County Governments Facing Deficits, Too

It’s not just cities all across America that are running deficits; so are counties:

http://newcity.patch.com/articles/rockland-county-executive-proposes-2012-budget-cutting-544-jobs

Rockland County in New York State faces a huge problem:

“In the proposed 2012 budget of $701.8 million unveiled by Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, layoffs of 544 county employees would begin in January. In the first round of layoffs, 42 would lose jobs; on April 1 another 49 would lose their positions and then on August 1, an additional 453 jobs would be cut. The county faces a $52 million deficit.”

Counties do a lot of the essential work of the government. From paving roads to running jails to offering public hospitals, we all depend on county government. That’s why it’s important that Rockland and other counties do everything possible to save money without laying off essential employees. One way to do that is to sell excess property that the county owns but doesn’t need.