(WHITE PLAINS, NY) At the first meeting after the Board of Legislators reorganized itself for the start of a new session, several Legislators have introduced their first legislative package of the year to help stimulate economic development in Westchester County. 

The package includes 3 bills and a resolution that stems from the work of the Board’s Family Task Force.  

The first bill would maintain the unrestricted fund balance in the general fund at a level no less than 5% of each fund’s total adopted budget expenditures.  After failing to meet the projected sales tax revenues in 2015, 2016 is likely to follow in that path, further compounding the problems created by reducing the County’s savings in fund balances.  When the County’s fund balance falls below certain thresholds, ratings agencies diminish the entity’s bond rating, which has already happened once to Westchester.  These reductions in credit ratings make bonding more expensive and serve as a disincentive for local governments to spend money improving or repairing critical infrastructure as a means to create local jobs.  

Legislator Ben Boykin, a CPA and co-sponsor of the legislation said, “Passing this measure will force the County Executive to propose an honest budget with achievable revenue goals instead of the widely criticized methods of the last several years.  Continuing to pass budgets without accountability for raiding our savings account is going to cost the taxpayers more money in the future as well as through an inevitable reduction in services.  I believe there is bipartisan support for passing measures aimed at increasing oversight on the use of taxpayer dollars.”

Also included in the economic development plans was a bill to create more opportunities for employment through apprenticeship training requirements on county construction projects.  Legislator Catherine Parker, a small business owner and co-sponsor of the legislation said, “As the need for improvements to our infrastructure grows and new technologies in trades continue to emerge, the only way we are going to be able to fill jobs and finish projects on time and budget is making sure our workforce is abundantly prepared and skilled in the latest technologies.”

The final piece of legislation requires the County to enter into Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on every construction project over $250,000.  Project Labor Agreements are designed to help bring projects to completion on time and budget with safe working environments for everyone involved.  By lowering this threshold, more projects will have the accountability that taxpayers deserve.  Legislator Ken Jenkins, who has a real estate background  stated in support of the legislation, “PLAs are good for county taxpayers and businesses by providing good, safe job opportunities and ensuring projects get completed on budget and on time due to the supply of qualified labor and relative ease of project management.”  

As announced at a December press conference at the Board of Legislators, members of the Board’s Families Task Force announced the creation of a Families Bill of Rights and will use it as a guide for 2016 priorities.  The BoL Families Task Force has concluded a series of public meetings in various parts of the county where they received input on what families in Westchester need to stay, grow and thrive here. 

The result of that work is this Bill of Rights which comes at a very important time at the beginning of the County’s new fiscal year.  This bill of rights will outline the basic economic needs demonstrated by many families across the County and will serve as a tool to make sure that County provides the services it pledged to in the recently enacted 2016 budget.   

Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), who serves as the Co-chair of the task force said, “This Bill of Rights will give us a very good framework to guide everything we do in order to help Westchester families thrive.  Every member of the Board of Legislators has agreed that the budget we just passed leaves no margin of error in the coming fiscal year.  Every decision we make as a result of that will be geared towards making sure every family can have the Westchester life they envisioned for themselves.”  

All legislative background materials can be found at: https://westchesterlegislators.com/

  • ID#8832: County Fund Balance Control Act
  • ID#8872: Required Apprenticeship Agreements
  • ID#8868: Fair Labor Practices Act
  • ID#8831: Family Bill of Rights