|
HOME
BIOGRAPHY PHOTO GALLERY EVENTS NEWS ROOM CONTACT US |
HELP SUPPORT |
|
WGRZ NBC-2 Is There Really A $9 Million Surplus In Erie County? Posted by: Stefan Mychajliw, ReporterCreated: 5/3/2006 10:47:54 PM Updated: 5/4/2006 3:42:23 PM Erie County Executive Joel Giambra raised some eyebrows on Monday, when he announced Erie County had a $9 million for the first financial quarter of 2006. "Erie County finances are on track. Running a nine-million dollar surplus right now, after the first quarter, is more good news," said Giambra. But many local leaders, including Giambra’s own Budget Director, are not calling that $9 million figure a surplus at all. "I would caution people, however, to say that's a surplus," said Erie County Budget Director Ken Vetter. 2 On Your Side’s Stefan Mychajliw: "Is there really a nine-million dollar surplus?" Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz: "It's not a surplus. It's premature to be talking about that. It is extremely premature, and I don't think it's benefiting anyone to come out as the County Executive did, and say there's a surplus, because there's not a surplus." "No one should call this surplus," said Erie County Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli. According to the Comptroller, calling the $9 million a surplus is misleading, because more money tends to flow into the County coffers this time of the year. "Erie County is cash rich in the first quarter because sales and property tax receipts coming in. Where later in the year we won't have that, so it all evens out in the long run," said Poloncarz. And Erie County’s bond debt is reaching astronomic proportions. Bond debt is basically money taxpayers borrow to pay for capital projects, construction projects. That debt is somewhat similar to your family’s credit card. According to a report released by the Comptroller, Erie County’s bond debt is now $415 million. If you add ECMC’s bond debt of $101 million, Erie County’s total bond debt is $516 million. That’s roughly half of Erie County’s total budget of $1 billion. "The bond debt needs to be paid back. It has to be paid back by Erie County's residents at some future time," said Erie County Legislator Dr. Barry Weinstein. "We are very debt heavy. We need to go on a debt diet for some time," added Poloncarz. Because reserves are gone, Erie County basically has nothing left in its "rainy day" fund. So if there’s an unforeseen expense, the $9 million would be wiped out. That’s why the Budget Director is not calling this a surplus. "Liken it to a family, we have nothing in the bank. Nothing whatsoever. Nine million dollars in the first quarter of the year, does not necessarily mean that money is going to be left over at year end. That money could be eaten up by bad trends and any number of programs, or any number of revenues in a month, or two months. But it is good news. It's like being ahead three-nothing in the first quarter of a football game, but you don't stop at the first quarter of a game. And if you don't play, you could be behind 14-to-three very fast," added Vetter. And there’s a projected deficit of $52 million for 2007. Giambra and the Legislature are responsible for coming up with $40 million in cuts as part of the four-year financial plan, and Erie County shared $12 million in sales tax revenue with the City of Buffalo and other municipalities. "The future has problems," said Dr. Weinstein. "Let's not get lulled into a false sense of security," added Marinelli. Even if the $9 million is characterized as a surplus, think about how Erie County got to that point: $200 million in reserves were depleted, $250 in tobacco assets were spent, the sales tax was raised twice, and property taxes were increased 17%. "And we got nine-million dollars to show for it," said Dr. Weinstein. wgrz Copyright WGRZ-TV, 2006 |
|
Paid For by Friends of Mark Poloncarz
information@markpoloncarz.com |