Politics & Government

Romaine: County Must Act to Fix Deficit

While long-term revenue streams are going to have to be realized, says North Fork legislator, one-shot revenue streams are also going to be considered in the face of a "massive debt crisis."

Following a report on Tuesday that the county's long-term fiscal outlook is even worse than previously imagined – a gaping $530 million hole through the 2013 budget year – North Fork Legis. Ed Romaine said swift action could drastically improve those numbers.

"Remember, this is a projected deficit. The bottom line is if you change the trajectory of a line by just a slight few degrees, you can change totally where it lands," Romaine, R-Center Moriches, said on Wednesday morning.

County Executive Steve Bellone, who commissioned the independent panel responsible for issuing the report, declared a fiscal emergency in Suffolk County before Tuesday was over, and said that he planned to meet with legislators and union leaders on Wednesday to address the shortfall. (His remarks on Tuesday are attached as a video.)

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The task force presented its findings (attached as a .pdf) Tuesday in front of the County Legislature, saying it found that both the County Executive's Budget Office and the Legislative Budget Review Office had underestimated expense increases and overestimated revenues. The result will be, according to the task force, an additional shortfall through 2013 of $124 million - bringing the county's budget gap up to an estimated $530 million.

In 2011, the panel found, Suffolk County finished with its first budget deficit since 1992.

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"The truth is worse than any of us could have imagined," Bellone said.

Romaine suggested a quarter-percent mortgage tax as one continuing revenue stream, though proposed a four-year sunset to raise revenue while the county figures out long-term strategies. The mortgage tax in Suffolk County is currently 1.05 percent, and is distributed between Suffolk towns and New York State. Romaine said the proposal may bring in $15 million to $20 million per year.

In deciding who and how many county employees to lay off, he said that the county has to be careful not to slash too much, in the case that county services "cease to function." Anything over 1,000 layoffs, he said he considered "massive" and too far.

"Still, under 1,000 layoffs we still have to be careful where we lay off," he said. "For example, our consumer affairs division is owed money. But we have no one to go out and collect it."

According to the financial analysis, the county has utilized $424 million in "one-shots" since 2008, meaning the revenue is not recurring and has to be found the following year. As a short term measure, Romaine suggested in an interview - - that the county sell the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge and have the purchaser lease it back to the county, eventually selling it back to the county for a nominal price - a practice known as a lease buyback. Romaine estimated a $50 million price tag on the building.

"In a normal budget year, it probably wouldn't be the best thing to do," he said. "But in a year where we're facing a massive debt crisis? Yeah, it's something to consider. I'm sure we'll be looking at a lot of other things too."


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