The Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority last week recommended 11 actions to save the county $16.5 million after it had rejected the county executive’s proposed $1.03 billion 2009 operating budget and four-year financial plan earlier last month.
The recommendations include allowing the authority to do a $75 million revenue anticipation note borrowing on behalf of Erie County in 2009 and for the county to consider cutting back on the proposed local portion of capital spending which the plan assumes will be $50 million annually from 2009 through 2012.
The county and the control board, as the authority is commonly known, have long clashed over who should sell the county’s debt. Neither can borrow without the other’s consent.
The recommendations also include hiring and wage freezes, reduced spending on parks, cultural, and tourist agencies, asking the state to allow the county to delay a $5.3 million Medicaid payment to the Erie County Medical Center, and increasing some fees.
County Executive Chris Collins, who is no fan of the authority, said that the county could save $700,000 annually if the control board was eliminated, according to published accounts.
The county Legislature is expected to vote on the budget today.
