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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the  Westchester County Department of Communications. July 27, 2011 (EDITED):

Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino in an attempt at damage control over county credit being give a “Negative Outlook” by Moody’s Investors Service issued this news release:

In recognition of Westchester County’s prudent management, all three rating agencies in the past week have reaffirmed the county government’s AAA bond ratings, Astorino announced. 

            “This is an important accomplishment for us,” said Astorino. “The reaffirmation is a recognition that Westchester County is being well managed as it works through a difficult economic environment. We are making tough but smart choices to reduce our workforce and cut spending, while continuing to provide essential services. In practical terms, having three AAA ratings means that our costs when we borrow are kept as low as possible.”

            However, Astorino noted that one of the agencies, Moody’s Investors Service, qualified its rating by putting the county government on a “negative” outlook, based on what it said was too much use of reserve funds to balance its budget. The two other rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Reports, maintained the county government on a “stable” outlook.

            Astorino added that Moody’s has also made it clear in a separate report that what happens to the federal government, as Congress deals with the debt ceiling, could have implications on Westchester County.  If  the federal government is downgraded, Westchester is one of the 440 AAA-rated local governments that Moody’s says is “indirectly linked” to the federal government and could be downgraded as well.  

            Westchester County currently has a general reserve fund of about $160 million, down from $201 million in 2006. Rating agencies generally want a reserve fund balance to be about 5 percent of expenditures, a criteria Westchester County government currently meets.

“Moody’s warning is significant and cannot be ignored,” Astorino noted.”At budget time last year, I warned the Board of Legislators that they were on shaky financial ground when they dipped into our reserve fund to restore spending cuts that I had proposed. In my State of the County message last April, I said that the county was ‘fortunate but fragile.’ As the legislators look ahead to the 2012 budget, I hope they will heed this warning.”

            Here are highlights of the rating agency reports:

·        Standard & Poors: The AAA rating reflected what S&P said was  “maintenance of a strong financial position, despite the recent drawdown of reserves and low-to-moderate overall debt burdens with rapid amortization.” The agency noted that the county had made workforce reductions and had consolidated some departments to reduce costs. “The primary strengths are the county’s comprehensive budget planning and monitoring policies,” the report stated. The report further stated: “The stable outlook reflects our expectation the county will continue to control expenditures in light of the recently passed New York State property tax cap legislation, and maintain its solid financial position  and reserves.” 

·        Moody’s : The agency said the county has a large and diverse tax base and  a strong socio-economic profile, but noted that there will be continued pressure on operations due to the “narrowing” of the reserve and a dependence on “economically sensitive” revenues such as state aid and sales tax and hotel tax. On a positive note, Moody’s said the county’s debt load was “manageable,” and credited the county with recently shedding its obligations to guarantee the debt of the Westchester Medical Center.

·        Fitch: Fitch Ratings cited the county’s fiscal discipline and modest debt levels as key contributing factors to the high rating and “stable” outlook. Fitch said the county’s “active management of expenses” and a “…demonstrated willingness to reduce expenditures to moderate larger budget gaps and budget conservatively” have helped Westchester County to maintain a strong credit profile.

WPCNR WATER WATCH. From the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. (EDITED) July 26, 2011:

Current health advisories remain unchanged since yesterday’s DEP decision to close Midland and South Beach, and Cedar Grove Beach in Staten Island, and Sea Gate in Brooklyn.

 DEP is still working around the clock to stabilize the operations that have been restored and is putting affected systems  at the 135th Street/12 Avenue plant back in working order. Of the plant’s five engines used to pump wastewater into the facility, only two engines need to be operating during dry weather to handle the wastewater flow into the plant.

The wastewater that is being processed is receiving primary treatment and chlorine disinfection, which are the key components of the sewage treatment process needed protect public health. DEP is making progress restarting a third engine at the plant, which will provide redundancy during dry weather and add additional capacity during storms.

Signs have been placed at the beach entrances to alert the public to the closure. The four beaches will remain closed for swimming and bathing until the Health Department has made a determination that it is safe to swim. The decision to close these beaches was based on a review of both water flow through the harbor and an evaluation of actual water samples taken at the shoreline.

Alternative beaches, such as Coney Island Beach, Rockaway Beach, Orchard Beach, Manhattan Beach and Wolfe’s Pond Beach, remain open and unaffected based on current water quality modeling and sampling. Fifty-four outdoor pools are open for swimming as well. Call 311 to find the pool nearest to you.

Beaches and status changes will be available to the public through website postings at the City’s beach website www.nyc.gov/health/beach, at www.nyc.gov under NYC Right to Know, and at www.nyc.gov/health, the City Information Hotline 311, and those who have signed up to Notify NYC will receive up to date status information relating to public beaches via Twitter, RSS, email and SMS.

In the event of rainfall that would trigger a wet weather advisory, the Health Department will issue standard wet weather advisories for public beaches through 311, Notify NYC and its Web page. Descriptions of wet weather advisories can be found at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/beach/beach_adv.shtml#wetweather.

The city Parks Department is restricting access to the river at the 79^th Street Boat Basin and has placed signs prohibiting kayaking, canoeing and other recreational activities from all city boat launch sites along the Hudson River and other appropriate sites. The Hudson River Park Trust as well as the Battery Park City Authority also installed similar signs at sites under their jurisdiction. During the initial incident, the New York City Police Department Harbor Unit patrolled near the plant to ensure boaters kept a proper distance.

DEP and the Health Department continue to take samples in the harbor and at permitted beaches that could potentially be impacted. For the most up-to-date information, go to the NYC Health website at www.nyc.gov/health, the DEP website at www.nyc.gov/dep, or call 311. Individuals can also receive proactive alerts by signing up through 311 for Notify NYC, the city’s official source for information about emergency events and important city services. Riverbank State Park, located atop the treatment plant, is open. Westchester County and New Jersey DEP are also performing water sampling and water flow modeling to determine any impacts on their rivers and beaches.