(WHITE PLAINS, NY) Westchester County Board of Legislators Majority Leader Catherine Borgia released the following statement regarding the County Executive’s proposal to have the Westchester airport managed by a new, outside vendor.

“The County Executive’s announcement to turn the management of the county airport over to a new outside vendor came as a surprise to many, if not all of us on the Board of Legislators.  The airport is a significant asset owned by the people of Westchester.  While the non-taxpayer revenues resulting from this deal might help to balance a very unbalanced budget, we have seen that the County Executive has had false starts and missteps in executing these kinds of partnerships in the past and is growing more and more reliant on one-shot gimmick budget tactics that make it look like Westchester is having a fire sale.

“As a result of that track record, we believe it is important to conduct a thorough review to ensure that these revenues do come to fruition, especially if the county spending additional taxpayer dollars on vital programs is conditioned on this backroom deal.  We can only surmise that an arrangement created behind closed doors, with no public input, was done with the intent of forcing Legislators to approve this in exchange for funding various programs and services that the County Executive has always desired to cut including public safety efforts and services for children and families.  It is also very important that the Legislature give the public ample time and opportunity to weigh in on a project of this magnitude.

“It is imperative that the Board of Legislators do our due diligence of all the aspects of this lease before we vote on whether or not it should be approved. The people of Westchester deserve nothing less than competent and complete legislative review.

“The Democratic Caucus is looking forward to working with all legislators, especially those who represent the communities that will be most impacted by any alteration of any size at the airport, on this full review and make sure this is acceptable to their communities and feasible for the county’s finances.”