Genesee County officers and lawmakers say they are doing their part, now it’s up to Congress to reciprocate by passing meaningful legislation to stop the bleeding caused by COVID-19 and the resulting economic slowdown.
A two-page document created by the county budget office and legislature sends a clear message to the state’s Congressional delegation: Stop local service cuts; provide direct aid to counties. The flyer was distributed to the members of Congress who represent New York, state Assembly and Senate members, county town and village officials, and the media.
“We’re looking for assistance from the federal government through an additional stimulus package that would provide needed revenue to both New York State and local municipalities,” Assistant County Manager Matt Landers said. “The revenue to New York State would be vital to Genesee County to hopefully stop further state aid cuts to the county and the aid from the stimulus package directly to municipalities would help us replace revenue that has been lost, such as sales tax.”
The flyer lists 23 different actions the county has taken in an effort to stabilize its budget and continue the delivery of essential local services.
They are as follows:
- Developed contingency plans based on loss of State revenue and other economy driven tax revenue losses;
- Reduced spending to offset reductions in sales tax, State aid and other locally derived fees impacted by COVID-19;
- Held efficiency meetings with all department heads and asked for a list of line items in their budgets that they could cut and see potential savings through the end of the year and future years;
- Limited spending to essential items only with approval on a case by case basis;
- Requested justification for all purchases based on operational need;
- Suspended/deferred the purchase of new equipment or leases, unless necessary to keep staff working or to respond to COVID-19;
- Instituted system to track all expenditures related to COVID-19 for potential reimbursement from FEMA;
- Reviewed all contracts for performance metrics during COVID-19 and made payment adjustments to reflect services rendered;
- Limited training to only what is mandatory;
- Eliminated all unnecessary travel, including commitments for future discretionary travel;
- Instituted a strategic hiring freeze, with exceptions only for essential positions, i.e. public safety, public health and EMS;
- Made permanent layoffs;
- Implemented furloughs;
- Reduced seasonal employment – PT Highway, Parks and Forest;
- Updated contracts to allow for flexibility if needed, updated and implemented contingency measures, further scrutinized mandated and unmandated programs for flexibility options;
- Overtime costs significantly reduced;
- Deferred most capital projects;
- Delayed the opening of pavilions at County parks;
- Reduced road and bridge repairs to offset 20 percent reduced funding from CHIPS/PAVE NY;
- Reduced planned public facilities projects, highway infrastructure projects, and soil and water conservation initiatives;
- Jail construction project delayed while further discussions with the State are conducted to allow for a joint two county jail shared service initiative;
- Currently investigating areas of privatization of County services;
- Planned reduced or flat funding for outside agencies in 2021 budget.
Landers said legislators have put programs and expenditures under a microscope, leaving no stone unturned in an effort to get the county budget under control.
“We’ve been aggressive with everything that has come before us. If we have any wiggle room or any discretion in how we spend, we have not been spending money,” he said. “We’ve been scrutinizing like we have never before – out of necessity – because of the lost revenue coming in through sales tax.”
Landers said sales tax revenue for the second quarter decreased by 18 percent compared to 2019.
He said it’s still not clear on what is coming down the pike as far as state aid is concerned, but he is afraid it could be “a significant potential loss of revenue and reimbursement.”
The county is mandated by the state to provide certain services, such as probation and monitoring of those convicted of crimes, Landers said. The problem with state aid is that Albany may only reimburse the county a fraction of what has already been spent on those mandated programs.
While difficult to quantify the total amount of all of these cost-saving measures, Landers did say that furloughs and hiring freezes alone saved the county around $800,000.
“A portion of what has been saved is a reflection of the environment that we’re in with the pandemic,” Landers said, specifically mentioning less travel, conferences and training, as well as the boarding out of fewer inmates (due to COVID-19 and bail reform).
