Westchester County may possibly lose between $90 million and $160 million in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced Wednesday.
Countless businesses in the county have had to close or watch profits go down the drain. Dominic Poli, who runs Gigi's Pizzeria in Yonkers, says he's had to make adjustments every single day.
Hundreds of thousands of people have also filed for unemployment across New York, causing a ripple effect.
Latimer says revenue from hotel occupancy, bus rider fares and parks programs is drastically down or nonexistent, forcing him to reduce county spending in this year's budget by $21 million.
Westchester's Economic Development team has garnered hundreds of volunteers to help small business owners apply for loans.
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BRIEFING NOTES:
- Latimer says there are 3,051 coronavirus cases in Yonkers and 1,317 in New Rochelle. There are thousands of cases in Westchester alone.
- He says that individuals in the county have been laid off and businesses have been forced to close. Latimer says that officials are waiting on the federal government to give the resources to those who are unemployed.
- He believes that will happen very soon. Latimer also says 300 volunteers have offered to help businesses apply for small business loans and the paycheck protection program.
- He says there has been a dramatic drop in revenue and sales tax. Latimer says the county is expecting to lose between $60 million and $125 million in sales tax alone.
- He says the county is expecting to lose between $90 million and $160 million in revenue.
- Latimer announced Westchester Forward, which is a new program meant to reduce the amount of spending in county budget.
- He says that by changing county policies alone, the county can reallocate $21 million to help revenue.
- "This is a fiscal disaster," Latimer says.
- The county's Department of Health has created a portal that will help people figure out if they need to quarantine or self-isolate.
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