HOW TO RESPONSIBLY CUT THE
DA'S BUDGET BY OVER $93,000
My plan to cut the District Attorney’s budget by over $93,000 is based on real numbers and real comparisons. I am only candidate who is sticking to a serious budget cut plan and not backing away from it. As District Attorney, I will immediately change the culture of increased spending that appears to have been more “empire building” than sound fiscal stewardship.
These are difficult economic times. With the nation in a severe recession, a public official owes a duty to county taxpayers to insure not only that the expenditures of his or her department are reasonable and prudent, but that they also share in the pain everyone is feeling in their pocketbook without impacting on the quality of services provided. With state deficits projected for as far as the eye can see, Seneca County cannot afford a bloated departmental budget. With that in mind, as District Attorney, I will take the following four steps to bring the office budget more in line with economic realities:
1. I will request that the Board repeal the pay raise granted to the District Attorney.
In my view, this raise was improper. A District Attorney’s pay is tied to that of a County Court Judge, not a County Court Judge acting as a Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, the logic by which the raise was requested was faulty, misleading, and contrary to the law. And this is not just my opinion, it is also the opinion of the New York State Attorney General. (1) If the Board does not grant this request, then I will donate the full amount of the after tax raise to Seneca County charities. If the Board grants this request, the yearly savings will be $17,800.(2)
2. I will request that the District Attorney’s automobile be declared surplus and sold.
For approximately six of the last eight years, a Crown Victoria has been used as the personal vehicle of the District Attorney with taxpayers picking up the tab for gas, insurance, repairs, and even car washes. There is no sound reason for Seneca County taxpayers to provide a personal vehicle for the District Attorney’s use. Based upon the amount in the 2009 Budget for this car, the total savings, not including any money realized from the sale of the car, will be $3,914.(3)
3. I will keep vacant the recently added part-time ADA and Investigator positions.
Madison County has more than double the population of Seneca County - 70,525 to 34,948 and twice the number of reported crimes. Yet, each county has 1 full-time District Attorney, 2 full-time Assistants, and 2 part-time Assistants. Madison County has kept vacant its one part-time Investigator position; Seneca County has 2 part-time Investigators. There is no logical way to justify a level of professional staffing in Seneca County that is equivalent to and in one instance greater than a county twice its size. (3) To put Seneca County more in line with the staffing at similarly sized upstate prosecutors’ offices, I will keep the recently added and budgeted part-time Assistant and part-time Investigator positions vacant when assembling my staff. This will result in a total savings of $65,702. (5)
4. I will reduce the amount spent on outside counsel to handle appeals.
The 2009 budget includes $15,000 for three different outside private attorneys to handle criminal appeals. (6) This is a function that is typically handled by Upstate District Attorney Offices without outside help. While there may be a role for outside counsel in handling complicated appeals, the majority of appeals can be easily handled by the present staff as is done in most offices. I’ll start slow by looking to reduce the amount spent by $6,000 (40%) and evaluate this line item further in the future.
Taken together, these four steps will result in a savings to Seneca County taxpayers of $93,416. These cuts do nothing more than bring a bloated budget back in line with the budgeted levels of other similarly sized upstate prosecutors’ offices. Based upon my experience in both Seneca and Madison Counties, I am absolutely certain that these cuts can be made without any adverse effect on the quality of services provided to the people of Seneca County. In making these cuts I will never lose sight of the fact that real people are involved and they are not just lines in a budget. Still the reality is that cuts have to be made because Seneca County can not afford to fund the DA’s Office at its present level of professional staffing.
ENDNOTES:
(1) In addressing the exact same issue on a referral from Cayuga County, the Attorney General's answer: "The statutory minimum salary for the Cayuga County district attorney is the salary established for county court judge by Judiciary Law § 221-d even when the judge is serving as acting supreme court justice." (Informal Opinion 2009-003) The full opinion can be found at this link:
<http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/appeals_opinions/opinions/2009/Informal/I%202009-3%20pw.pdf>
(2) $17,800 figure is taken from the 12-09-08 Seneca County Board of Supervisors resolution.
(3) The breakdown of the figures found in the 2009 Budget is: Gas $1,050; Insurance $1,064; Repairs $1,800.
(4) It is interesting to note that when it comes to support staff, under my proposal Madison and Seneca County will be in line with each other. In Madison, there is the equivalent of five full-time support staff positions. After my cuts are made, Seneca County will have the equivalent of 2 ˝ full-time support staff positions. This makes sense given that Madison County is twice the size of Seneca County and has twice the number of crimes. Both counties have similar crime rates per capita.
(5) The $35,000 figure is the amount appropriated for the latest part-time Assistant position and is taken from the June 22, 2008 minutes of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors; $30,702 is the amount appropriated for the latest part-time Investigator position and is taken from the July 8, 2008 minutes of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors. By adding the two, total savings of $65,702 results.
(6) This information is taken from the Finger Lakes Times, 1/28/09, Seneca County Approves Lawyer Contracts.
