Suffolk County Executive Romaine vows to settle lawsuits, fix aging county buildings
Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, in his first state of the county address, said Tuesday he would press to resolve millions of dollars' worth of lawsuits against the county, renovate aging government buildings and boost county staffing levels.
Romaine, a Republican who took office in January, repeatedly has lamented the condition of county buildings — particularly police headquarters in Yaphank, where the roof leaks and restrooms are often out of service, and the medical examiner’s office in Hauppauge.
The Suffolk County Legislature has approved millions of dollars in borrowing for facilities since Romaine took office, including $4 million in April for the medical examiner's office.
“I was shocked to see some of the areas that I visited and the lack of maintenance and investment,” Romaine said in his address to the county legislature in Hauppauge. “I am going to take a look at every single county building in the next four years to take a look at what we can do to improve.”
Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), the Democratic minority leader, had no criticism and said he agreed with Romaine’s focus on infrastructure and increasing staff levels.
“I think we have a shared vision,” Richberg said. “We need to invest in our people, our infrastructure and our communities.”
While a state of the county address can be an opportunity for announcing new projects and initiatives, Romaine stuck primarily to how he planned to administer government services.
Romaine noted his $489 million capital budget proposal includes $120 million for transit upgrades and $35 million for improvements at the county Board of Elections such as new voting machines.
Romaine took office at a time of healthy county finances. Suffolk has about $1 billion in reserves, buoyed by several years of higher than anticipated sales tax revenue and about $500 million in one-time federal pandemic aid payments.
When Democratic County Executive Steve Bellone took office in 2012 he immediately named a task force to provide an independent assessment of Suffolk's budget deficits. Steve Levy, Bellone's Republican predecessor, had said his 2012 budget was balanced, but some county lawmakers pointed to an estimated budget gap of $100 million.
Romaine said he would focus on settling county lawsuits as a way to boost the county's bond ratings, which affect the cost of borrowing. Newsday has reported the county expected to pay $615 million to resolve more than $1 billion in outstanding legal claims.
Romaine said by year's end he hopes to resolve a 2015 lawsuit filed by ratepayers of the Southwest Sewer District alleging they were overcharged by at least $260 million.
Romaine also pointed to a suit filed on behalf of the nonprofit Long Island Pine Barrens Society that demands the return of $198 million diverted from a sewer fund to help finance county operations.
“We're going to settle these suits probably in the next year or so,” Romaine said. “If not, we'll litigate them out.”
Romaine criticized Bellone's administration for failing to resolve lawsuits and obtain cybersecurity insurance. Suffolk suffered a crippling cyberattack in September 2022. Afterward, it was revealed that the county did not have a cybersecurity insurance policy because it did not qualify for one.
Romaine said he hoped to obtain a policy by the end of the year.
Bellone declined to comment.
Also, Romaine noted a $750,000 study to determine how employee salaries stack up against those of other municipalities — an initiative Association of Municipal Employees president Dan Levler has said is at the top of the union’s wish list.
Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, in his first state of the county address, said Tuesday he would press to resolve millions of dollars' worth of lawsuits against the county, renovate aging government buildings and boost county staffing levels.
Romaine, a Republican who took office in January, repeatedly has lamented the condition of county buildings — particularly police headquarters in Yaphank, where the roof leaks and restrooms are often out of service, and the medical examiner’s office in Hauppauge.
The Suffolk County Legislature has approved millions of dollars in borrowing for facilities since Romaine took office, including $4 million in April for the medical examiner's office.
“I was shocked to see some of the areas that I visited and the lack of maintenance and investment,” Romaine said in his address to the county legislature in Hauppauge. “I am going to take a look at every single county building in the next four years to take a look at what we can do to improve.”
Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), the Democratic minority leader, had no criticism and said he agreed with Romaine’s focus on infrastructure and increasing staff levels.
“I think we have a shared vision,” Richberg said. “We need to invest in our people, our infrastructure and our communities.”
While a state of the county address can be an opportunity for announcing new projects and initiatives, Romaine stuck primarily to how he planned to administer government services.
Romaine noted his $489 million capital budget proposal includes $120 million for transit upgrades and $35 million for improvements at the county Board of Elections such as new voting machines.
Romaine took office at a time of healthy county finances. Suffolk has about $1 billion in reserves, buoyed by several years of higher than anticipated sales tax revenue and about $500 million in one-time federal pandemic aid payments.
When Democratic County Executive Steve Bellone took office in 2012 he immediately named a task force to provide an independent assessment of Suffolk's budget deficits. Steve Levy, Bellone's Republican predecessor, had said his 2012 budget was balanced, but some county lawmakers pointed to an estimated budget gap of $100 million.
Romaine said he would focus on settling county lawsuits as a way to boost the county's bond ratings, which affect the cost of borrowing. Newsday has reported the county expected to pay $615 million to resolve more than $1 billion in outstanding legal claims.
Romaine said by year's end he hopes to resolve a 2015 lawsuit filed by ratepayers of the Southwest Sewer District alleging they were overcharged by at least $260 million.
Romaine also pointed to a suit filed on behalf of the nonprofit Long Island Pine Barrens Society that demands the return of $198 million diverted from a sewer fund to help finance county operations.
“We're going to settle these suits probably in the next year or so,” Romaine said. “If not, we'll litigate them out.”
Romaine criticized Bellone's administration for failing to resolve lawsuits and obtain cybersecurity insurance. Suffolk suffered a crippling cyberattack in September 2022. Afterward, it was revealed that the county did not have a cybersecurity insurance policy because it did not qualify for one.
Romaine said he hoped to obtain a policy by the end of the year.
Bellone declined to comment.
Also, Romaine noted a $750,000 study to determine how employee salaries stack up against those of other municipalities — an initiative Association of Municipal Employees president Dan Levler has said is at the top of the union’s wish list.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
