50.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Skelos to city: blaming me for a tax increase is absurd
Urges city to stop borrowing; get its fiscal house in order
To the Editor:
I have read City Manager Jack Schnirman’s recent letter regarding the City of Long Beach’s ongoing financial problems and I continue to be troubled by his insistence on borrowing to address these problems, rather than following the state’s example of spending reductions and belt tightening.
As he is well aware, there were two legislative requests made of my office. The bill that he references in his letter would have provided authorization to issue up to $15 million in serial bonds —$5 million more than the projected deficit, according to documentation provided to my office. That’s not just kicking the can down the road; it’s borrowing money to buy more empty cans.
This request would place the city’s current budget problems on the backs of Long Beach taxpayers for years to come. Mr. Schnirman has yet to take adequate steps to responsibly address the current fiscal dilemma, nor has he provided me with a legitimate plan to reduce expenses and balance the budget.
Long Beach was not the only locality that sought legislation to authorize borrowing to close a budget deficit. The Senate refused to approve similar requests from other localities. In addition, we did not act on any requests to raise local sales taxes regardless of whether they came from Democrat or Republican administrations. Taxpayers have simply had enough of increases in spending, taxes and borrowing.
I urge Long Beach to follow the example I have set at the state level. Mr. Schnirman talks about inheriting a large budget deficit, yet when I became Senate Majority Leader, I worked with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to close a $13 billion budget deficit by passing two budgets that reduced spending, and did not raise taxes or include any additional borrowing. We relied on fiscal responsibility, streamlining government and making tough decisions on state spending.
In addition, I inherited a Senate operating budget that was $13 million in the red because of reckless overspending by Senate Democrats. Not only did I work to close that gap but also this year, the Senate is operating at $11 million under budget.
