FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2020

County of Rockland Institutes Hiring Freeze

New City, NY, - County Executive Ed Day announced an immediate hiring freeze for all positions within Rockland County Government. This measure in the latest step taken by the County Executive to mitigate the fiscal damage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 16, the County Executive imposed austerity measures which curtailed all non-essential and discretionary spending. On April 20, Rockland County filed, and was approved, for FEMA reimbursement for COVID-19 related expenses and will be filing monthly.

"It goes without saying that these are challenging times. We in County Government are making every effort to stay ahead of this fiscal tsunami and prepare for any significant downturn," said County Executive Day. "Based on the estimates of our Finance Department we could be facing as much as a $56.3 million deficit for the 2020 Budget. Rest assured we are acting judiciously now in order to protect residents from the double-digit tax increases of the past."

The County Executive also wrote to Rockland's Federal Representatives (Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and Congresswoman Lowey) to ask that they include direct financial assistance for counties in any future federal stimulus bills.

"We believe this funding should be distributed through a blended formula that is based on population and the number of COVID-19 infections. This direct funding could help to make up for budget losses that stem from shutting down large portions of the economy. We will continue to look for any possible cost savings and reimbursement opportunities on the State and Federal levels as 2020 continues," concluded County Executive Day.

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