mandated programs. The governor’s budget shifts approximately $77 million in costs to local counties in 2008 and 2009, the state association of counties said. Fields said the county expects to see large cost increases in 2009 in areas over which it has little or no control. Employee health insurance and wages will increase by $3 million; the county’s debt will increase by $1 million due to interest in bonds as part of the GE sales tax repayment settlement; and the county will see a $1 million increase in local Medicaid program costs, despite a state government cap. The county is also under state mandates to increase the number of correctional officers at the jail and to correct deficiencies in the county courthouse, costs that will add hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to the county budget, Fields said. “We would like to see changes in mandates; they are onerous,” he said. PATRONAGE PROBLEM Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Niskayuna, sees the county’s fi - nancial problems differently. “They spend way too much money. It’s not a revenue stream problem; it is a spending problem,” he said. Farley accused Democrats of adding to the cost of government by hiring people for patronage positions in government. “They have far too much patronage,” he said. He listed the $80,000-per-year job Democrats gave to former Legislator Edward Kosiur in January as well as several staff jobs in the county Legislature department. Republicans followed the same practice when they controlled county government for 37 years, said county Legislator Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady. A review of the list of management-confi - dential employees shows numerous well-connected current and former Republican Party officials, ward leaders, deputy mayors and party chairmen and their children and relatives. Some current and past GOP patronage appointees include pharmacist Ralph Comanzo, a former GOP majority leader; Assistant Public Defender Joseph Litz, brother of Republican Rotterdam Town Justice Ken Litz; and Chief Defense Trial Attorney Stephen Signore, brother of Republican former Rotterdam Supervisor Joe Signore. Farley said Republicans in the Legislature “offered many solutions, and they have not accepted anyone of them. They don’t care to listen, and now it has come back and bitten them on the tuchis.” Republicans “stand for fiscal responsibility, and we will stand up and fight for our taxpayers,” he said. DiCerbo said Republican proposals listed savings based on guesswork or were not workable when analyzed. TAX PAIN POSTPONED Two Democratic members of Fields’ Finance Committee, as well as Fields himself, said the Legislature should have raised property taxes by the cost of living to help offset the current revenue predicament. “We should have had a minimum cost of living increase, but you have people in towns where the county tax is a good size and who are feeling the pain of taxes,” Fields said. “We tried to minimize the pain, but if you keep taxes low, you create a seesaw level and perhaps have higher taxes in future years.” DiCerbo, chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, said “taxes should have been raised.” He said the county now faces “drastic cuts or increases in property taxes, sales tax and fees.” One thing the county cannot do, he said, is tap its fund balance, a practice commonly used in prior years. The current fund balance is approximately $15 million, which is less than the 7 percent or 10 percent recommended by the state comptroller’s office and down from $30 million a few years ago. “It is a serious issue, and we are definitely worried. We do not want to jeopardize the county’s longterm financial picture,” DiCerbo said. “I will consider deep cuts and tax increases.” Michael Petta, D-Schenectady, said during the past two years, “I wanted them to put in a 2 percent or 3 percent increase, and we should have been more conservative with sales tax revenues.” Petta said Democrats instead put in a zero percent tax increase one year and raised the amount of sales tax they would collect. “As a result of the recession, they ended up $3 million less than expected” for one year, he said. “They were overly optimistic. They felt with all these new places opening, it would boost sales tax.” Petta said he would consider increasing the county’s sales tax by one-half of 1 percent; it’s now at 8 percent. The increase would generate $8 million to $10 million in revenues for the county, he said. “I am not looking forward to this,” Petta said. The county’s fiscal crunch could cause it to delay some major capital projects, such as dealing with the county library and the TrustCo building. The library is slated for a $7.7 million rehabilitation, paid for in part with county money. The county purchased the TrustCo building several years ago to serve as a new county office building.
Someday they will learn that they need to cut spending and eliminate the pork in their budget. Maybe the Schenectady County Council and Metroplex should sign up for a course of economics 101 at SCCC and learn how to construct a budget that works.
First, for Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola to characterize the 2008 budget as an "austerity" budget illustrates his naivety or his political bias in favor of the Democratic majority in the county government. I attended the public hearing, there was nothing austere about the budget. The positions in county government that were eliminated were postings that had not been staffed.
Schenectady County has the 8th highest property taxes in the entire nation. Despite that distinction, our Democratic majority in the County Legislature is proposing tax increases. The residents of the City of Schenectady and the townships of the county saw a year over year increase in their county taxes of between 6% and 20% in 2008.
It is time for the tax and spend County Legislature to discontinue the creation and award of high paying political patronage positions. Many of these positions, including Kosiur's Youth Program Commissioner position, should be eliminated. The funding to Proctors that was approved in the fall needs to be discontinued. The theater, with the millions of dollars of investment to date must become self-supporting.
