No tax increase for 'bigger,' 'better' county budget

ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy proposed this week a $610 million budget for 2016 that stems from new economic growth, he said.

The total budget for 2015 will approach $598 million, he told The Enterprise this week. With no increase in taxes, the $610 million plan— a hike of $12 million — is based on increased sales of 1.1 percent over 2015, McCoy said, estimated at $104 million.

“That money is coming in from sales tax,” McCoy said. “That’s a good thing. Then, we pay that out to towns and villages, which will help them with their budgets to stay under the tax cap.

“That makes our budget look bigger,” McCoy continued. “Bigger in a better way.”

The Albany County Legislature will vote on the proposed budget in December. The county executive’s office traditionally presents a budget to the legislature in the fall. McCoy’s budget announcement comes eight days before he faces Daniel Egan in the Democratic primary on Sept. 10.

Egan sent a press release, calling McCoy’s budget announcement a “calculated political stunt.”

McCoy, 46, said that the fund balance of $39.7 million has nearly doubled since he took office four years ago. The fund balance amount, set up like a rainy-day account, had dropped to $19 million in the late 2000s.

Before the recession, he said, “Reserves were over $51 million.”

After the recession, he said, “The county borrowed $15 million per year to make payroll.”

The county continued to borrow that much each year for the next five years, ending this year. The proposed 2016 budget meets payroll needs without cutting county programs or laying off workers, he said.

“We didn’t raise taxes,” McCoy said of the rising fund balance. “We just knocked it off a little at a time.”

Asked about reducing taxes rather than keeping the maximum allowed for the fund balance at $39.7 million, McCoy said, “We just came out of the recession. People are having trouble putting food on the table. For the size of our budget, it’s too low.”

McCoy said that the county’s fund balance needs to go back up to $50 million, in case the country has another recession, “So we’re not raising your taxes when you need a break.”

 “To spend that reserve money would be foolish,” McCoy said.

Partnerships

“My thing’s been partnerships,” McCoy said. “We strive to make a profit…where the profit goes to the taxpayers.”

He referred to streamlined medical practices that offer mental health and substance abuse care at the same facility, resulting in a savings of time for patients and staff, and money.

McCoy also spoke about saving money at the county level by sharing bids for services. As an example, McCoy said that, if the county needed a million pencils, and Colonie needed 500,000, the two municipalities could go to bid together for 1.5 million pencils and “get a better rate.”

McCoy also said that the county budget reflects increased communications with unions.

When he took office, 10 out of 15 unions in the county were working with no contract, he said.

“We have closed every contract,” McCoy said.

He said that changing schedule models and working with Local 1199 Service Employees International Union members on the county nursing home budget should save $5 million in 2016.

All county workers are slated to receive a 2-percent salary increase, McCoy said.

“This budget is going to help people because we’re not raising taxes…and we’re improving on our services,” he said. “We’re still delivering services…without raising taxes.”

McCoy said that, because the county stayed under the tax cap, again, county residents will receive another incentive check from the state, as they did the previous year.

“Being under the cap, you will get another rebate check for 2016,” McCoy said. “The taxpayers are making out on this budget.”

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