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02102005
Erie County's Budget Mess - The Partnership's Position
The spectacle that is the Erie County budget meltdown is something that causes even those of us who were involved in past local government fiscal crises – NFTA shutdown, Buffalo financial woes – to shake our heads in disbelief. The sheer magnitude of the county’s problem, exacerbated by the state Medicaid mandate, is only exceeded by the unwillingness and/or inability of elected officials to address the issue rationally.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership, as the voice of the business community, has been asked countless times for our take on this mess.
Here it is:
1). There is more than enough blame to go around county government, but pointing fingers has not been – and still is not -- productive. On December 1, 2004 the Partnership called for “politics as expected” to end so that thoughtful governing could begin. I reiterate that call today.
2). If politics can’t be set aside, and if a responsible budget for 2005 and subsequent years is not developed in an appropriate time, the people elected to county government should pledge not to run again. They were, after all, elected to govern – and there’s still just mostly politicking, and very little governing, occurring at present.
3). The county has a budget deficit because as expenses continued to increase – especially those associated with Medicaid – tax revenues were reduced. Obviously, that doesn’t balance.
Medicaid reform is the Partnership’s top state priority this year. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be at the top of the agenda of those elected to serve in Albany. (But don’t worry – we’re not giving up!).
It’s also important for you to know that in 2001 the Partnership – and by “the Partnership” I mean the more than 100 of our members who volunteered thousands of hours – gave the county a blueprint to save taxpayers $48 million annually. These savings would have been achieved by doing things more efficiently and smarter. Our recommendations, which wouldn’t have solved the current fiscal crisis but would have helped, were largely ignored.
And that brings us back to the present situation…
4). The two “choices” offered for balancing the county’s 2005 budget were absurd.
When “the slash and burn red budget” and the “raise the sales tax to keep the status quo” green budget were proposed in late 2004, the Partnership tried to interject some thoughtfulness to the proceedings. We advocated for a mix of spending cuts and new revenues to address immediate needs. We also called for outside experts to review county finances, diagnose the scope of the problem (which to this day remains unclear) and prescribe a rational restructuring of county government for future years.
Of course, no responsible party in the budget deliberations could move beyond “red versus green” or “cell phones and drivers.” The issue has been oversimplified by the elected officials in charge. But it’s not too late for that to change (see # 6 below).
(Note: There is good reason and strong symbolism to “spreading the pain” to eliminate perks (e.g. cell phones and drivers), but those who tell you that such actions will produce measurable savings to address the crisis are being patently dishonest.)
5). It seems there is a growing chorus within the community who are essentially prepared to let the dismantling of county government take place so we can start over from scratch. There is definitely some merit to that thinking. However, living in a “scratch county” also creates issues and problems.
The trick is getting to “scratch” in a way that does not inflict short-term and long-term damage, and at the same time creates a plan to get the county back to an appropriate level of service in a minimum amount of time. To help cultural institutions survive through 2005, for example, the state legislature will be asked to provide emergency one-year-only funding.
Where do we go from here?
6). Erie County needs:
a). A statesman/stateswoman to step up and get the county politicians to lay down their arms and facilitate a serious discussion
b). The parties must agree on a truly temporary tax increase and appropriate job and service cuts to get us through the remainder of 2005
c). The parties must also support creation of an independent budget commission to calculate the scope of the county deficit and prepare a budget plan for 2006 and beyond
d). The state legislature must finally enact Medicaid reform to stop the bleeding in our county – and every county in New York State.
I do not want to imply that the steps outlined above are easy to accomplish or without some measure of pain for the community. But the difference between the Partnership’s proposal and what is currently taking place at County Hall is the level of thoughtfulness brought to the process, and the desire to seek a long-term restructuring of county government to prevent this same scenario from taking place again in 2006 (or ever again, for that matter).
That’s our take. I look forward to your comments.
Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO
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02102005
