|
County Executive Steve Levy Vetoes Legislature’s 12 Percent Increase of Proposed Capital Budget
Asks Legislators to Practice Fiscal Responsibility and Sustain Vetoes
Hauppauge
, NY
–
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy today submitted his vetoes to the numerous additions county legislators made to his 2010 proposed capital budget, calling on lawmakers to practice “fiscal responsibility and restraint.”
Levy’s proposed 2010 capital budget was $18.8 million less than the 2009 adopted budget (for all appropriations excluding the separately funded sewer projects) – and it represented the sixth consecutive proposed capital budget lower than the previous year’s plan. His three-year program from 2010 through 2012 was reduced by $76.4 million over the program adopted by the Legislature last year.
The Legislature’s budget amendments added $34.6 million in new spending to Levy’s three-year program which, if left intact, would increase the county executive’s proposal by 12 percent. The Legislature’s amended 2010 capital budget would be increased by $12.2 million over Levy’s plan.
Levy vetoed all but a few of the spending amendments, rejecting more than $9.725 million of the $12.2 million worth of amendments.
“Each year I propose capital programs that control costs, and each year the Legislature adds spending,” said Levy. “When I veto these amendments, the Legislature overrides my vetoes in one fell swoop. Perhaps this year, with the national fiscal crisis and the need to control debt service, we will see the Legislature reject the single-vote override, and instead opt for the more fiscally responsible process of examining each amendment on its own merits and voting accordingly.”
Levy continued, “I crafted a budget that continues to repair and expand our infrastructure, which is important for our economy and to create jobs. Many of the amendments on the Legislature’s wish list, however, can be classified as wants, rather than needs. As I have said many times in the past, we must say no to the things we want, so have the capacity to say yes to the things we need.”
The Legislature’s Budget Review Office on page 32 of its review of the capital budget stated, “Rising debt service costs come at a bad time, the economy is in recession, leading to declining sales tax revenue, mounting demands on social services and ensuing budget deficits.
“Despite the warning from the Budget Review Office, I am extremely disappointed to receive back from the Legislature a capital program that seeks to increase my budget by 12 percent,” he continued.
Levy added, “Many of the Legislature’s amendments can be justified if looked at individually, but it is our job as stewards of the taxpayers to consider the cumulative impact of these additions. The practice of saying yes to every amendment without considering the final budget percentage leads to uncontrolled and unsustainable growth in government budgets. The better way to budget is to first pick the spending level we can bear, exercise discipline, draw a line and refuse to fund those items that exceed our limit. Recently many meetings of the Suffolk Legislature have been punctuated with long debates and grandiose speeches about our debt. Now is the time to ensure that the votes reflect the rhetoric. Therefore I am repeating what I said last year, the only way to control this pipeline debt, which so many have complained about, is to actually say no and sustain these vetoes.”
|