FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2018
Contact: John Lyon 845-638-5645

MINORITY LEGISLATORS SUPPORT COUNTY EXECUTIVES VETOES

New City, NY – County Executive Ed Day thanked the Minority members of the Rockland County Legislature for supporting the vetoes he issued to the Legislative Majority's amended 2019 Proposed County Budget.

"The Majority's amended budget would have been a return to the days of speculative revenue, over-estimating sales tax revenue and a refusal to modernize county government," said County Executive Day. "In short, a budget like theirs could lead us back down the path of deficits and double-digit tax increases; a return to the sins of the past."

The vetoes included Legislative amendments that:

• Included $3.5 million in speculative revenue and appropriations to ostensibly fund employee contract settlements
• Removed the new deed verification program
• Increased estimated sales tax revenue by $647,500
• Eliminated new positions in multiple departments
• Bypassed the County's legally mandated process for procuring contracts

"I want to thank those in the Legislative Minority for refusing to accept poor fiscal policy and for standing up to help me protect Rockland's financial recovery," said County Executive Day. "Minority Leader Lon Hofstein, Deputy Minority Leader Vince Tyer, Legislator Chris Carey, Legislator Charles Falciglia, Legislator Doug Jobson, Legislator Pat Moroney and Legislator Laurie Santulli should be commended. We will not allow the Legislative Majority to return the County to the days of reckless, deficit spending that nearly led us into receivership."

"I am proud to inform you that the members of the Minority voted unanimously against the override of the County Executive's vetoes," said Minority Leader Lon Hofstein. "As elected officials, we have an obligation to our constituents to see that the county adheres to a policy that proves to be fiscally sound."

With the failure of this override vote County Executive Day's proposed $709 million spending plan becomes the County's 2019 Budget. The Budget includes a 2.9 percent property tax levy increase, which is under the state mandated property tax cap. For the average Rockland residential property owner, taxes will increase just over $3 a month or about $37 a year.

The New York State Comptroller's Office found that in respect to the County Executive's 2019 Proposed Budget, "the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget are reasonable."

The 2019 Budget is available for review here: http://budget.rocklandgov.com/

The 2019 Proposed Budget announcement can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2IvPvQY

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