$2.5 billion county budget has hiring freeze, job cuts

By MARTIN WILBUR

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins signed the county’s $2.5 billion budget for 2026 on Monday, a spending plan that maintains tax cap compliance but eliminates 180 positions and imposes a hiring freeze.

The budget cuts an average of about 8% from every department, and reduces the tax increase from Jenkins’ originally released proposal from 5.27% to 3.7%. 

Its signing came a week after the Board of Legislators approved the budget, a process that was described as one of the most difficult deliberations in recent memory because of rising costs and uncertainty over federal government funding. 

Before putting his signature on the budget, Jenkins said the decisions made were shaped “by one of the most challenging financial climates we have faced in years” caused in part by “the Trump turmoil coming out of Washington.”

“The difficulties from 2025 will carry into 2026 and likely beyond, and this budget reflects the hard, necessary choices before us,” Jenkins said. 

In addition to the 180 positions being cut and the hiring freeze, which will save about $28 million, there are reductions in contracts, technical services and expenses totaling $34.5 million; overtime pay will be slashed by $11.6 million; there will be a reduction in social services relief saving $5.2 million; equipment was slashed by $4.5 million; and materials and supplies were reduced by $2.6 million.

Some of the most significant cost increases for 2026 is just over $46 million for health insurance, $14 million in pension costs, $10 million for transportation for children with special needs and a $13 million increase in debt service.

Despite the pressures, County Legislator Erika Pierce, (District 2), said the Board of Legislators was able to restore some of the deep cuts that were made to nonprofit organizations that do critical work for residents. Falling sales tax revenues and less money coming in from revenue-producing programs, also required hard decisions to be made, Pierce said.

Initially, funding for nonprofits were slated for a 70% reduction, but that was curtailed to closer to 40%.

“In the background of all of this we know there are a lot of households struggling and it’s not like these things are happening in a vacuum,” Pierce said. “The difficulties that we as a government are experiencing can be seen as being mirrored in households, nonprofits and organizations all around Westchester County. So that’s a time you want to step up and support the community, but this budget makes that increasingly difficult to do.”

In Pierce’s district, some money was restored to organizations that have major impacts on the community such as the Community Center of Northern Westchester, the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, The Pantry, and the Emergency Shelter Partnerships, she said.

Other areas where there were restorations were $16.6 million in low-income child care; another $3.7 million for tenants to access counsel for eviction prevention programs; $2.5 million for child care scholarships; $1.5 million for mental health; $1 million for federally qualified health centers; and $500,000 for maternal health care.

Board of Legislators Chair Vedat Gashi (District 4) said officials avoided layoffs since the eliminated slots were unfilled positions. The board also understood the important work county staff makes in delivering services to the public, he said.

“We recognize the services provided by the people working for this county are absolutely vital and necessary and I was proud to have a tough budget where we didn’t have layoffs,” Gashi said.

Pierce said she is concerned that over the next year or two, the fiscal pressures on the county government will continue to mount, particularly with the potential for more federal cuts and if forecasts for a slowing economy prove to be accurate.

“We knew that this is a really difficult budget. If we cast our eyes into the future, I think we’re going to find that this was a cakewalk compared to what is coming ahead,” she said.