Vanderhoef Responds To State Comptroller Criticism Of Budget (VIDEO)

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently issued a stinging review of Rockland County’s 2013 budget. He described the budget as including “unreasonable revenue and spending projections that could increase the county’s deficit and issued a series of recommendations. The legislature has 90 days to prepare an action plan that addresses DiNapoli’s recommendations.

County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef reacted Tuesday with strong words about DiNapoli’s report.

“Parts of it are inaccurate. Parts of it are dead wrong. Some of it is correct. And I think the bottom line is that a budget was passed by the legislature and we’ll be monitoring it very carefully for problems that might occur through the course of the year,” said Vanderhoef.

In the report, DiNapoli acknowledged county officials have taken action on the budget deficit. He said more work must be done to achieve a realistic spending plan. DiNapoli said tax revenue projections are overly optimistic and not supported by analysis.

“Clearly, the county faces difficult budgeting choices. But the path to more accurate and realistic budgeting begins with an honest conversation about the numbers,” he said. 
“The challenges in Rockland demonstrate the need for local governments to take corrective actions before a full financial crisis develops.”

DiNapoli went on to explain his office completed an early warning monitoring system to identify local governments facing significant fiscal stress. The monitoring system will show the financial condition and identify the economic and budgetary challenges faced.

Vanderhoef said the county is constantly monitoring expenses and overtime and expects there will be adjustments to the budget throughout the year.  

Rockland’s 2013 budget totals $751 million, an increase of 2.5 percent from the 2012 adopted budget.

DiNapoli’s analysis noted that county officials budgeted $175 million in revenue from sales and use tax for 2013, an increase of approximately $6.8 million or four percent over 2012.  He warned the county’s practice of issuing serial bonds for operating costs such as covering payment of tax certiorari claims is not proper planning since tax certs are a regular occurrence.

DiNapoli pointed out the county did not prepare for uncollectible taxes, which amounted to $2.2 million annually in recent years. He said the appropriation of $158 million for personal services was insufficient and repeats the county a practice of underestimating that cost.

DiNapoli’s report stated Rockland’s total revenues grew by an average of 2.7 percent annually from 2001 through 2011. The revenue growth did not keep pace with the county’s 3.3 percent increase in expenditure.

He referenced the June 2012 Standard and Poor's Ratings Services action which lowered the county’s long-term general obligation bond rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and rated the management practices as ‘vulnerable’ because of overly optimistic budgeting. In December 2012, Moody’s Investors Services maintained the county’s Baa3 bond rating and gave it a negative outlook.

DiNapoli’s recommendations included:

• Use a more conservative growth rate to project 2013 sales tax revenue
• Review the appropriation of tax certiorari refunds and consider adjusting it
• Consider revising the budget to include funds to cover uncollected taxes
• Reassess personal service costs and take steps to ensure costs will be in line with appropriations
• Monitor the early retirement incentive and reduce other appropriations if the $4.3 million in estimated savings is not realized