By MIKE RUSSO
County Comptroller Howard Weitzman made that case at a meeting of the county's Budget Review Committee last week. Weitzman said that though he predicts an overall 4.9 percent drop in sales tax receipts for the year, February receipts were dramatically lower —25.9 percent, or $7.5 million — than last February, and that, he added, is cause for concern.
"It's very difficult to say where sales tax will come out," Weitzman said. "It is very important that we monitor it. We can plan for it, we can monitor it, but we can't control it."
He said that actions the county has taken — securing concessions from county unions and seeking additional revenues from red-light cameras and ticket surcharges — combined with federal stimulus funding of nearly $45 million would make it possible for the county to weather a sales tax decrease of 4.4 percent. The anticipated 4.9 percent decline, in combination with a $33 million shortfall in sales taxes in 2008, would amount to a combined sales tax deficit of $82.5 million. (A decline of 1 percent is equivalent to about $10 million, he explained.)
Weitzman said he expects the economic downturn to level off during the third quarter and sales taxes to rebound during the holiday season in November and December.
Deputy County Executive Thomas Stokes, however, said he is anticipating a sales tax decline of 6 percent, which would amount to a decline from 2008 of $93.5 million. The 6 percent estimate, Stokes said, was a fairly conservative figure.
Stokes added that federal stimulus funding was less than originally anticipated — Suozzi had estimated $50 million — and that contracts between the county and its employees’ unions have yet to be finalized. "The primary concern is the ratification of union contracts," he said. "But we're very pleased with the progress to date."
Legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury), who chairs the Budget Review Committee, said that the county may be better off than most counties across the nation, but it faces many challenges, particularly after state lawmakers denied plans for video lottery terminals at Belmont Park in Elmont and a county cigarette tax, both potential revenue enhancers.
"There is no time to sit back and literally pat ourselves on the back," said Jacobs, adding that her committee would continue to meet monthly to stay on top of the fiscal crisis. "There will be further difficult decisions to be made."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
