Vanderhoef pay cut a good start to Rockland's reckoning

In his own way, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef is trying to "lead by example" by giving back 5 percent of his salary.

By trimming $7,700 of his $155,087 salary, he's showing that he, too, can make sacrifices. That's a message he hopes union leaders will heed as he tries to get roughly $18 million in concessions from the nine county unions that have expired contracts.

Vanderhoef is in good company in giving back pay as he negotiates contracts. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo did it. So did the governor's deputies -- all in the name of "shared sacrifice."

And when Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino took office in 2010, he and other nonunion workers started chipping in for their health care. He, too, hoped to lead by example and that scenario is still playing out in negotiations.

These are all worthwhile gestures. But in Rockland, when it comes to the ratings agencies and workers, that's about all it may be: A symbolic act.

The cut is a long way from addressing the real problem, the "budgetary wounds," as the county executive calls them. But he knows that.

Moody's Investors Service, which in May downgraded the county's bond rating to just above junk status, has warned that future downgrades are possible if the county doesn't take action. It no doubt wants to see Rockland cut costs and raise revenue.

Rockland is still facing a $40-million budget hole and $240 million in debt, and the Board of Legislators is considering laying off 150 workers as early as Tuesday.

How the county handles this next step is what the ratings agencies, taxpayers and others around the state are watching.

More than token sacrifices are on the way.