The Role of County Government
The SCOPE of county government
The NEED for county government
The RELATIONSHIP between town and county governments
Presented by
John Nonna
Westchester County Legislator, 3rd District
History of Westchester County
Government
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Westchester County was established while still under
British Rule in 1683
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The legislature known as the Board of Supervisors at first
had minimal legislative powers—would gather to apportion
shares of the towns’ costs of county-wide facilities such as
the courthouses and the jails, etc.
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1846 and 1892: Responding to increasing population and
demands for services, New York State government
amended the state constitution to expand the role of
county government
Roll Call
Meeting of the Board
of Supervisors, 1855
History of Westchester County
Government
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In 1937, voters approved the Westchester County
Charter and, along with expanding the powers and
duties of the legislature, established an executive
branch of government known as the office of the
County Executive.
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5 years after the US Supreme Court’s 1964 “one
man/one vote” decision, it took 3 countywide
referendums and 4 NYS Supreme Court decisions to
abolish the 45-member Board of Supervisors.
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Our current legislative body, the County Board of
Legislators, replaced the Board of Supervisors in 1970.
Westchester County
Board of Legislators
2008
Westchester County Board of Legislators
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17 legislators, each representing approximately
50,000 residents
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2-year terms
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$49,200 base salary and stipends for Board Chair,
Committee Chairs, Majority and Minority Leaders
The Role of
The Legislative Branch:
Powers and Duties
The Role of the County Board
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The 17-member Board is the lawmaking branch of county
government. It sets policies that protect and serve Westchester’s
nearly one million residents and allocates the money needed to
operate county programs and services. It has oversight
responsibility of the executive branch which was created in 1939
to carry out its policies.
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“Power of the purse” includes responsibility for the county’s budget,
appropriations, tax levies and indebtedness*;
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Enact County Legislation as permitted by the state constitution;
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Develop and approve new county-specific policies;
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Create, organize and abolish departments and fix the number of
persons to be employed;
Follow the state’s mandates---the state continues to farm out
additional duties to counties;
Act as a check and balance on the executive branch
* Westchester County is the only triple-A rated county in NYS—helps reduce
interest rates on debt.
The Role of
The Executive Branch:
Powers and Duties
The Role The Executive Branch
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Supervise, direct and control the delivery of county
programs and services by the county’s officers, boards,
agencies, commissioners and departments;
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Prepare the annual operating and capital budgets to the
County Board for review and approval;
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Suggest policies that in his opinion are in best interests of
the county;
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Ensure that the county complies with the laws and
mandates of the state as they pertain to county
government; and, execute and enforce the laws and acts
of the County Board.
The County Budget
2008
The County Budget: $1.7 billion
Sources of County Revenues
16%
28%
Sales Tax
Property Tax
Fed/State Aid
Other*
25%
31%
* Fees, Fines, Mortgage
Tax, etc.
Where your property tax $ goes…
17% to 20% of a county resident’s property tax dollar
goes to the county
6.9 cents
Other Tax
17.2 cents
County Tax
14.7 cents
City/Town Tax
Sample: Approximate City/Town Tax Bill
61.2 cents
School Tax
County/Town Revenue Sharing:
Sales & Mortgage Taxes
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Counties, unlike NYC or NYS, collect no income taxes
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Unlike other counties, Westchester shares its sales tax
revenues with towns and school districts
All
County
Sales Tax
Collected
Mt. Pleasant
Municipality:
$3,532,750
School:
$653,304
Briarcliff
Municipality:
$1,309,656
School:
$356,028
Pleasantville
Municipality:
$968,869
School:
$399,764
Sleepy Hollow
Municipality:
$1,244,453
School:
Allocated
other districts
The County Budget:
$1.2 Billion Mandated by NYS & Fed. Gvts.
Social Services (includes Medicaid):
$570 million
Health Dept:
$163.9 million
Corrections Dept:
$128 million
District Attorney:
$22 million
Mandated Total
Consumer Protection:
$1.9 million
$1,217,916,915
County Clerk:
$9.3 million
Westchester Community College:
$22 million
Non- Mandated
Total
$555,663,706
The County Budget:
$556 million Non-Mandated (by NYS, Feds)
Transportation
(Bee Line Bus):
$119 million
Airport (self sufficient):
No net cost
Employee Health Insurance:
$92 million
Debt Service:
$73 million
Public Works:
$20 million
Mandated Total
Labs & Research:
$15 million
$1,217,916,915
Emergency Services:
$9.2 million
Parks & Recreation:
$53.2 million
Public Safety:
$36 million
Invest in Kids Programs:
$2 million
Westchester Library System:
$1.2 million
Non-Mandated
Total
$555,663,706
The County Budget
Environmental Facilities Department: $220,241,309
Plan, operate and maintain county’s:
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7 wastewater treatment facilities—Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck,
Rye (Blind Brook), Port Chester, Ossining and Peekskill
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Wastewater collection systems—194 miles of sewers and 4,000
manholes, 42 pump stations
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4 Water Districts; Kensico Dam; water filtration facilities
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RESCO- court order in 1982 to close county’s landfill and local
incinerators; county built the Charles Point Resource Recovery Facility
in Peekskill; handles solid waste from 36 municipalities or 90% of the
county’s population
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Materials Recovery Facility in Yonkers—handles recyclables from the
same municipalities
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Household Chemical Clean up Days; Mobile Shredders
The Relationship between
Town and County Government
Town/Government Relationship
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Respect for home rule (e.g. land use, zoning,
police, etc.)
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Work together to resolve issues – i.e., water
quality, sewer, affordable housing, to name a few
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Need for regional government for certain issues
Town/Government Relationship:
Regional Issues Shifted to County Government Over Time
Social Services
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Medicaid
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Child Protective Services
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Early Childhood Education
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Housing/Homeless Services
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Employment and Workforce Training
Public Health/Community Mental Health
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Public Health Threats
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Inspections
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Labs/Forensics
Environmental Facilities
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Waste disposal: Solid waste (incinerators)
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Recycling programs
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Waste Water Treatment
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Water quality
Town/Government Relationship:
Regional Issues Shifted to County Government Over Time
Emergency Services
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Mutual aid coordination
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Hazmat equipment and staff
Public Safety
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Crime Analysis Unit
Aviation Unit
Counter-Terrorism/Homeland Security
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Bomb Squad
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Environmental Crimes
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Police/Fire Training Facilities
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Forensics, Ballistics, DEA Task Force
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Transportation
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Bee Line Bus
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Westchester County Airport
Alternatives to
County Government
Alternatives to County Government
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State government
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Town and village government
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Regional authority
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The Connecticut model
Improvements to
County Government
Improvements to County Government
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The future of local government
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The governor’s commission on local government efficiency
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96 separate taxing districts
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More shared services
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Consolidation of school districts
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Consolidation of certain functions in county
The Role of The Citizen
The Role of The Citizen
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Only citizens can change the way government works
if they don’t like it
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Yet many citizens do not participate in local
government elections
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Local government is the government closest to the
people
The Role of The Citizen
“Democracy is the worst
form of government but
better than all others.”
— Winston Churchill
The Role of The Citizen
“A government ill executed
whatever it may be in
theory, must in practice be
a bad government.”
— Alexander Hamilton,
Federalist Papers No. 90
If citizens do not like the practice of government, they
can make their voices heard and they can change it.
The Role of The Citizen
"The death of democracy is
not likely to be an
assassination from ambush.
It will be a slow extinction
from apathy, indifference,
and undernourishment.”
— Robert Maynard Hutchins