Even as the spread of Covid-19 appears increasingly under control in Suffolk, County Executive Steve Bellone said a deepening financial crisis has already led to budget cuts, salary freezes, and even a potential ballot referendum in November.
In the effort to rein in county spending and close what could be a budget gap of more than $800 million over the next three months, Mr. Bellone on Monday issued an executive order freezing all management and exempt employees’ salaries, a move expected to save the county $3.4 million. Departments have been instructed to cut 5 percent from their budgets across the board for the upcoming fiscal year, and countywide, remaining resources have been “locked down,” the county executive said. That means the county would save another $29 million.
“We are in a financial emergency right now. There is no other way to describe it,” Mr. Bellone said. “To say it is a fiscal crisis is not an accurate description.”
Six fewer people were in the hospital in total, down to 90 people, and there was just one death from Covid-19, meaning that total has reached 1,965. Intensive care unit occupancy ticked up again, from 21 to 27 people, but hospitalization numbers remain within the required threshold for Long Island to move forward in the phased reopening plans.
On Sunday Mr. Bellone had reported a spike in the number of new, positive cases of Covid-19 -- there were 64 -- but on Monday, with 38 new cases, that number was down to levels seen in the previous few days. The total now stands at 41,010 cases detected through diagnostic testing, and an additional 18,122 cases detected through antibody testing.
He said that while Long Island remains on track to enter the third reopening phase on Wednesday, people must continue to remain vigilant over the next few months by socially distancing, wearing face coverings, and keeping their hands clean.
“My concern is not so much with the summer,” he said. “I believe the numbers will remain good largely because people are outdoors and the outdoor environment is a pretty safe environment for people to be.” He continued that in the fall, with kids potentially back in school and more people indoors, “that is where we could see a spike or a second wave happen. That is a concern of mine.”
During a separate briefing on Monday afternoon, Deputy County Executive Peter Scully outlined two possible ballot referendums that “we believe, if placed before the voters, give promise for the potential to close between $75 and $100 million of the budget gap” over the next three years without having any negative impact on taxpayers or the environment. The Suffolk County Legislature would have to approve the bills, one for each possible ballot measure, no later than July 21 to allow voters to weigh in in November.
One of the measures would allow the county to tap into the Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund, which mitigates tax increases for homeowners who live in sewer districts. Mr. Scully described that resource as “over-funded.” The other measure, dubbed the Taxpayer Trust Fund Bill, would temporarily reallocate part of county sales tax revenues from open space preservation toward closing the Covid-19 budget gap.
If successful, those actions could stave off employee layoffs, payroll delays, pension deferments, and increases in the county’s sales and home energy taxes. In a proposal put forth by the director of Suffolk’s nonpartisan budget review office, a plan involving those cuts and deferments would have saved about $150 million, but Mr. Scully said it is not under consideration by the county executive.
“We remain optimistic” that the legislature will move the two ballot propositions forward, Mr. Scully said.
Mr. Bellone again called on the federal government to step up and support local municipalities like Suffolk.
“There’s only one way that we can effectively deal with the impacts of this natural disaster,” he said. “That is for the federal government to do what it should do -- relief to prevent what would be a hollowing out or gutting of the government. We’re the government that provides public safety, public health, human services, and social services. They’ve been critical during the response to Covid-19, but they will be even more so during the recovery.”