Lawmakers Poised to Override Astorino Vetoes
Claiming that the budget passed by county legislators contains phony revenues, wasteful spending and unfunded liabilities, County Executive Rob Astorino vetoed 247 lines in the 2011 budget last week. But on Thursday county legislators are poised to vote to override vetoes. The Board of Legislators had approved the budget on Dec. 10 by a 16-1 vote. The $1.79 billion spending plan reduces expenditures by $28 million and carries a 2 percent tax decrease. Astorino’s proposed budget decreased spending by $33 million and carried a 1 percent tax decrease. Vetoes can be overturned with a 12-5 vote, which is the current number of Democrats to Republicans on the board. The five Republicans have pledged to support Astorino. The vetoes include some of the budget’s most contentious items– Section 8 funding, day care fees and scrapping the county’s human rights commission. Astorino also vetoed the legislature’s plans regarding the mental health clinics. Legislators voted to close the clinics as part of a six-month transition plan, while Astorino would like to see them shuttered immediately. He also criticized the board’s sales tax projections and the manner in which Democrats passed the spending plan, three days earlier than scheduled. “This budget is a financial disaster,” Astornio said. “The numbers just don’t add up. It will not pass scrutiny. The process was broken down, what they did was reprehensible. They came out with a series of additions and deletions without discussion.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.