OCTOBER 10, 2008

COUNTY BUDGET REFLECTS TOUGH FISCAL TIMES

The Erie County Legislature's most important duty is to deliberate over the administration's annual budget proposal and approve a budget for the new fiscal year. This year's deliberations will be more demanding as the Legislature prepares for the county executive's budget plan to include a proposed property tax increase.

The County Executive must present his 2009 budget proposal to the County Legislature by October 15 as is mandated by the County Charter. A planned property tax increase raises warning signs.

There is no mood in the 11th District I represent or the rest of the community to increase property taxes. The County Legislature has not proposed a property tax increase, so now it is our job to find out why it was proposed. Why should taxpayers pay more to get fewer services? The Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority will also have to approve the budget as well as a new four-year plan from the county executive.

No budget deliberation is easy, but several financial situations affecting Erie County, other municipalities and taxpayers will make this budget even tougher. The increase in sales tax revenue Erie County saw mainly from Canadian shoppers has slowed down, if not stopped. The County Comptroller has indicated that the county will meet its sales tax revenue goals for 2008, but that these revenues should flatten out for 2009.

The recent financial crisis on Wall Street not only has credit markets nervous, it is affecting the way people conduct their daily lives and household budgets and how the county receives funding. New York State, which has lost tax revenues as the stock market falls, has seen its deficit climb by billions of dollars, and cuts in funding to Erie County for state-mandated programs are expected.

All of this will further complicate our budget deliberations, but the County Legislature will remain focused on our core goals, providing for law enforcement, public health and safety issues. I have fought to have the county relieved of overbearing, unfunded state and federal spending mandates, and we must continue to fight these mandates to help maintain Erie County's fiscal health.

When the County Legislature receives the county executive's budget proposal, we will begin our deliberations with the budget hearings held by the Finance, Management and Budget Committee under its chair, Legislator Kathy Konst. These public budget hearings are among the ways the County Legislature will collect information on the budget proposal and gain important insight from taxpayers and voters on spending priorities.

I have learned during my service as a legislator that cooperation and full disclosure of all information during the budget process is the best way for an elected body to conduct the annual county budget review. We need to lay aside all rhetoric, prepare and approve a bipartisan budget that addresses all necessary spending and concerns while keeping spending and tax rates as low as possible.

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