Astorino Issues 27 Vetoes Totaling $10 Million
County Executive Rob Astorino announced his list of vetoes in the 2012 budget passed by the Board of Legislators and, as expected, neighborhood health centers and changes in the county’s daycare subsidy were two of the big-money items on the list. In total, though, the second-year county executive issued just 27 vetoes, a fraction of the 247 he issued last year.
“That the number of vetoes is much smaller than last year is indicative of the fact that the 2012 budget was forged with bi-partisan support,” Astorino, a Republican, said Wednesday evening in a press release. “Republicans and Democrats delivered a budget within the broad goals I set – do not raise the tax levy, preserve essential services and protect the county’s triple A credit ratings. But the public also needs to know that there are areas where I think stronger or different actions were needed to address, rather than merely postpone, some of the county’s fundamental financial problems.”
In what he called a good faith gesture, Astorino did not veto the board’s restoration of 187 positions he had proposed for layoffs in his original budget.
In addition to the $1.9 million in neighborhood health centers and $4.3 million in daycare subsidies, Astorino vetoed the board’s restoration of the Route 76 bus line, which cost approximately $243,000, $900,000 for the Cornell Cooperation Extension and $378,000 for the Invest in Kids program. In total, Astorino vetoed $10 million in spending restorations in the county’s $1.698 billion budget.
The board will now have the option to override Astorino’s vetoes. An override must receive support from two-thirds of the board, or 12 legislators. Since the Democrats control the 12 seats needed to comprise a supermajority, Astorino’s vetoes can be overridden without any Republican support.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.