On Thursday, The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) received County Executive Rob Astorino’s proposed 2017 Operating Budget. The $1.8 Billion budget does not raise taxes or cut jobs but it comes with a $15 million hole that the County Executive wants the BOL to fill by passing a 40 year lease with a private equity firm to take over operations at the Westchester County Airport. The County Executive announced the surprise lease proposal late last week and said if the lease deal does not pass the BOL, he would not resubmit a balanced budget and would leave it to Legislators to make $15 million in service cuts to balance the budget.
Because the County Executive’s budget is predicated on passage of the Airport Lease, the BOL will have to simultaneously review and approve both items (the budget must be passed by December 27th according to the County Charter). Generally, the Budget Committee which is Chaired by Legislator Sheila Marcotte (R) Eastchester will meet in the mornings to review the operating budget, the Budget Committee will then meet jointly with the Infrastructure Committee which is Chaired by Legislator MaryJane Shimsky (D) Hastings, starting at 2:30 each afternoon to discuss the Airport Lease.
BOL Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Sheila Marcotte applauded the County Executive’s plan for the Airport. “I remain committed to delivering a budget that provides the services our residents need while protecting taxpayers. As unfunded mandates from Albany and the costs of goods and services continue to rise, we have to find alternative revenue streams to fund county government. Optimizing revenue at an existing and critical county asset like the Airport is a smart and resourceful way to do that.”
BOL Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D) Somers warned that the lack of time given to review the 40 year, $140 million Airport Lease along with the unbalanced budget may prevent the BOL from reaching the 12 vote supermajority required for the lease. “The Airport Lease may be a good deal and I hope it is but a contract of this length and scope requires serious investigation and review. There are a number of critical considerations regarding this lease beyond the financial implications; we must be sure that there will be no negative environmental impact for our neighbors around the airport or for the reservoir which abuts the airport property. We also must consider how we will handle the increased passenger flow both at the terminal and on public streets around the airport.” Kaplowitz said. “The BOL will act in the best interest of taxpayers and if this deal is as sound as the County Executive has claimed then we should be able to get all the answers to the many questions Legislators have raised in order for a vote to take place before we pass the budget on or before December 27th.”
On Monday the BOL Budget and Appropriations Committee and Infrastructure Committee met jointly to discuss a timeline and identify stakeholders for the public-private partnership at the airport. The Committees have scheduled the following meetings;
- 11/16 Wednesday at 2:30pm - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
- 11/17 Thursday at 2:30pm - Current Operator (AvPort)
- 11/21 Monday at 2:30pm - Proposed Operator (Oak Tree Management, et al)
- 11/29 Tuesday at 2:30pm - Environmental and Labor Groups
Additional stakeholders whom the Committees plan to meet with are;
- Business community groups (County Association, Business Council)
- Neighborhood groups (Homeowners Associations)
- Airport Advisory Board
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Wicks Group (Aviation Law Experts)
- Fixed Base Operators and LGA Operators
- Existing Commercial Airlines
- Cappelli (Parking Garage)
- O’Connor Davies (auditors)
- Representatives of the Astorino Administration, County Attorney, Department of Public Works and Transportation, Department of Environmental Protection
