Suffolk County's budget review office told the Legislature on Monday that the $4.6 billion recommended 2027 budget is fiscally sound but relies heavily on volatile sales tax revenue and comes after the county's insurance reserve fund has been exhausted.
Budget reviewer Benny told legislators the general fund is projected to start 2027 with a $284 million surplus, with revenue recommended at $2.965 billion and expenditures at $3.2 billion, a $236 million increase driven largely by salaries tied to recently settled labor contracts. The recommended budget includes a 2.63% property tax increase, just under the 2.64% cap.
The review recommended cutting $20 million from the health department's 22 million dollar "emerging diseases" contingency fund, which Benny said has typically been used for only a few hundred thousand dollars a year. Legislator Welker objected, citing rising rabies cases in raccoons and concern about tick-borne illness moving west across the county.
"I'm just really concerned," Welker said of the rabies cases, adding later that she wanted the Legislature to "keep our eye on" both rabies and tick-borne disease risks going forward.
Legislator Kennedy raised a similar concern, noting a recently reported measles case and the possibility that funding could run out if someone fell ill. Benny responded that even after a $20 million cut, "millions is not enough to handle even one," while noting another $25 million remains available in a separate miscellaneous emergency account.
One legislator, reviewing spending history on the fund, noted the county spent far less than $20 million on such emergencies in recent years, including $900,000 this year because of rabies, and said the fund "looks like" it is well funded as proposed.
The review also recommended repealing a law requiring the Vanderbilt Museum to contribute 2% of its endowment annually to a county enterprise fund, saying accounting disputes have left at least $1 million in contributed funds sitting unused and benefiting no one. "The law is serving no one, and it's not being implemented," Benny said.
Legislator Richburg raised concerns about Child Protective Services staffing, saying the county has about 377 caseworkers against 394 budgeted positions, roughly 40 vacancies, and that 10 new positions in the recommended budget are simply replacing expiring temporary posts rather than adding net capacity.
Benny said the budget maintains the same total staffing level as this year rather than increasing it, adding that hiring remains difficult. "We're not even gonna get there just based on, you know, the how hard it is to hire there," he said.
Legislators also questioned reserve and contingency fund structures, property tax collection assumptions, and sales tax forecasting, with Benny cautioning that a 1% change in sales tax projections equals about $22 million for the county.