Anagnostakis: Neuhaus Budget ‘Illegal’
By Michael Kaufman
Orange County legislator Mike Anagnostakis was so troubled after reading through the $703.2 million 2015 budget proposed by County Executive Steve Neuhaus last week that he sent a letter to all his legislative colleagues to share his concerns. A centerpiece of the Neuhaus budget plan is the sale of the county-owned Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation to a private, for-profit nursing home company. Neuhaus, who was elected in November after promising voters he would not seek to sell Valley View, now says he anticipates using $15 million from its sale to help close a projected deficit of $63 million.
Anagnostakis, the lone Republican who has steadfastly opposed privatization of Valley View, told colleagues he is troubled by a number of aspects of the proposed budget. “No matter what side of the issue you are on with Valley View,” he wrote, “I would think these items would be a problem if we are trying to do the PROCESS the right way and get a true budget done” to solve problems facing the county. “Most troubling,” he said, is his feeling that the proposed budget is “illegal on many levels.”
“By charter we must fund fully all departments within the charter,” he continued, noting that when Neuhaus’ predecessor Ed Diana, attempted to stop funding Valley View in 2013, the New York State Supreme Court ruled unequivocally, “what the County Executive seeks to do within the confines of the 2013 budget, i.e., to unilaterally close Valley View.…constitutes an impermissible violation of the doctrine of separation of powers.”
Furthermore, said Anagnostakis, using a “one-shot” infusion of $15 million from the sale of Valley View is “contingent on many things happening” and “New York State law does not allow for this kind of a contingent budget item.” He said one of three things will occur if the proposed budget is passed: There may not be the 14-vote supermajority required to sell Valley View; or if there are 14 votes, the resolution may be challenged in court and found illegal; or, even if a Local Law is passed with 14 votes “it will not be in place until AFTER an election occurs, if enough signatures are obtained, and ONLY if the sell Valley View side wins that election, which would be MANY MANY months after the budget needs to be in place.” In each of those scenarios, Anagnostakis told fellow legislators, “this budget would not be legally balanced and I fear we will find ourselves in another court case.”
Anagnostakis pointed out that Neuhaus had “railed against Diana and previous legislators” for failing to have structural balanced budgets (income equaling expenses) because they used about $40 million per year from general fund surplus, other reserves and “one-shots” to balance the budgets. Yet he does the same thing in his proposed budget “by using $45.8 million in general fund surplus, other reserves and ‘one-shots’….Included in that amount are the $15 million from selling Valley View (to balance the other departments deficits) and $8.4 million of Tobacco reserves (instead of using them for anti-smoking programs). The structural deficit would only be cut by about $10 million, so if we had a budget deficit of $63 million this year, then our deficit will still be $53 million for the start of the following year (and we would not even own Valley View at that point).”
He cited several other examples where “the numbers in this budget do not ring true.” For example, the budget “does not itemize one penny for the legacy costs for Valley View which will still be in the $5-$7 million range.” Noting that the 2015 budget to run Valley View has been estimated to be around $5.5 million, he concluded, “it very well may cost taxpayers more yearly to sell the facility than to keep it.”
Asked if he has received any responses to his letter, Anagnostakis said, “Not a single Legislator has given any response!” But there are four Democrats who he says work with him “because they understand what is going on.” The big problem is ALL the Republicans (and Independence Party legislator Michael Amo, who votes with the Republicans) who never have an open mind and only do what is asked of them.”
Michael can be reached at michael@zestoforange.com.
Tags: Ed Diana, Michael Kaufman, Mike Anagnostakis, Steve Neuhaus, Valley View
October 10th, 2014 at 7:52 am
“Not a single Legislator has given any response!” I suppose that is why they are called “Legis-LATERs” and not “Legis-NOWs”.
The “legality” of Neuhaus’ budget is questionable. But why should that gets in its way? After all, the court-determined illegality of the Valley View LDC hasn’t slowed it down a beat.
The “big problem” is that our current political process is broken. To function well, a Democracy requires that a large portion of it citizenry be well informed and motivated to vote. Ultimately, “we the people” are to blame. Need proof? OK, two words: Curly Dillard. or how about, Leigh Benton? That guys like these occupy positions of power is enough to make me long for a “randomocracy” (government by lottery winners).