Activists looking to downsize or eliminate Westchester County government went to White Plains Monday to state their case.

The group, called Rethinking Westchester Government, is critical of the county, which it says is wasteful.

"If everybody in county government knows that they're being watched, chances are the government will be spending our money much more efficiently," says Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a founding member of the group.

While some taxpayers in Greenburgh saw a 23 percent hike in local property taxes, Feiner, a Democrat, says county taxes add another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Susan Tolchin, Westchester's deputy county executive, disputes Feiner's allegations of mismanagement. Tolchin points out that county taxes make up only about 20 percent of a homeowner's overall bill.

And in the last five years, she adds, the county tax levy averaged out to a less than 3 percent increase.