Proposed 2020 Westchester County Budget Discussed at Final Public Hearing in White Plains
Representatives of various non-profit organizations came to the third and final public hearing on the 2020 Westchester County budget in the county office building in White Plains on Dec. 4, either thanking county government for increasing funding or asking for additional funding.
The county Board of Legislators is working on next year’s budget. County Executive George Latimer has proposed a $2.1 billion 2020 spending plan that would cut the property tax levy by $1 million.
Latimer is proposing to reduce the property tax levy to $569 million next year. If his proposed cut is approved by the Board of Legislators the size of the tax cut in percentage terms will vary based on the equalization rates and assessment roles of each municipality, he said.
Spending, not the potential tax cut, was the topic most of the speakers addressed at last week’s hearing.
White Plains resident Tyler Jupal, a member of the Family Services of Westchester’s Senior Youth Council, asked the legislators to provide funding for the agency, which provides programs for teens as part of its mission. “We are the future,” he told the board.
Cindy Kanusher, executive director of the Pace Women’s Justice Center, thanked the Board of Legislators for increased spending for its legal services program by 8 percent. The Justice Center is seeking to open an office in northern Westchester because it would be more accessible to residents of that part of the county than the White Plains office is, she said.
Robert Roth, president of the Board of Directors of ArtsWestchester, was one of several speakers who asked the legislators to provide adequate funding for the arts. ArtsWestchester provides grants to several arts programs in the county, Roth said. Funding of the arts “is an economic multiplier” that stimulates economic growth, he said.
Allison Lake, executive director of the White Plains-based Westchester Children’s Association, thanked the legislators for providing an additional $200,000 for the county Youth Bureau’s Invest in Kids program. The program is for at risk youths under 21 in 11 Westchester communities.
Deborah Porder of Indivisible Scarsdale said she opposed raises of 52 percent for county legislators and 26 percent for the county’s commissioners. Though the state has approved a 1 percent increase in the county’s sales tax for some municipalities, that was only for one year and there is no assurance it will continue in the future. If there was a loss of revenue to the county it would be difficult to pay for the proposed raises after next year, she said. The raises are “maybe not such a great idea,” she said.
Bruce Anderson of Yonkers questioned some of the county’s funding for the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, which was formerly run by the county. The Medical Center has executives making annual salaries as high $500,000 and a $1 million bonus was recently paid to its President and CEO Michael Israel. Anderson said. Many of the Medical Center’s executives earn more than commissioners of Westchester County government, Anderson said.
The deadline to pass the county budget is Dec. 27.