An increase in the county sales tax, as proposed by Legislator Petta will further decrease sales tax receipts as consumers purchase goods in surrounding counties. Increasing taxes, rather than reducing spending, is the path taken by those without courage or wisdom in that requires no hard choices and decisions to be made.
The taxpaying electorate must demand accountabilty of the tax and spend Democratic majority that control the city and county governments.
Finally, if the vast majority of county spending is mandated by state and federal public assistance programs, as asserted by Legislator Fields, a study should be performed to determine why the expenditures are so exorbitant in Schenectady County. Does Schenectady County have a greater percentage of residents who are receiving public assistance than in surrounding counties? If yes, why? If no, why are we not hearing of similar budget gaps in those surrounding counties? Are benefits received by those on public assistance guaged to the local cost of living which is presumed to be lower than in downstate areas?
The fleecing of Schenectady County taxpayers continues ...
The county also will lose approximately $2.7 million in federal revenues for the Glendale Home, the county-owned nursing home, and for the county’s program for children with special needs, Fields said. The county expects to spend more than $7 million in 2009 to subsidize the Glendale Home.
Sell the Glendale home to a private investor. The county should not be in the nursing home business.
The state mandates private nursing homes to allocate some beds for government pay. (medicare/medicaid). The rest is private pay. When nursing home residents use all of their personal assets, then medicare/medicaid take over.
DiCerbo, chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, said “taxes should have been raised.” He said the county now faces “drastic cuts or increases in property taxes, sales tax and fees.”
Gee, I wonder which route they will take? Yes, that's my shocked looked!!! They are apparently not happy with the distinction of 8th highest taxed, now they must work on being first. This is what happens when you play politics with the budget.
The whole affair turns my stomach. In the end, we all know that a tax increase gets favored over cutting spending by our esteemed legislators.
Here's a simple, if not knee jerk, solution. Vote EVERY sitting member out that comes up for re-election. We didn't become among the highest taxed overnight so I don't buy it's solely the Democrats at fault. Another 1/2% sales tax increase really rubs me...we're getting doubly banged between paying income tax and sales tax.
Quoted from Michael: ... Vote EVERY sitting member out that comes up for re-election ...
Michael,
I hope that your statement is a result of your frustration but does not reflect your position. There are a few individuals on the Schenectady County Legislature who act with fiscal restraint and have voted against resolutions that propose irresponsible spending. Unfortunately, their voices are not heard as they are in the minority.
It is easiest to throw the baby out with the bath water. I prefer, however, to stay informed of the actions of our elected leaders and to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Let us replace the tax and spend liberals in the Democratic majority party. We can begin with Judy Dagastino in her reelection bid in 2009. I have heard that her party intends to run her with Bob Godlewski in District 4. Those residents in other districts will have to do their parts too if we are to see a change.
$16M shortage is unbelieveable. I can't believe voters continue to re-elect legislators who continually vote for patronage jobs that put us further into debt. I would not be suprised if we are number one and not number 8 someday. A close review of each and every line of the budget should be conducted to determine what is necessary and what is not. There have to be places in the budget that can be drastically cut. Regardless of what political party these legislators are- they need to speak up against spending money we do not have and can not afford. I have been saying since it was first brought up that the county road patrol is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money. The road deputies serve no purpose other than writing traffic tickets. That comes at an expense of 2 million dollars a year. Before the legislators decided to spend 2 million a year of our money, let me ask one question. What kind of analysis was done by police experts or unbiased police officials to come to the conclusion that another police agency was necessary in Schenectady county? If I remember correctly- the decision was based on the false promise of road patrol solely to Duanesburg and Princetown. Now, the sheriffs write tickets in every city and town in the county so they can go to court on every court night and get tens of thousands in overtime each, every year. That county budget could easily be trimmed by 3 million a year if the legislators were willing to make tough decisions, but I do not see many of them willing to speak up or question the creation of jobs that cost millions a year to us. If you are aware of any county legislator who spoke up against the creation of the jobs I refer to or ever ask about what kind of analysis was done to justify such an expenditure, I would like to hear about it- so I know who to vote for.
I can't speak specifically to the Legislators' views and positions re: the Sheriff's Road Patrol. However, I can say with certainty that District 4 Legislator Joe Suhrada has been a vocal opponent to increased spending including the creation of and staffing of patronage positions.
j, I didn't realize until after we had a previous discussion some months ago that the road patrol was created solely for D'bur and P'town. The patrol was set into motion before I was on the board and a newbie when it started. It was created because we did not have a police force designated for our area. When and why did the expansion occur into the towns and cities that already have a police force? I'm sure a close review of each line item is a normal procedure, but they reviewed and decided to stick it to us anyway. With the number of staff the legislaure has to do their work for them I have to wonder if they even bother to understand what makes up each line or do they just take staff word on it.
