Accomplishments

Addressing Minority Issues
Steve has appointed numerous minorities to top-ranking positions in various departments and divisions including health, economic development, IT, youth and women’s services. Steve established the Division of Minority Health to address health disparities among minority populations. Read More

Brought Forth Promised Ethics Reforms
Steve appointed the county’s first Ethics Director, and wrote and passed landmark legislation taking the gerrymandering politics out of re-districting, giving that ability to an independent panel of retired judges. The redistricting reform was the first if its kind in the state.

County-Town-School Partnerships and Initiatives
Steve believes that, through economies of scale, school districts can save taxpayer money on non-educational functions, such as printing, security, food, and transportation. He has issued an innovative request to the private sector, seeking proposals for providing these services to a consortium of school districts. Steve’s program would also allow fire departments and schools to buy fuel from the county's large supply.

Economic Development
Steve's aggressive economic development agenda has attracted top firms to Suffolk, including Canon, Honeywell, and Leviton, and he has worked to help many companies stay and expand in the county -- providing thousands of high-quality jobs through various incentives. Read More

Enhanced Management Efficiencies
Steve implemented reforms in management to curb sick time abuse and increased the workweek for exempt employees. He required tighter restrictions on use of overtime and established a Budget Management Unit for critical analysis of every county department

Established Workforce Housing Commission
Steve created the Suffolk Workforce Housing Commission to work with towns and villages in identifying locations ideal for affordable housing. These efforts have led to the development of several hundred new, affordable homes throughout the county, with thousands more proposed. Steve’s leadership earned him the prestigious Woodson Housing Award from the federal government
Read More

Health Benefits Reform
Steve's reforms in managing the county’s self-insurance program have saved taxpayers more than $100 million since he took office. He required the program to be competitively bid and required the use of generic drugs over name-brand drugs, saving an estimated $12 million annually.

Historic Tax and Spending Cuts
Steve Levy has presented six consecutive operating budgets with a General Fund tax freeze or tax decrease. And he has presented three budgets with spending lower than the previous year’s amounts, something unprecedented in most municipal governments and never before done by a county executive in Suffolk since the legislature was created forty years ago.

Improving Public Health Efforts
Steve established a free prescription discount program (Suffolk SCRIPTS) available to all residents, allowing residents to enjoy 20- to 50-percent reduced rates on medications, while saving the county $1 million. Steve created the Division of Preventive Medicine and implemented an employee wellness incentive program in 2010, known as SHIP SHAPE. Read More

Improving Suffolk's Bus System
Steve doubled the number of runs on the East End's S-92 service, and has enhanced service on a number of other routes. He has lobbied aggressively in Albany and Washington for a greater share of transportation aid for the county.

Kick-Started Reform of County's Environmental Programs & Policy
Steve Levy revived a dormant and scandal-ridden Open Space Preservation Program into a nationally-recognized model for aggressive land preservation. Under his leadership Suffolk has preserved nearly 6,000 acres—6-½ times the size of New York’s Central Park—and over 65 farms. Steve earned awards from the Sierra Club and the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Read More

Leadership and Vision in Addressing the Largest Budget Shortfalls
Upon taking office, Steve drafted and approved the largest budget deficit reduction package in the county’s history, facing down a projected hole of more than $238 million. Even in a difficult national economy in 2009, Steve closed a shortfall of more than $150 million without raising taxes and without reducing vital county services.

Looking Out for Suffolk's Children
Steve enhanced Suffolk’s child support collection efforts by recovering more back support than any other suburban county. Steve’s forums tackled issues such as childhood obesity and teen addiction, and his programs increased significantly the number of eligible school children in the free lunch program.

Obtaining Suffolk’s highest Bond rating ever
Steve's fiscally responsible managing not only cut taxes, but restructured county government through old-fashioned budgeting principles. It led to six bond rating upgrades and the highest bond rating in Suffolk's history.

Professionalized Suffolk County Government
Steve Levy has brought the best and the brightest professionals to his administration, regardless of party affiliation. Under his administration, Suffolk has received 50 Innovation Awards from the National Association of Counties.

Protecting East End Quality of Life
Suffolk County's East End is world-renowned for its beaches, its beauty, and its quality of life. Steve has worked tirelessly on East End issues. Read More

Public Safety
Under Steve's leadership, total Part I & Part II crime is down in Suffolk County by more than 20 percent. His reforms in the police department have put more officers on the streets and have curbed spending and police district taxes to levels far below inflation.

Recognition of Suffolk's Veterans
Steve established a housing preference program for veterans returning from defending our nation. He has also hosted an annual veterans jobs fair and an annual homeless veterans program to provide information on benefits and services.

Set the Tone for Leaner Government
From day one, Steve led by example by taking a lower salary than he was entitled to by county law – totaling more than $70,000 over six years. He eliminated the three-person team of chauffeurs for the county executive, which was comprised of police detectives, and reassigned them to police work. He cut unnecessary travel, reined in expenses and eliminated close to 300 county cars which were given out as perks.