Spano calls for an additional $24.4 million - 4.7 percent –

to be raised through property taxes (for 2008 budget).

By GLENN BLAIN THE JOURNAL NEWS  (Original Publication: November 16, 2007)  

WHITE PLAINS - A "disappearing" stream of sales-tax revenue and rising child-welfare cases may cause Westchester taxpayers to fork over almost 5 percent more next year.

County Executive Andrew Spano yesterday released a $1.78 billion budget for 2008 that calls for an additional $24.4 million - 4.7 percent - to be raised through property taxes and increases Bee-Line bus fares by 25 cents.

"It's a good budget," Spano, a Democrat, said during a morning news conference. "We don't like to raise taxes, but I think that the money we're spending here is on appropriate things. ... We're cutting where we can cut, but we have very little leeway in a budget like this."

Because each of Westchester 's cities and towns levies property taxes differently, it is difficult to predict the precise impact of Spano's budget on homeowners. Generally, about 15 percent of an average resident's tax bill goes to the county.

According to an estimate from the Spano administration, a person who now pays about $10,000 in total property taxes pays about $1,500 to the county. A 4.7 percent increase is about $70.

Spano's budget proposal, which now goes before the Board of Legislators for review, represents a spending increase of 4.4 percent, or almost $75.5 million, over the 2007 budget. It also increases county staff by 70 positions from the current budget and provides an additional $9 million to cover staffing and overtime at the county's prison system.

Legislators reacted cautiously to Spano's budget, with some, especially Republicans, expressing reservations about the property-tax increase.

"It's not good," said Board of Legislators Minority Leader George Oros, R-Cortlandt. "We have to get closer to zero than to 5 percent. The taxpayers cannot be constantly faced with this increase. ... It's above the rate of inflation, and we can do better."

Spano said much of the tax-levy increase - about $18 million - is needed to pay for child-welfare services, which the county is obligated to provide under state law.

Since 2006, the number of such cases handled by the county has increased by more than 1,400. To deal with that increase, Spano's budget adds 22 staff members in the Department of Social Services and five in the County Attorney 's Office.

Social Services Commissioner Kevin Mahon said the 2006 arrest of a Bedford elementary school principal on charges that she failed to properly report a suspected case of child abuse raised awareness about the need to report such cases to the county.

"As reports go up, more protective services are required for those families and then, therefore, more kids come into care," Mahon said. "And that's really where the expense is."

Spano also warned that the county's sales-tax revenue, which accounts for about 28 percent of the money collected by the government, is not growing as fast as officials had hoped.

The proposed budget calls for only a 1.6 percent increase in sales-tax revenue from the $365 million that was projected in the 2007 budget. County officials already have admitted that actual sales-tax revenue for 2007 is expected to fall about $5 million short of that budget projection.

"I'll tell you why it's alarming," Spano said. "Our two major sources (of revenue) are property tax and sales tax. And one of them is disappearing ... I mean disappearing in terms of its growth. We're projecting more sales tax, but when you look at what's being built around here and what's coming online, you would anticipate more sales tax."

The bus fare increase, Spano said, was due largely to rising fuel and personnel costs. Without a fare increase, the county's property-tax levy would rise by an additional $500,000, he added.

Among riders, however, the proposed fare increase was not welcome news.

"That would hurt," James Roberts of Mount Vernon said as he waited for a bus in White Plains yesterday. He uses the Bee-Line at least three times a week. "That 25 cents would be a pain in the neck."

The Board of Legislators' Budget and Appropriations Committee is expected to begin its review of Spano's plan this morning. The board also has scheduled budget hearings, the first of which will be Nov. 28 in Mount Kisco

Budget committee Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, D-Somers, called the budget a "good start" but expressed the hope that lawmakers could find more savings in the spending plan and reduce the tax increase. The committee will pay special attention to the staffing increases to see whether they can be trimmed, he said. 

"We are just going to look at every single department and take out our pencils to see what we can do," Kaplowitz said.

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