Day:
“… we continued to provide the critical
services
that our residents pay for
NEW CITY – Rockland County Executive Edwin Day highlighted his efforts to improve the county’s financial condition and eliminate redundancy and waste during his 2015 State of the County message on Tuesday, promising more fat-trimming during the coming fiscal year.
Day has had a tempestuous year in office, particularly during budget season when he locked horns with the legislature over cuts to the sheriff’s office and county-supported nonprofit agencies during an unsuccessful push for a more exacting county budget.
As a strong fiscal conservative, Day continued to call for further reductions of government bureaucracy and alleviated burdens on residents and businesses. However, he opted to avoid discussion of past conflicts, concentrating instead on efforts to create a “culture of responsible spending” which he argued allowed his administration to successfully keep the county’s tax cap below the two percent state maximum and lead the county through a Moody’s credit upgrade.
“Since my first day in office, I, along with members of my administration, have worked hard to find common-sense solutions to our money problems,” Day announced before a packed legislative meeting. “We slashed wasteful spending. We shrunk county government, we consolidated key functions, we cut expenses, we reduced borrowing costs, we restricted hiring, we cut unnecessary travel and we continued to provide the critical services that our residents pay for.”
Perhaps his most ambitious statement was a pledge to pursue a $17 million dedication toward deficit reduction in the 2016 budget. Though such a large increase seems lofty compared to this year’s $4 million dedication, Day insisted it would be a feasible, fiscally-sensible option to demonstrate the county’s commitment to debt service as it still faces a $138 million deficit.
“This payment represents more than three times the amount we put toward deficit reduction in the Legislature,” Day said. “We’ll get there by continuing the conservative, common-sense management of our county’s resources.”
The $772 million 2015 budget was initially slated to contain a $10 million
allocation favored by Day, but that figure was reduced by the legislature
to $4 million to free up funds for position and program restorations.
Such a task would undoubtedly require extensive cooperation with the Legislature, and Day seemed willing to play ball. In contrast with his occasionally chilly interactions with the body in 2015, Day’s speech took on a conciliatory tone as he stressed a need to leave past conflicts behind in favor of “consensus and collaboration.”
The fiscal growth platform was a major talking point for the county executive, who opted to encourage skilled labor training, the expansion of the tech sector and high-end industries, incentives for new investors and financial support for existing businesses and labor through lighter tax burdens and the promotion of a friendly, accommodating business climate.
County progress occurred on multiple fronts in 2015, especially in health administration and state assistance. In particular, he emphasized the successful transfer of Rockland’s mental health outpatient services to Nyack Hospital, the securing of $15.6 million in state funds for 23 in-county projects and the near-complete sale of Summit Park’s hospital and nursing care facilities.
Day also announced fruitful but ongoing advocacy for toll relief on the new Tappan Zee Bridge and repeated the frequent call by county officials to end burdensome state mandates, going as far as demanding a state mandate relief package for beleaguered counties.
