Neuhaus Touts Strong Finance, Flags Underlying Risks at Annual Address

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus delivers the State of the County address in Goshen, N.Y., on April 19, 2023. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus presented a strong financial picture while flagging several risk factors to watch for during his annual State of the County address on April 10.

Strong finances have enabled Orange County to invest in open space, emergency preparedness, and an overhaul of the information technology department—a county function that has come under increased scrutiny lately after allegations of a controversial contract.

Under the helm of the economic development-minded executive, the county tax base has grown by almost 80 percent in the past 10 years, a result of both increased property values and quantities.

Fueled by years of higher-than-expected sales tax revenue, the Neuhaus administration has cut property taxes three times in a row: There was a slight cut in the 2022 budget, a $9.6 million cut the following year, and a $2 million drop this year.

Growing sales tax also boosted the general fund balance—or the rainy day fund, as many call it—indicating a much stronger county position for coping with emergencies.

Though the county has not closed its books for 2023 yet, an educated estimate indicates a fund balance of close to $230 million, equating to nearly a quarter of annual expenses.

If one compares the county to a household, that means a family has savings large enough to cover three months of expenses in the event of emergencies.

Over a period of eight years, county debt has dropped by about $27 million.

“When we were young kids, Republican, Democrat, governor, president, county executive, and town board, they all said the same things, ‘If you elect me, I’m going to lower your taxes,’” Mr. Neuhaus said at the annual address.

“‘I’m going to cut the size of the government, and I am going to cut the debts’—I’ve been hearing it since I was in parochial school.”

The growing economy, plus a fat fund balance and a manageable debt situation, has largely lowered the county’s fiscal stress score as assigned by the state Comptroller’s Office from 28.8 in 2020 to 3.3 in 2022; it also earned the county a top credit rating with S&P recently.

“We cannot do anything in county government without finances,” Mr. Neuhaus said, explaining why he had chosen to present the financial picture at the start of the annual address.

Yet the upbeat outlook is not without risks, he said.

“When I give you the speech of State of County address, this isn’t just the happy-go-lucky candy man speech; this is giving you the good, bad, and the ugly,” Mr. Neuhaus said.

If the state government continues shifting more Medicaid costs to counties, employee insurance and retirement costs will only go up, he said, and inflation persists.

He told The Epoch Times that inflation was related to the lower-than-expected sales tax revenue lately—after years of boom, the sales tax finished $3 million under the county budget last year and $1.5 million below budget in the first quarter of 2024.

“Inflation has hurt people, and people are making conscious choices when they are shopping,” he told The Epoch Times. “It is definitely an issue, but we are prepared to absorb it—the only thing it will do is that it will reduce my fund balance, which is way over anyway.”

Open Space, Infrastructure, and Emergency Preparedness

Open space is another big theme in the annual address, as the county plans to boost investments in new parks, trails, and land preservations.

To Mr. Neuhaus, open space is not at odds with economic development; rather, it improves the quality of life, which, in turn, helps attract top employers.

“You are not going to get people to come here for just the money,” he said. “They want to make sure they get good health care; they want to know if their kids are going to get a good education; and they want to make sure they have a good quality of life.”

Before introducing Mr. Neuhaus to deliver the annual address, Orange County Land Trust Director Jim Delaune highlighted the institution’s growing partnership with the county, which includes a county plan to buy Sugarloaf Mountain for a new park and an upcoming initiative to preserve pristine land in the Delaware watershed.

Aside from open space, Mr. Neuhaus highlighted infrastructure investments, including roads and bridges, the Harriman sewer plant upgrade, and a proposed new Indigo Reservoir serving Middletown and the surrounding areas.

Emergency preparedness has been another focus for Mr. Neuhaus, who has made investments in emergency management, school safety infrastructure, and citizen training.

IT Department Overhaul

In October 2023, state Sen. James Skoufis, who represents most of Orange County, along with several county legislators, made public corruption allegations about an $800,000-plus county contract with an information technology services provider.

The allegations set off a series of chain events, including subpoena requests from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and a now-concluded investigation by the County Legislature.

A final report by the legislative body indicated that though the contract was procured improperly, no evidence of fraud or corruption was found; it also highlighted the efforts made by the executive branch to improve both policy and process.

“I haven’t seen anything bad come out of it except for excessive spending, which I have addressed by hiring a new IT commissioner,” Mr. Neuhaus told The Epoch Times, adding that he was also bringing in a new procurement department head.

“It is not the problem; it is how you address the problem.”

Since the new IT commissioner, Glenn Marchi, came on board, he has arranged for more services to be performed in-house rather than by outside contractors, put out a three-year strategic plan based on departmental input gathered from a listening tour, and set a focus on cybersecurity.

Mr. Neuhaus also highlighted the work of other county departments in the past year at the annual address.