Area residents, business owners and public officials gathered at Eastchester Town Hall Wednesday night to discuss a variety of issues with County Executive Rob Astorino. The event was part of the popular "Ask Astorino" town hall series, where people are invited to bring any questions or ideas they would like to discuss face-to-face with the county executive.
Supervisor Anthony S. Colavita kicked off the evening by welcoming the crowd and introducing the county executive who opened up the dialogue with the goals of his administration – providing tax relief, preserving essential services and promoting economic growth - and the challenges that face county government.
"Westchester is still the highest taxed county in America, but on the county level we have held the line on taxes and that's important," said Astorino. Since he took office, the county tax levy has been brought down by 2 percent and spending has been cut by 5.2 percent. In addition, the county workforce has been streamlined by 16 percent and Astorino has trimmed his own staff by 19 percent. "With revenues flat and unfunded mandates from Albany skyrocketing, we have had to make some tough decisions, but that's part of the job," said Astorino. "A lot of Westchester residents are barely hanging on. They can't take any more cuts to their paycheck."
The $1.7 billion 2013 county budget includes no tax increase and no use of the reserve fund to pay for day-to-day operating expenses, which would threaten the county's AAA credit ratings.
Astorino told the story of how the 7 Republican county legislators and 2 of the Democratic county legislators joined together with him to reach a compromise and pass a responsible budget. He admonished the other 8 Democratic legislators who walked out of the budget debate and turned off the lights and microphones and repeatedly rang a loud bell to disrupt the proceedings that continued in the legislative chamber. "That's a decision that they will have to defend to the voters," said Astorino.
The 2009 housing settlement with the federal government was also on the minds of residents. The county is nearly a year ahead of schedule in satisfying the terms of the agreement thanks to the cooperation of local governments. However, Astorino warned of the potential infringements on local control of zoning and on the rights of property owners, if the federal government succeeds in going "beyond the four corners of the settlement."
Other topics of discussion were plans to repair the county-owned Playland Park in Rye from damage incurred by Hurricane Sandy, projects underway to curb flooding along the Bronx River and the ongoing effort to deal with the Canada goose population at the county's parks and golf courses.
Reaching out to Westchester residents and listening to them about their concerns is a major priority for Astorino. His popular "Ask Astorino" town hall series has drawn crowds in North Salem, Pelham, White Plains, Scarsdale and Cortlandt and will continue to be held regularly throughout the county. In addition, Astorino hosts "tele" town halls, which invites residents by randomly calling them moments before the start of the event. The latest, held in November, attracted approximately 31,000 listeners as well as participants via social media.
View the Powerpoint presentation in pdf format.
Photo: Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino speaks with area residents at the "Ask Astorino" town hall held at Eastchester Town Hall Wednesday night.