Wishful Thinking

Democratic County Legislator Paul Haney tells the newspaper today that he expects the county will have "a fiscal control board" in five years.

This in an article highlighting the County's continuing benefit from opting for the "sales tax intercept" to pay for Medicaid.   Local Democrats derided the intercept at the time, no doubt believing, correctly, that it would improve the County's fiscal position, make the County administration look good, and stave off the day when they could finally box in Maggie Brooks so she would have to raise property taxes.

The D&C also grudgingly noted that the County government received the highest rating from its auditors for its financial controls, during the past fiscal year.

Haney is no stranger to fiscal disaster, as architect of the County's $40 million deficit, and orchestrator of the coverup of the same, when he served as chief financial officer of the last Democratic county administration in the early 1990s.