November, 2007

County Budget Should Offer Real Reform, Savings

The County Executive presented his proposed 2008 Budget to the Erie County Legislature on October 15, 2007, and as I sat there with only a handful of other lawmakers, I realized that much work still needs to be done. This year I will be serving as a member of the Budget Committee, and budget hearings will begin on November 12th to give legislators the opportunity to hear from department heads and other elected countywide officials. A public hearing must also be held and the Legislature must adopt a budget by December 4, 2007.

The Erie County Control Board must also approve the 2008 budget. The Control Board recently rejected the County Executive's 2008 budget and Four-Year Plan, and will remain a hard control board for another year. Hopefully, the new County Executive and his administration will not have such an acrimonious and adversarial relationship with the Control Board, which was established to protect taxpayers.

The Erie County Comptroller has stated that in order to reach the revenue goals outlined in the proposed budget, the County must request an extension of the 1.00% sales tax beyond its expiration date of February 29, 2008. Since the County began sharing $12.5 million of the 1.00% sales tax in 2007 with the City of Buffalo and other municipalities, the County has had to raise property taxes an identical amount to make up for this loss in the 2008 budget, and has been unable to fund needed road and bridge projects and keep its beaches open. This misguided practice hampers Erie County's efforts to regionalize services and contributes to municipalities "going it alone."

The Comptroller also expressed concern over the increase of debt service costs to the County. Payments from the Debt Service Fund have risen from $35.3 million in 2004 to $67.3 million (projected) in 2008 – a nearly 100% increase in four years due primarily to capital construction at ECMC and a downtown campus at ECC, which are both on hold. In the County Executive's proposed budget, the total tax levy would increase and capital borrowing would go up. Although we need to invest in our infrastructure, we cannot afford borrowing for projects at ECMC and a downtown campus which may never happen.

In my opinion, the County Executive's proposed $1.45 billion budget is merely a continuation of assumptions and wishful thinking, rather than a clear plan for reducing spending and cutting taxes. The 2008 Budget is unique because it will be the budget of County Executive Giambra, but will be administered by a new County Executive who will take office on January 1, 2008. The input of this individual is important because his administration will have to manage the approved budget.

As the legislature works through the budget in the coming weeks, it is time to finally adopt a budget that provides real reform and savings for the taxpayers of Erie County. Erie County government is still too big. There are still many cost-cutting measures that can be adopted. As we work through the budget the next several weeks, I will continue to advocate for the "right-sizing" of Erie County government. We need to approve a 2008 budget that addresses issues of lowering taxes, reducing debt and using solid business principles to restructure government and cut costs.

Back to District 4 Homepage