THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of the State Comptroller. November 10, 2009:  State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, in a statement last week and special budget report, not covered in depth in other media described the New York State three year budget out look in these terms:

“The state is facing a three-year budget gap of more than $27.5 billion. The state’s fiscal picture can’t be ignored any longer. New Yorkers understand you can’t spend more money than you make. The state needs to learn that lesson.

New York is on track to spend $4.1 billion more this year than it will take in. That is irresponsible and unacceptable. Taxpayers deserve better. The state has to stop treating New Yorkers like ATMs. The cash machine is empty.”

 

New York State, according to the Comptroller,  faces a cumulative General Fund gap of up to $27.5 billion through fiscal year 2011-12 even as the Governor and the Legislature confront a deficit in the state’s current budget that could exceed $4.1 billion, according to a spending and revenue report State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released today as part of the state’s “Quick Start” budget process.

 

“Albany has played roulette with taxpayers’ money for too long,” DiNapoli said. “And now, in the face of the greatest fiscal challenge in our recent history, the game continues. New Yorkers understand you can’t spend more money than you make and they are tired of waiting for the state to learn that simple lesson. Taxpayers deserve better. The state has to stop treating New Yorkers like ATMs.”

DiNapoli’s Report on Estimated Receipts and Disbursements indicates New York’s three-year, cumulative General Fund gap through FY 2011-12 could approach $27.5 billion — which is $3.6 billion higher than the Governor’s estimate for the same period. Based on an analysis of the Enacted Budget and actual revenue and spending results through the first half of the fiscal year, DiNapoli projects the current year gap could reach $4.1 billion if present trends continue and spending is not aligned with revenue.

 

DiNapoli warned that while there are signs of economic recovery, revenue collections are still declining and may be slow to bounce back due to the state’s reliance on revenue related to employment and consumption, such as personal income and sales and use taxes, which account for 60 percent and 25 percent of New York’s tax base respectively.

 

Additionally, the state went into the recent recession with a structural budget problem due to years of over-reliance on temporary fixes, debt issuances and other gimmicks routinely used to finance recurring spending without regard to long-term implications. While payment delays and temporary loans may allow the state to manage its cash through the year, these are only temporary solutions that postpone the implementation of long-term solutions to the state’s worsening budget gap.

The DiNapoli report also found:

• More than $11 billion used to close the $17.9 billion fiscal year 2009-10 General Fund gap was either non-recurring “one-shot” or temporary revenue, including nearly $4.9 billion in federal stimulus funding (scheduled to end in FY 2010-11), $1.7 billion in non-recurring actions and $4.5 billion in temporary revenue actions (ranging in duration from three to five years);
  
• 
  
• While the budget included approximately $775 million in recurring revenue and $6 billion in recurring spending reductions, the greater dependence on temporary resources illustrates that the current budget did little to address the state’s long-term structural imbalance, and instead exacerbated the problem;
  
• 
  
• The state faces potentially significant cash flow shortfalls in the months of November and December, which will have to be addressed. Although the Governor has begun to take action to manage these shortfalls, it is unclear what further actions may be taken. For example, due to the state’s worsening cash flow situation, the Governor delayed much of the scheduled October and November School Property Tax Relief Program (STAR) payments to December. This increased the projected December STAR payment to $2.5 billion, exacerbating the cash flow challenge for that month. There is also a significant school aid payment of $1.6 billion due in December;
  
• 
  
• The Governor reversed his earlier decision and has decided not to prepay the state pension payment, costing the state an additional $30 million in interest;
  
• 
  
• Significant structural gaps are projected in each of the next three fiscal years. The Division of the Budget (DOB) is projecting that All Funds spending will approach $152 billion by FY 2012-13 while All Funds revenue will only be $132 billion. DOB projects that General Fund spending growth from FY 2009-10 through FY 2012-13 will be 37 percent, while General Fund receipts growth will be only 3.4 percent over the same period.

 

 

 

 WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. November 10,2009: County Executive-Elect Rob Astorino announced this morning he is establishing a series of “subcommittees” by next Monday to analyze operations of all Westchester County Government Departments, possibly leading to a plan for downsizing within the next seven weeks.

County Executive-Elect Rob Astorino beginning his meeting with his new Transition Team at Westchester One Wednesday morning.

 

 

 

Astorino said he expected after the Subcommittee written reports were submitted, that decisions would then be made by him and his transition team as to how many executives, workers, and who would stay and who would go, and what departments might be contracted, meaning that county employees not under contract, or any job-security assurance can expect notice of their fate in mid-December. Astorino added he’d be being briefed by the HUD Adminstrator on the county housing obligation to build $60 Million of affordable housing Thursday.

 

These sub-committees  will submit written reports back to him by December 10, (after reviewing what the departments do, who is doing what in them) and recommend what departments would be cut back, consolidated, or remain as is in the new county administration. They would also be responsible for recruiting “top talent” to go to work for the new administration.

 

Astorino said that he and his team are working with the outgoing administration (describing them as “cooperative”), to determine who is under contract, where positions are protected and other factors that would affect downsizing decisions. Astorino said downsizing was an obvious mandate resulting from the voters’ overwhelming choice in last week’s election.”The people of Westchester voted for change last Tuesday, and it is our duty to deliver it.”

 

He said that administrators doing their jobs well and who believe in this philosophy may indeed remain in his administration.

 

Astorino said he would be establishing a website within the next week, for volunteers who wished to serve on these analytical subcommittees, as well as applying for positions.

 

The subcommittees, Astorino said which would be supervised by his transition team he announced today. He added that he expected to convene a task force on downsizing county government after he took office the first of the year.  He said he would be announcing major members of his new team before December 10^th, perhaps as early as next week.

 

Astorino ran the news conference today,convening his new Transition Team which would be conducting the analysis of County government via the subcommittees they will establish, and introduced the distinguished group to the media.

 

They are:

 

Kevin Plunkett, (right) partner in the law firm of DelBello, Donnellan, Weingarten Wise & Wiederkerhr, White Plains, a major legal influence in the county who chairs the Team. Ale Frederico, Vice President (left) – Team Leader, TD Bank Government Banking, who participates on the Board of Directors of White Plains Hospital Center, Chair of the Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and founding Board member of 100 Hispanic Leaders.

 

 

Kay Carsky, (far right) former member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators for 19 years, when she represented Yonkers.

 

 

Wiley Harrison, (Left) Chairperson of the Board of the Thomas H. Slater Center, President of Your Business LLC, a financial services firm, and who also serves as Treasurer of the Business Council of Westchester. He is seen with Robert Elliot, Mayor of Croton-on-Hudson from 1991 to 2005 and former President of the New York State Conference of Mayors and the Westchester Municipal Officials Association.

 

 

 Thomas F. Eagan (right) former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York from 1996 to 2007, who was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from 1985 to 1992, and Harry J. Wilson, (left)  recently Senior Advisor to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, where he was one of four leaders of the working team that arranged the restructurings of General Motors and Chrysler. Now described as a private investor, Wilson has worked at Silver Point Capital, The Blackstone Group and Goldman, Sachs.