WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. News & Comment By John F. Bailey. December 13, 2009: I spilled my coffee on the editorial page of the Journal News Sunday morning when I read the Editorial Board analysis of county legislators Mike Kaplowitz , Ken Jenkins, Judy Meyers, John Nonna, Bill Burton and Peter Harckham $7.6Million cut on the budget the six announced last Wednesday, because they had learned just last week the county was in trouble financially.
The exact line in the editorial reads, “Kaplowitz said the group was spurred to act by the stark realization that there was a $45 Million tax hole – from overestimating sales tax revenue – in Spano’s Budget.”
Stark realization? Glory be!
Had Mr. Kaplowitz and his “Slashing Six” been doing any work the last five months, or been reading this website on a regular basis, they would have known this.
Or if they were at all concerned they could have called up the County Budget Director. The County Department of Communications told this reporter in August that the county was monitoring the sales tax collections. Some monitoring.
Kind of like monitoring the Asian Carp getting into the Great Lakes?
Did we see any cutback in spending by the Spendo administration?
Did we hear any talk from the Slashing Six about, hey Andy, maybe we should cut a little?
In August, this website published the mid-year figures from the Department of Taxation and Finance, and we did so again in September. In September the deficit projected at $60 Million if the November, December period did not perform well ahead of last year. After seven months, county sales tax was running 12.5% below the 2008 pace, a $38 Million shortfall, if the trend continued. In September it compounded to a $60 Million deficit, on projected revenues of $478.2 Million (see http://www.wpcnr.com/article7642.html).
Now that’s just using simple baseball statistics. What do these clowns do all day at the Michaelian Building anyway? Monitoring. Are you kidding me?
They were asleep at the wheel. They were budgeting “BUI” (Budgeting Under the Influence of Cashohol.) They should have their budgeting license revoked.
Any group of fools could run a county $45 Million in the red. There are a lot of them in Albany who are so smart they have run the state into a $3.2 Billion deficit.
Since the county budget is about to be voted on in a few hours, I suggest this Kaplowitz-Jenkins, Meyers, Nonna,Burton, Harckham thing is a face-saving ploy so that these six legislators can say they were for budget-cutting, and attempted to cut the budget next time they run. I am so sorry I skipped this news conference.
If I were a real cynical reporter, and the fact that the six legislators had the nerve to say this deficit was a surprise, is an insult to every person in the county, not employed by county government.
I would say this is just pre-2011 election posturing positioning by these six persons. They take the cost-cutting position, and let the rest of their legislators carry the ball and pass the budget as is.
But the $7.6 Million cut still will kill the taxpayer with pretty much the same tax increase because these axe-wielders are cutting the budget by POINT 4% — less than a half percent cut!
I want that to sink in, folks.
The KJMNBH $7.6 Million budget cuts amount to POINT 4% LESS than a HALF percent cut in the budget.
Boy you can call these guys real slashers!
This, by the way is about half what the county paid for the Saw Mill River Road warehouse to pay for housing election machines.
This is cost-cutting? We have a lot to look forward to.
Your legislators have shown once again the contempt they show for the people they govern by this grandstand play.
What is even more laughable, is County Legislator Board Chair Ryan’s statement that, according to the Journal News quoting Mr. Ryan, the Kaplowitz team play was decribed by Bill Ryan as “this is a long laundry list of management cuts put forth without analysis and no indication as to whether or not it will improve government or not.”
Analysis? The county analyze?
Usually it’s how does this benefit our supporters is the only analysis they do.
Improve government? Now that’s a concept!
What might improve government for starters both in the County Legislature and the White Plains City Council is paying attention.
Not just showing up and jawboning and wringing hands when the tax dollars have already been spent, and more to the point the statistics foreshadowing the budget hole have been right there in your face for the last six months, ladies and gentlemen.
Someone should have told Andy.
This is incompetent government.
Now, just suppose the $7.6 Million proposal of Kaplowitz, Meyers, Nonna, Burton and Harckham goes through. They now can claim the mantle of budgeteers and will be reminding you all of this in 2011 when you go to the polls to vote for them again!
They are on-record as opposing Mr. Ryan, and are betting this will position them as in favor of efficient spending cuts. (That’s mighty strong political hay with a ½% budget cut.)
Honestly, we pay these guys for this kind of performance?
Where were they six months ago?
They could have been calling on Andy Spendo to cut the budget.
But, they could not conceive that Uncle Andy would lose the election, and certainly didn’t want to get Andy mad at them. So they said nothing.
Now they’re worried.
Where are they going to be six months from now?
They will be fighting for all those services their supporters want, protecting them from County Executive Rob Astorino’s “draconian” “stark” budget cuts, and crossing their fingers that the “recovery” is strong.
What a job they have, and it’s only part-time.
It would be nice if they worked part of that part-time, wouldn’t it?
Perhaps make a phone call once in a while and say, hey Andy, how is the sales tax going?
Ya think?
