(Hauppauge, NY-December 20, 2013) Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today thanked Fred Pollert for his 37 years of service to Suffolk County residents; Pollert will be retiring at the end of the year. Bellone commended Pollert for returning to County service for the past two years as Deputy County Executive for Finance and Management in order to guide Suffolk County out of the worst fiscal crisis in its history.
“Suffolk County taxpayers have had no greater advocate than Fred Pollert, who has dedicated his career to making this government more efficient and saving taxpayer dollars,” Bellone said. “I am particularly grateful to Fred for coming out of retirement to help me guide Suffolk County through the worst fiscal crisis in our history. While there is still much more hard work before us, Fred Pollert has helped put us on the fiscally responsible path.”
"Fred is one of the smartest and most dedicated public servants I have ever worked with,” said Long Island Association President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Law, who worked with Pollert both in Suffolk County and the Long Island Power Authority. “His presence in Suffolk County affairs will be felt and missed for years to come "
Pollert returned to service in 2012, inheriting an unprecedented budget which funded 464 positions for just half of 2012. Within 3 months, a non-partisan Fiscal Task Force released a report that even with laying off those positions, Suffolk County was facing a deficit of $530 million through the end of 2013.
Pollert worked with County Executive Bellone on fiscally responsible items to put Suffolk County back onto strong fiscal footing without piercing the tax cap. These budgets produced under Pollert’s auspice have assisted in making Suffolk County more efficient and have cut the size of the workforce by more than 1,000 filled positions over the past two years, which saves approximately $100 million on a recurring basis.
Pollert has also led an important initiative to save taxpayer dollars and preserve key services by moving health centers to the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) model. One health center has already been successfully transitioned and a second is in transition. Once fully completed, this shift will save $25 million per year for Suffolk County taxpayers.
Previously, Pollert worked for 27 years for the Suffolk County Legislature’s Budget Review Office, serving as Director, six years as Deputy County Executive for Finance under County Executive Steve Levy and two years as Vice President for Administration for the Long Island Power Authority.
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