Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins has submitted his proposed $2.7 billion-dollar 2027 Operating Budget, a fiscally responsible spending plan that maintains essential County services, prioritizes the needs of residents and remains within the New York State property tax cap despite mounting financial pressures from Washington.
Jenkins said: “We have closed a projected $113 million budget gap through disciplined cost-reduction measures across all County operations. Westchester’s economy performed better than projected and that coupled with extremely stringent department budgeting and eliminating 160 vacant positions, we achieved these necessary savings to close the gap in part. We achieved this without resorting to employee layoffs or drawing down a single dollar from our vital rainy-day reserves.”
Cost Saving Approach:
- Headcount
- Holding the line on vacant positions (Other than Woodfield, see below).
- Eliminating 160 vacant positions and defunding over 300 vacancies.
- Investment Income
- Improved management of County funds, closeout capital projects $10.2 million in unspent bond proceeds and optimizing rebates for pharmacy benefit.
- Equipment Reduction
- Equipment reduction in non-urgent equipment purchases.
- $2.8 million reduction from initial budget requests.
- Contracts Reduction
- Reduction in contracts from the Departments of Planning, Law, Labs and Research and Public Works & Transportation $12.6 millions reduction from initial budget requests.
- Reimbursements
- Maximizing federal and state reimbursements that cover childcare and buses.
Westchester County Director of Operations Emily Saltzman said: “Despite rising costs and evolving federal policy challenges, this budget remains focused on protecting and supporting the vital services that Westchester seniors, families and community organizations rely upon every day.”