walrus51

We must applaud our current Westchester County Executive Astorino for staying true to his campaign promise to halt tax increases at the county level in Westchester.

However, we need to remind CE Astorino that reigning in tax collections can be done in several ways.

The proposed 2012 Westchester County budget as released by CE Astorino hacks away at the branches of excess.

Unfortunately, CE Astorino has not driven down to the roots of inefficiency and waste.

The public sector at the County level can deliver major savings without affecting frontline services.

Real and sustainable savings will not come from slashing safety net services, such as:
• legal services for low-income residents;
• eviction prevention services;
• financial education and budget intervention for low-income families; or
• community health centers.

A quick look at the staffing levels and budget allocations to the Office of County Executive and the Board of Legislators leaves me wondering:

 What if these 2 divisions were eliminated completely? Or, had their administrative support functions combined?

Then, a further look at the various administrative functions:
• Human Resources;
• Budget;
• Finance;
• Information Technology;
• Acquisition and Contract;
• Law;
• Planning;
• Tax Commission;
• Board of Elections.

This all makes me stop and think:– If this was my company: Would I try to combine all of these functions under one Chief Operations Officer? And look for synergies and cost savings?