County Executive Robert P. Astorino today announced that approximately 140 county government employees have taken a county financial buyout and that his initiative will save taxpayers about $7 million.

In addition, a roughly equivalent number of other employees are expected to take a state retirement incentive, generating comparable savings. The exact number of employees taking the county plan should be available in about a week. The exact number who will take the state incentive won't be known until after the two filing deadlines for the state program. Depending on the plan chosen, the deadlines are Aug. 16 or Dec. 29.

In connection with the county incentive, Lawrence Salley, the long-time head of the county Department of Transportation, retired last week. He was the only commissioner to take advantage of the county's voluntary separation program.

"It was truly an honor to serve the county of Westchester for 37 years, including the last 10 as commissioner of transportation," said Salley. "I worked for five outstanding county executives, and I thank County Executive Astorino for allowing me to be part of his administration. Now the time has come for me to retire."

Astorino elevated John Hsu to commissioner of public works and acting commissioner of transportation. Hsu had been serving as acting public works commissioner since Astorino took office Jan. 1. He previously was a deputy in the transportation department.

"This is a well-deserved promotion for John, who is a licensed professional engineer and the county's long-time deputy commissioner of public works," said Astorino. "His previous experience as a deputy commissioner of transportation makes him an ideal choice to run both departments."

The Department of Public Works oversees county construction projects and maintains county-owned roads. The county Department of Transportation oversees buses and the airport. One of Hsu's new duties will be to explore consolidation opportunities for the two departments.

"One of my first priorities will be to assess both departments with an eye toward how operations can be consolidated, streamlined or generally made more efficient," Hsu said.

Hsu will be paid the commissioner salary of $155,245. By having him oversee both departments, the county will save the salary of one commissioner. The hope and expectation is that it is just the beginning of savings for the two departments.

Hsu is a licensed professional engineer in New York and New Jersey. He has worked for the county since 1992, beginning with DPW's division of traffic engineering and highway safety. From 1996-97, he served as deputy commissioner of transportation, with responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Bee-Line bus system and the county airport. He returned to DPW in 1997, where he served as deputy commissioner and then first deputy commissioner. Previous to this employment with the county, Hsu worked for the Tri-State Regional Planning Commission and the city of Yonkers.

The appointment must go to the Board of Legislators for approval. Hsu does not live in Westchester, so the board will be asked to approve a waiver of the county's residency law.

The county's incentive program is the latest cost-saving measure to be implemented by Astorino, as he deals with a projected $166 million deficit for next year. Other measures beyond the pending state retirement incentive program include the following:

• Non-union employees are now paying for a portion of their health care. Policies for unused sick and vacation days have been scaled back as well.
• Department heads are implementing $16 million in savings to the current-year budget.
• After the Westchester Medical Center terminated its contract to provide health care to inmates at the county prisons, the Astorino administration found a replacement – at a savings of about $3 million over three years.