Steve Bellone delays 2024 county budget a third time

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Monday filed an executive order delaying submission of his 2024 budget for the third time, citing lingering effects of the September 2022 cyberhack on county government.

Bellone representatives declined to comment about Bellone's move, which extended the budget deadline until Friday, and instead pointed to a previous statement on the issue.

"Due to the need to suspend use of technology and the diversion of County resources, in consultation with the Legislature, the submission date for the budget has been extended," county spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said in an email.

The county charter requires the county executive to submit a budget proposal on the third Friday each September. Bellone used his power during the county’s state of emergency, put in place shortly after the crippling ransomware attack was discovered on Sept. 8, 2022, to initially extend the budget deadline until Sept. 27. A second executive order extended it until Oct. 2.

The County Legislature is scheduled to vote on the budget Nov. 8, and, under state law, must approve related tax warrants by Dec. 1.

County Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), presiding officer of the legislature, said Monday lawmakers would “get it done in time” to approve the budget by Nov. 8. The delay, however, will shorten the time the legislature has to review Bellone's spending plan before voting on adoption.

Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy noted his office submitted its certified annual financial report to the county budget office on Aug. 21, nearly two months past the June 30 deadline, due to a “domino” effect of the hack. The county needs the report for an accurate financial baseline to project 2024 revenue and spending, Kennedy said.

Still Kennedy, a Republican and frequent Bellone critic, questioned the administration’s need to extend the 2024 budget submission further.

Kennedy said even though his own financial report was late, the Bellone administration “did have most of it [budget information] compiled and put together and so I would just wonder why there's a need to continue to extend here.”

Bellone, a Democrat, delayed filing the $3.74 billion county budget for 2023 because of the cyberattack, and also delayed his 2021 and 2022 spending plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Nassau County, County Executive Bruce Blakeman submitted his 2024 budget on time last month. The $4.1 billion spending plan also kept county property taxes flat.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese 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.