The reports I've seen from the road patrols (that appear in the gazette blotter summary) show a LOT of drug/dwi/dui/traffic stops. Living on a route that they frequently travel from their HQ to those remote areas, I see them stopping people all the time. They're obligated, as law enforcement officers, to react if they witness a situation - doing any less would be neglectful. They've made numerous pot busts in cars on the road, within city limits - that somehow the city PD couldn't/didn't.
Do I think they're patrolling the city streets? No, there's no evidence to back that up. Do I think they're reacting and stopping people during their normal routes out to D'burg and P'town? Yes - and frankly, if the SPD can't do it, I'm glad they are. Nobody should be criticizing the work these folks do. If they didn't stop these folks, nobody would have. Are the one's they're stopping in the midst of transporting drugs etc to D'burg/P'town? I hope so, for your sakes.
Hhhhhmmmm----SHOW ME THE MONEY TRAIL,,,WHERE DID IT GO??,,,,THERE IS NO SHORTAGE,,,IT WAS THERE LAST YEAR,OR THE YEAR BEFORE? OR THE YEAR BEFORE? OR THE GENERATION BEFORE?----STOP FOLLOWING IN YOUR FATHERS FOOTSTEPS ON THIS ONE.....
GET THE MONKEY OFF OUR BACKS.....UNIONS, ORGANIZATIONS ETC ETC....
I agree with Michael vote out all current sitters and let the babies come in----this is our daycare....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Senior citizen services discussed Public hearing today about funding BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
A majority of senior citizens in Schenectady County wants services and programs that allow them to remain in their homes for as long as possible, according to county research. Delivering those services and programs — and how to pay for them — are subjects of a public hearing today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the county Legislative Chambers. The Schenectady County Department of Long Term Care Services is sponsoring the hearing, a federal and state requirement as part of its 2008-2012 service plan development. Today’s hearing will allow the public to discuss funding and service issues and more, said Cathyrn Berne-Smith, Long Term Care Services manager. “We urge people to come out and speak. We are looking at what we do to see if we can do it better and protect services,” she said. The county proposes to spend $3.4 million next year on services for senior citizens. The money comes from federal, state and county sources, all of which are subject to change, Berne-Smith said. “We don’t know what is going to happen on the state and federal levels,” she said. Schenectady County provides $1.3 million toward these costs; it is not required to provide services to senior citizens but does as a quality-of-life enhancement, Berne-Smith said. “The county is very generous in its support of senior services.” The level of that support could possibly change, said county Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee. The county is looking at a projected $12 million to $16 million revenue shortfall going into 2009, forcing officials to examine all nonmandated programs for cost savings, he said. “That is an area we will look at. We have a large senior population, one of the highest percentages in region, and at the same time we are not getting satisfactory funding to fulfill the things we need to do. Therefore, we have to move a little hill here and there” to balance the budget, Fields said. “We need to streamline along the lines of least resistance,” Fields said. “County government will definitively improve and become even more efficient.” The Long Term Care department provides a variety of services to people age 60 and older, some directly and some under contract. Fields said the county will have to re-examine all contracts with outside agencies as a way to reduce costs. The department’s services range from providing home health aides, legal assistance and respite to transporting meals to shut-ins and offering meals at community sites. It also administers the county’s Home Fuel Tax Rebate Program and the Home Energy Assistance Program. It has contracts with such agencies as Cooperative Extension, Visiting Nurse Home Care and Eddy Senior Care. Berne-Smith said the four-year plan offers some program enhances at little or no cost. She said the department, for instance, updated its Web site, to provide more information on programs and services to senior citizens. The department developed its four-year plan using information from focus groups, interviews and surveys. It sent 5,000 questionnaires to senior citizens in the county, receiving 675 back, or 14 percent. About 32 percent of respondents listed their No. 1 concern as remaining in their homes or returning to their homes and participating in family and community life. They wanted to see services that helped them with finances and medical issues, and they also wanted help in modifying their homes for safety and access concerns. Some 31 percent of the respondents said access and availability of transportation is a major consideration for their remaining in their homes. Nearly half said they own vehicles but are concerned about rising fuel costs, car repairs and maintenance. More than onethird said they completely depend on public transportation, family, friends and other community options for transportation. Lack of transportation, especially at off hours and in rural areas, is challenging and expensive for the seniors, according to survey results. Other survey results showed senior citizens want help paying for their prescription medicine, home repairs and home energy costs. Personal safety, especially for seniors living alone, is a priority. Senior citizens said they wanted to see additional police patrols, neighborhood watch groups and presentations on keeping safe within the community and the home, the survey said. Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com
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