DA'S BUDGET BY OVER $93,000
My plan to cut the District Attorney’s budget by over $93,000 is based on real numbers and real comparisons. I am only candidate who is sticking to a serious budget cut plan and not backing away from it. As District Attorney, I will immediately change the culture of increased spending that appears to have been more “empire building” than sound fiscal stewardship.
These are difficult economic times. With the nation in a severe recession, a public official owes a duty to county taxpayers to insure not only that the expenditures of his or her department are reasonable and prudent, but that they also share in the pain everyone is feeling in their pocketbook without impacting on the quality of services provided. With state deficits projected for as far as the eye can see, Seneca County cannot afford a bloated departmental budget. With that in mind, as District Attorney, I will take the following four steps to bring the office budget more in line with economic realities:
1. I will request that the Board repeal the pay raise granted to the District Attorney.
In my view, this raise was improper. A District Attorney’s pay is tied to that of a County Court Judge, not a County Court Judge acting as a Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, the logic by which the raise was requested was faulty, misleading, and contrary to the law. And this is not just my opinion, it is also the opinion of the New York State Attorney General. (1) If the Board does not grant this request, then I will donate the full amount of the after tax raise to Seneca County charities. If the Board grants this request, the yearly savings will be $17,800.(2)
2. I will request that the District Attorney’s automobile be declared surplus and sold.
For approximately six of the last eight years, a Crown Victoria has been used as the personal vehicle of the District Attorney with taxpayers picking up the tab for gas, insurance, repairs, and even car washes. There is no sound reason for Seneca County taxpayers to provide a personal vehicle for the District Attorney’s use. Based upon the amount in the 2009 Budget for this car, the total savings, not including any money realized from the sale of the car, will be $3,914.(3)
3. I will keep vacant the recently added part-time ADA and Investigator positions.
Madison County has more than double the population of Seneca County - 70,525 to 34,948 and twice the number of reported crimes. Yet, each county has 1 full-time District Attorney, 2 full-time Assistants, and 2 part-time Assistants. Madison County has kept vacant its one part-time Investigator position; Seneca County has 2 part-time Investigators. There is no logical way to justify a level of professional staffing in Seneca County that is equivalent to and in one instance greater than a county twice its size. (3) To put Seneca County more in line with the staffing at similarly sized upstate prosecutors’ offices, I will keep the recently added and budgeted part-time Assistant and part-time Investigator positions vacant when assembling my staff. This will result in a total savings of $65,702. (5)
4. I will reduce the amount spent on outside counsel to handle appeals.
The 2009 budget includes $15,000 for three different outside private attorneys to handle criminal appeals. (6) This is a function that is typically handled by Upstate District Attorney Offices without outside help. While there may be a role for outside counsel in handling complicated appeals, the majority of appeals can be easily handled by the present staff as is done in most offices. I’ll start slow by looking to reduce the amount spent by $6,000 (40%) and evaluate this line item further in the future.
Taken together, these four steps will result in a savings to Seneca County taxpayers of $93,416. These cuts do nothing more than bring a bloated budget back in line with the budgeted levels of other similarly sized upstate prosecutors’ offices. Based upon my experience in both Seneca and Madison Counties, I am absolutely certain that these cuts can be made without any adverse effect on the quality of services provided to the people of Seneca County. In making these cuts I will never lose sight of the fact that real people are involved and they are not just lines in a budget. Still the reality is that cuts have to be made because Seneca County can not afford to fund the DA’s Office at its present level of professional staffing.
ENDNOTES:
(1) In addressing the exact same issue on a referral from Cayuga County, the Attorney General's answer: "The statutory minimum salary for the Cayuga County district attorney is the salary established for county court judge by Judiciary Law § 221-d even when the judge is serving as acting supreme court justice." (Informal Opinion 2009-003) The full opinion can be found at this link:
<http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/appeals_opinions/opinions/2009/Informal/I%202009-3%20pw.pdf>
(2) $17,800 figure is taken from the 12-09-08 Seneca County Board of Supervisors resolution.
(3) The breakdown of the figures found in the 2009 Budget is: Gas $1,050; Insurance $1,064; Repairs $1,800.
(4) It is interesting to note that when it comes to support staff, under my proposal Madison and Seneca County will be in line with each other. In Madison, there is the equivalent of five full-time support staff positions. After my cuts are made, Seneca County will have the equivalent of 2 ˝ full-time support staff positions. This makes sense given that Madison County is twice the size of Seneca County and has twice the number of crimes. Both counties have similar crime rates per capita.
(5) The $35,000 figure is the amount appropriated for the latest part-time Assistant position and is taken from the June 22, 2008 minutes of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors; $30,702 is the amount appropriated for the latest part-time Investigator position and is taken from the July 8, 2008 minutes of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors. By adding the two, total savings of $65,702 results.
(6) This information is taken from the Finger Lakes Times, 1/28/09, Seneca County Approves Lawyer Contracts.
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