Saturday, March 24, 2012

ny county declares emergency, roils the bond market

reuters | The top government official in New York's Suffolk County said on Tuesday he would declare a fiscal emergency, a move that could roil the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market.

County Executive Steve Bellone said he was taking the action after an independent task force found it would have a deficit of $530 million in a three-year period.

"After weeks of analyzing our County's finances, our fiscal assumptions and our costs we now have a picture of the real state of our finances. And the truth is worse than any of us could have imagined," Bellone said in a statement on the county's website.

Suffolk County's financial strains could worry a municipal bond market already unnerved by ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in Jefferson County, Alabama, and signs of financial problems in other municipalities around the nation.

Bellone said the emergency declaration empowers him to immediately embargo up to 10 percent of funds in each department of Suffolk County, which forms the eastern half of New York's Long Island and includes the exclusive Hamptons resort area, the location of some of the most expensive residential properties in the United States. "After being told the 2011 budget was balanced, I was stunned to learn it was actually out of balance by more than $33 million, the first time Suffolk County ended a year in deficit in 20 years," Bellone said.

The future looked even worse, with a projected $148 million deficit for 2012, rising to $349 million by 2013.

6 comments:

Big Don said...

East Coast wimps...foto like that in California would be cluttered with surfers...

CNu said...

uh huh..., and that atlantic surf would uncrowd quick, fast, and in a hurry - as soon as the surfers sacks got a taste of that frigid water

Big Don said...

West Coast folks (Real People) aren't afraid of a little cold water, everyone just uses a wet suit.  Video shows surfers hanging-ten in ass-freezing-cold 38 degF waters around northwest tip of Washington State.  In a couple of the shots container ships are visible entering the Strait of Juan De Fuca headed toward ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Skip ahead to 1:30 in the video to see the action----> 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yJEDI1wKi4&feature=endscreen  

Tom said...

LOL!   Go to Huntington Beach my fanatical lunatic, and look around.  Nobody puts a toe in the water, even when it's warm.  Then go to Cape Cod and watch people swim.

CNu said...

Lol and SMDH as I step outside into the unseasonably warm sunshine to watch the boy at tennis lessons and leaving you cold-loving critters to your regional one-upsmanship...,

Tom said...

Well what's weird is it's beautiful here and has been all week.  I have the screen door open in my office.  If this is teh global warming, so far so good.

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