By Hank Russell
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has announced on September 20 that he has released his 2025 recommended operating budget and submitted it to the county Legislature for consideration. The proposed budget of $4.071 billion includes a 3% increase in general property taxes and adding more law enforcement personnel, first responders and cybersecurity staff to the payrolls.
Romaine said his budget addresses critical staffing shortages, sweeping changes to the county’s cyber security and IT infrastructure, rising employee healthcare costs, and his commitment to making Suffolk County safer and more affordable without piercing the New York State property tax cap. “This fiscally responsible budget addresses the critical needs of our county and ensures the safer and more affordable Suffolk that all residents deserve,” said Romaine in a statement.
Under the proposed budget, Suffolk homeowners will see their average tax bill go up from $1,228.12 to $1,264.38 a year. The tax bill for the general fund will increase 7%, from $83.39 to $89.80 and there will be a 3.2% increase in the police district tax, from $1,363.63 to $1,407.61 a year.
In the past, the county executive has touted public safety as one of his top priorities. In an attempt to keep that promise, he has budgeted for 200 additional police officers, 30 new deputy sheriff positions, and 100 corrections officers for next year. In addition, the Division of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will be integrated into the Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (FRES), which he says will mean cost savings and a better allocation of resources. The budget also includes openings for 14 probation officers.
Romaine also pointed out how the success of the Gilgo Beach Task Force resulted in the creation of a new Cold Case Unit (CCU). In his proposed budget, Romaine has budgeted for 15 employees in the CCU who will be working with Suffolk homicide investigators to look into approximately 300 deaths dating as far back as 1965.
In an attempt to address issues surrounding the security of Suffolk’s technology infrastructure, the proposed budget will provide funding for a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and virtual CISO services, which combines physical and virtual cybersecurity measures to make sure all security procedures are being enforced. Funding will also be set aside for a comprehensive response and recovery plan, a cyber insurance policy and upgrades and technological solutions across all departments.
The recommended budget also includes improvements to government services, such as moving the 311 system to the Office of Community Affairs from the Department of Informational Technology, providing funding for social service program mandates and improvement programs such as SNAP.
Whether the funding is there for these proposals will depend on the amount of money coming in to the county and, so far, according to the numbers, it might not look good. Compared to the first half of 2023, the first six months of this year saw sales tax collections fall 4.7% and retail gasoline sales tax collections go down 9.6%.
“That [decline in the retail gasoline sales tax collections] is an indication that the economy is debating its future right now,” Romaine told reporters on a September 23 Zoom call. “A lot of [how much revenue will come in 2025] depends on the national election.”
Romaine said this year’s projected sales tax collections of $1.963 billion to be $50 million less than in the 2024 adopted budget. The Police Fund revenues are also expected to decrease by $7.9 million this year and another $13.8 million in 2025.
Employee benefits have also impacted the county’s finances. By 2025, according to the recommended budget, the employees’ medical health plan costs are expected to increase by $66 million next year and pension costs will increase in 2025 by an estimated $43 million.
Another component Romaine said he is “fighting for and working on” is the elimination of the home heating oil tax, “which most counties don’t have. I think it’s a very regressive tax. Once we adopt this budget and once we see these revenues coming in for 2025, we’ll look at getting rid of that sales tax on home heating oil, natural gas, propane — anything that heats the home.”