[dropcap]W[/dropcap]estchester County Executive Rob Astorino maintained his reputation for preventing tax increases during his April 21 State of the County address, pledging to submit a 2017 budget that, for the seventh consecutive year, would not raise property taxes.
In his address, Astorino, a Republican, compared his administration’s taxation and expenses to those of his predecessor Andrew Spano, a Democrat. Since Spano left office in 2010, property taxes have been lowered by 2 percent, more than $12 million, and have not fluctuated in five years.
Meanwhile, county spending has risen to $1.8 billion, but is still lower than it was in 2010. Astorino said that curbing taxes and expenses was a matter of fiscal responsibility. “And we’ve shown that government can work and live within its means, just like you and me and everyone else,” he told the audience at the Westchester County Courthouse.
He said his administration has adopted a “save and keep” method, rather than a tax and spend one. “We have been guided by the fact that even small numbers can add up quickly when it comes to taxes,” he added.
Astorino pointed to the “three P’s” which he said have been the compass for his seven years in office: protect taxpayers, preserve essential services, and promote economic growth.
The county executive, in the midst of his second term in office, said that rather than creating revenue by taxing residents, the county will aim to generate revenue by developing its assets. One asset Astorino pointed to was the Westchester Bio Science & Technology Center, a large-scale development project announced earlier this year.
The $1.2 billion privately funded development will be partially set on the county’s North 60 property in Valhalla. The 60acre site will be supplemented by 20 acres of land provided by the developer, Fareri Associates.
The North 60 lease is now awaiting review by the county Board of Legislators.
Astorino compared the center to Silicon Valley and the Research Triangle in North Carolina, estimating $16 million in annual revenue from the biotech center from real estate taxes and rent. In addition, the county executive claimed the project would create 4,000 temporary construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs, including entry-level positions.
“We already have a foothold with companies like Regeneron and Acorda Theraputics and the expansion into Westchester of leading hospitals like Sloan Kettering, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian,” said Astorino, adding that the biotech center was a step into the future.
However, his annual address was also haunted by past and ongoing legal battles.
Astorino accused the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, which has been overseeing the county’s compliance with a 2009 affordable housing settlement, of making false claims and outrageous demands in order to keep Westchester under its thumb.
“HUD’s leverage over Westchester ends when the county fulfills its obligations under the settlement… and that’s HUD’s end game: a settlement that never ends,” he said.
Astorino said he will continue to push back against the federal government when it overreaches. “Westchester will always follow the law,” he said, “and as long as I am county executive it will never give up its rights under the law.”
The Democratic Caucus of the county Board of Legislators viewed the current state of Westchester under Astorino in a far different light.
Democrats contested the county executive’s tax reduction methods. They pointed to sales tax revenue, which has fallen short of estimates made in the budget by more than $20 million per year since 2014.
Majority Leader Catherine Borgia, an Ossining Democrat, discussed the sales tax deficit in her response, adding that this year’s sales tax revenue is already falling short of the $525 million estimated in the county’s 2016 budget. Borgia said this budget gap will result in infrastructural damage and neglect, and loss of important services, especially relating to safety and welfare.
County Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, said, “As a result of this year’s shortfall already on sales tax revenues, various services are already being cut and reduced, and the human and economic impacts are going to start to present themselves.”
Jenkins, who condemned Astorino for using $29 million from reserve funds to make up for sales tax over projections, also slammed the county executive for continuing to fight with HUD, which has already withheld several Community Development Block grants amounting to $22 million from the county for noncompliance with various terms of the settlement.
“If the county executive wants to front that cost from his campaign coffers to further his political ambitions, that is fine, but the taxpayers of Westchester cannot and should not,” said Jenkins, referencing Astorino’s failed run for governor last year and rumors that he may be planning another gubernatorial candidacy in 2018.
