Hempstead supervisor calls for budget cuts from all departments

Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen directed every department to come up with 5 percent in spending cuts as the town braces for a $3.8 million loss in state aid.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that Hempstead Town and other Long Island towns and villages would lose $19 million in state Aid and Incentives for Municipalities under his proposed budget. About $60 million in cuts will be spread across 1,300 towns and villages statewide.

The aid to Hempstead goes to cover everyday services, such as garbage collection and road repairs, Gillen said. The town is slated to lose the most of any New York municipality.

“These cuts came out of left field and with no warning after the town set, and is operating on a budget depending on this funding,” Gillen said. “This targets Long Island disproportionately.”

The Hempstead Town Board passed a $432.5 million 2019 budget with a 3.5 percent tax cut. 

Gillen said the town will not cut services or staff but asked each of the town’s 28 departments to trim 5 percent in discretionary spending by Feb. 15 for Gillen to review potential cuts. Town and state officials are seeking to return the aid to the budget before Cuomo's plan takes effect April 1.

State officials said they would no longer cover towns and villages where the state covered less than 2 percent of expenditures in 2017 under the belief that those communities did not need the funding.

Gillen can impose cutbacks as the town’s chief financial officer and said she needed to prepare to operate the largest town in the country without the guaranteed funding. She said the town could pursue other revenue options, such as grants or a foreclosure registry that was tabled indefinitely by the town board. 

Board members said they are willing to work with Gillen and state representatives to return state funding to the town. 

“Enough is enough," Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said. "It's time to fight for Hempstead Town's residents, not stand idly by while the governor treats Long Islanders like his own personal ATM."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.