County officials submit roadmap for mandate relief
ALBANY – County leaders throughout New York State yesterday renewed the call for mandate relief by delivering a series of rational and actionable mandate relief ideas to the Governor’s Mandate Relief Council and state lawmakers. The Roadmap to Mandate Relief was published by the New York State Association of Counties.
“Unless and until the state relieves some of these mandates, our counties will continue to face structural deficits,” said Stephen Acquario, NYSAC Executive Director. “Counties are doing their part to lower the costs they can control, but they have no ability to reduce the costs handed down by Albany.”
Even with significant and sustained efforts by counties to control budget costs, the continuing poor economic climate is leading to a cumulative projected fiscal gap of more than $10 billion over the next five years for all counties combined, according to research conducted by NYSAC. The governor and state legislature enacted substantial mandate relief during the 2012 Legislative Session which helped to address this budget gap (capping the growth of local Medicaid costs in 2015 and instituting a Tier VI for future public employees). However, for county government, the present fiscal gap has become much more acute with increasing local costs of just nine state mandated programs and services outpacing available property tax revenues by $130 million in 2013 alone.
“When you consider the inflationary pressures of rising local costs, health insurance and more than 30 other state mandated programs, the gap is crippling and becoming unmanageable,” said NYSAC president Edward A. Diana, the Orange County Executive. “It is critical for state representatives to understand that these fiscal gaps are forcing counties to govern by triage and the decisions being made are at tremendous local sacrifice.”
Specifically, counties across the state are selling assets, cutting programs, eliminating county positions, depleting rainy day funds, delaying infrastructure projects and borrowing against tomorrow to pay for today’s operating expenses.
The report, developed by NYSAC with the input of county officials from across the state, provides a detailed list of 51 recommendations that can reduce the cost of mandates. Many of these recommendations provide corresponding savings to the state. The following mandates targeted include: Medicaid, pensions, community colleges, preschool special education, Early Intervention Program and indigent defense.
“Unless and until the state relieves some of these mandates, our counties will continue to face structural deficits,” said Stephen Acquario, NYSAC Executive Director. “Counties are doing their part to lower the costs they can control, but they have no ability to reduce the costs handed down by Albany.”
Even with significant and sustained efforts by counties to control budget costs, the continuing poor economic climate is leading to a cumulative projected fiscal gap of more than $10 billion over the next five years for all counties combined, according to research conducted by NYSAC. The governor and state legislature enacted substantial mandate relief during the 2012 Legislative Session which helped to address this budget gap (capping the growth of local Medicaid costs in 2015 and instituting a Tier VI for future public employees). However, for county government, the present fiscal gap has become much more acute with increasing local costs of just nine state mandated programs and services outpacing available property tax revenues by $130 million in 2013 alone.
“When you consider the inflationary pressures of rising local costs, health insurance and more than 30 other state mandated programs, the gap is crippling and becoming unmanageable,” said NYSAC president Edward A. Diana, the Orange County Executive. “It is critical for state representatives to understand that these fiscal gaps are forcing counties to govern by triage and the decisions being made are at tremendous local sacrifice.”
Specifically, counties across the state are selling assets, cutting programs, eliminating county positions, depleting rainy day funds, delaying infrastructure projects and borrowing against tomorrow to pay for today’s operating expenses.
The report, developed by NYSAC with the input of county officials from across the state, provides a detailed list of 51 recommendations that can reduce the cost of mandates. Many of these recommendations provide corresponding savings to the state. The following mandates targeted include: Medicaid, pensions, community colleges, preschool special education, Early Intervention Program and indigent defense.
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