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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. November 10, 2020:
Westchester County Executive George Latimer today proposed a $2.091 Billon 2021 County Budget that was balanced with no carryover of the dire deficit piled up in 2020.
This was made possible in part by federal covid-19 Aid that was not entirely used and carried over to 2021, preserving the present level of the County’s reserve fund, after it was spent for balance what is believed to a major portion of the deficit caused by Covid and County economic lockdown.
The estimated $80 Million deficit in sales taxes created by the devastating impact on sales tax revenues of the coronavirus combined withn the county’s optimism of the effect of the 1% sales tax increase revenues budgeted for ($147 Million) in 2020 was made up by several positive steps the county took to precut 2020 expenditures the last 5 months.
The “Voluntary Separation Incentive” proposed by the county executive resulted in 226 persons leaving county service August 1. Cuts of positions of approximately 55 persons (presumably taking the retirement program offered by the county in August in reaction to the plummet in county revenues) created part of the savings.
Increased mortgage taxes balanced some of the revenue due to the unprecedented boom in high priced real estate all summer long, but that was not quantified in today’s presentation. But is up strongly due to the increase in real estate prices for upscale homes.
The key to balancing the 2020 deficit was the Covid Aid the County received for Covid expenses. The county spent part of it for covid related expenses, hunger relief, the Business First progra health department expenses.
Fortunately for the county, all the Covid money was spent. The remainder went to the County Reserve Fund, which enabled the county to replenish the Reserve Fund at the 2020 level, Mr. Latimer indicating that part of the existing 2020 Reserve fund was used to finish 2020 balanced.
The budget assumes there will be a 20% cut in state aid. The budget in the official press release says “As a result this (2021) Budget must rely on drawing all of our projected increase.”
( Editor’s note: the projected increase in the reserves was created, by leftover covid surplus, sent to the 2020 reserves.)
Mr. Latimer said: “the county was able to secure direct Federal assistance under both the Families First and CARES Acts. This allowed the county to fund the additional costs that have arisen due to the pandemic as well as maintain essential county services.”
Going forward, Mr. Latimer said the county was budgeting $696 Million in sales tax revenues in 2021, (about $80 Million less , he said)than the approximately $147 Million budgeted for 2020).
The estimated sales tax revenue in 2021 actually is in line with what the sales tax revenues should finish 2020 at according to WPCNR estimates at the last state sales tax report in October.
Latimer said the county expects to make $662 Million in 2020 through December, which he points out in the county budget news release as being $80 million below the $742 Million projected in 2020 that did not materialize.
The budget increases economic development money, housing assistance, and food insecurity programs by $5 Million each. There are no layoffs, no furloughs, no service cuts and no borrowing for pension funds.
The Capital Budget in the 2021 budget that appropriates $231.8 million in new appropriations for capital projects, the news release on the budget states. It includes $112 million to improve the environment including a food scrap recovery facility, 100 Hybrid replacement buses and electric vehicle charging stations.