The Rockland County executive has taken another step to mitigate the fiscal damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. Municipalities around New York hard-hit by the virus have been taking similar measures.
Republican Rockland County Executive Ed Day has instituted an immediate hiring freeze for all positions within county government. This follows austerity measures imposed on March 16, when Day curtailed all non-essential and discretionary spending. Day says that based on his finance department’s estimates, Rockland could be facing as much as a $56.3 million deficit for the 2020 budget. Day has written to New York U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Nita Lowey to ask that they include direct financial assistance for counties in any future federal stimulus bills.