OCTOBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
SUFFOLK FINANCES
BRINK OF DISASTER
BY JOHN M. KENNEDY
Suffolk County Comptroller
It’s official: For the second year in a
row, Suffolk County has been rated
the most fiscally stressed county in
the state. This assessment is not from
some think tank; this is directly from
the New York State comptroller’s office,
and the report shows what I have
been saying all along: Suffolk is in a
fiscal crisis.
To say that the county is showing
“significant” fiscal stress, like the report
said, is a gross understatement.
According to the state comptroller, Suffolk’s
general fund balance is running
a deficit of more than $91 million. That
is more than three times the figure
from three years ago.
It also shows that, since 2016, expenditures
have outpaced revenues. That is
because our current county executive,
Steve Bellone, is spending more than
the county is taking in and continues
to borrow against our future. And
because of our junk bond status, he
will borrow at higher interest rates,
burdening the county’s taxpayers.
This is not a problem that can be
solved by increasing taxes. The
truth of the matter is, unlike what
Bellone would have you believe, most
county taxpayers in its five western
towns have experienced annual tax
increases averaging about 4 percent
per year over the past several years,
well above the 2 percent tax cap.
County residents are simply taxed
too much and can no longer afford
to live here.
We are in a fiscal free fall, with insufficient
cash flow, making it difficult
to pay the county’s bills. We are now
in a position where we are having
difficulty meeting our financial obligations
from week to week. Many
of our vendors are receiving delayed
payments, putting significant financial
stress on them as well. It means
these companies will not meet payroll,
employees will not be paid on
time, jobs will be in jeopardy and, in
many cases, a reduction in services
to the taxpayers.
The tax-and-spend policies of this administration
have created this fiscal
crisis and have hurt Suffolk taxpayers.
This has to end.
John M. Kennedy is a candidate for
Suffolk County executive.
POINT OF VIEW
“We are in a fiscal free fall.”
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