Skelos to Long Beach: Shape Up

State Sen. Dean Skelos blasted the city administration on Wednesday for requesting to borrow $15 million from the state in an effort to offset a $10 million budget deficit.

In a scathing letter sent to City Manager Jack Schnirman, Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said he continues to be “troubled” by Schnirman’s “insistence on borrowing to address” the city’s financial woes rather than looking for ways to reduce spending.

He said the city was seeking about $5 million more from the state than the projected deficit facing Long Beach.

“That’s not just kicking the can down the road, it’s borrowing money to buy more empty cans,” wrote Skelos, the Senate Majority Leader.

Skelos wrote the letter in response to Schnirman’s request to borrow the $15 million in deficit financing from the state to be paid back over a 10-year period.

“This request would place the city’s current budget problems on the back of Long Beach taxpayers for years to come,” Skelos wrote to Schnirman. “You have yet to take adequate steps to responsibly address the current fiscal dilemma, nor have you provided me with a legitimate plan to reduce expenses and balance your budget.”

Council Approves Deficit Reduction Surcharge

During Wednesday night’s meeting, the City Council approved a 6.6 percent deficit-reduction surcharge for three years, bringing this year’s tax increase to 14.5 percent. The measure passed by a vote of 3-2, with Mike Fagen and John McLaughlin voting against it.

In a phone interview on Friday afternoon, Schnirman said he has asked Skelos for the deficit financing measure to pay off the more than $10 million deficit he inherited from the previous administration in January. He said he has cut into the deficit by shrinking the city workforce to its lowest levels in history, and has recently made an additional $1.2 million in cuts.

“But we can’t cut a dollar that was spent before we took office,” said Schnirman, who insisted that he has balanced the budget even though the deficit now stands at $4.8 million. “That bill has to be paid. It’s very simple. If the city gets the approval for the deficit financing, we will not have to institute the temporary surcharge. It’s a routine approval that has been granted to 43 other municipalities, but we have yet to be granted this authority.”

He said the 6.6 percent surcharge would cost the average homeowner $183 per year over three years.

Fagen said Schnirman has falsely touted a balanced budget and relied heavily on the state assistance before it was denied.

“It’s really an irresponsible thing for him to do,” Fagen said. “The city should be cutting spending and saving money. But instead of doing that, they’ve made minimal cuts, while still hiring people and giving out unnecessary promotions and still giving people raises.

“They are in essence blaming Sen. Skelos for the tax increase,” Fagen added. “They are trying to lay the blame for their own incompetence at the feet of the state senate majority leader, which is the height of irresponsible management.”

Skelos Addresses Constituents

In a letter to his constituents later in the week, Skelos said he wanted to “correct some false and misleading information” about the city’s financial troubles, while criticizing Schnirman and City Council President Len Torres for the fiscal woes.

“Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman and Council President Len Torres have not been able to manage the city’s finances, and instead of taking responsibility, they are blaming me for mid-year tax hikes resulting from their own failure to act.

“The city leaders applied for a massive loan to pay for spending they can’t afford, with no plan to pay it off other than to stick taxpayers and their children with the bill. Now they are blaming someone else for the problem.”

Torres could not be reached for comment, but Schnirman responded: “There has been no misinformation. We look forward to working with the senator in seeking ways to assist Long Beach taxpayers.”

Schnirman said that if the state could provide help to 43 other municipalities than “it has the power to ease the burden on our taxpayers.”

He said he has provided the state with an 18-page document detailing the city’s recent spending cuts, including layoffs and shrinking workforce, and “how the City Council has stopped the bleeding and managed to balance the budget.”

A 14.5 percent tax increase means that a homeowner currently paying $10,000 in taxes annually will be hit with an additional $1,450, said Fagen.

“A mid-year tax increase is unprecedented,” said Frank McQuade, chairman of the Tea Party and a Republican Committeeman. “It’s never been done in the history of Long Beach. “I would have been furious if Skelos had approved the borrowing because it’s irresponsible. It’s a bailout that has to stop.”

Skelos spokesman Tom Locascio strongly denied claims by the city administration that the request to borrow money to pay off the deficit was routine.

“It’s anything but routine,” he said.

Without any substantial change in the way Long Beach does business, “what would prevent the city from coming back in another two years and asking to pay off the deficit with more borrowed money?” said Locascio.

Where To From Here?

Skelos said he has helped Long Beach when the city proposed sound fiscal measures. Under his leadership, the State Senate approved legislation allowing Long Beach to amortize its early retirement costs, saving taxpayers money. “We continue to believe that every level of government should be balancing its budget by reducing spending, not by raising taxes or taking on additional debt,” Skelos said.

Skelos said state lawmakers closed a $13 billion budget deficit without raising taxes or borrowing money by streamlining government and reducing spending.

“I hope the elected officials in Long Beach will start searching for solutions instead of someone else to blame and begin to take seriously the need to address their own budget shortfall with appropriate actions,” the senator said.

Schnirman is still hopeful Skelos will change his mind before the surcharge is put into effect. “There’s always hope,” he said.