Balanced budget freezes general fund property tax and invests in clean water
(Long Island, NY) The Suffolk County Legislature yesterday passed a $2.9 billion operating budget for the county’s 2016 fiscal year. The balanced budget, which will be presented to the County Executive for approval, freezes the general fund property tax, invests in clean drinking water projects, and maintains critical services for Suffolk residents.
“Although the county’s revenue shortfall created challenging constraints, the Legislature’s bipartisan working group rose to the task and balanced yet another budget for the people of Suffolk County,” said Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory. “We made difficult, fiscally-responsible decisions in order to avoid raising the general fund property tax. I am proud that this budget passed with bipartisan support, and I thank the Legislature’s nonpartisan Budget Review Office for its expertise and assistance in balancing this budget.”
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory reviews the Legislature’s amendments to the County Executive’s 2016 recommended operating budget. Photo Credit: Suffolk County.
The budget provides for the sale of the John J. Foley Nursing Home, which had previously been operated by the county, to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, which will save taxpayers more than half-a-million dollars per year in operating costs. The Legislature also amended the County Executive’s recommended budget by restoring more than $200,000 in proposed cuts to contract agencies, such as homeless shelters and food pantries, that serve Long Island residents who are most in need. Another change to the County Executive’s recommended budget included the investment of more than $180,000 in a fund that supports clean drinking water projects.
Additionally, a law sponsored by Presiding Officer Gregory that took effect this year provided performance metrics for the agencies with which the county contracts. The resulting report containing this data helped inform the 2016 budgetary process. Gregory will also convene a special committee of legislators to delve even more deeply into that data in the coming year to continue to improve the efficiency of the county’s use of taxpayer dollars.
