Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has announced that the county will have no choice but to make significant reductions in Suffolk Bus and transit services in the 2021 budget.

According to Bellone, the cuts will need to be made if there is no significant federal disaster assistance.

The cuts would eliminate 19 routes in the county and produce about $18 million in savings.

Bellone also made a direct appeal to President Donald Trump, requesting that he call upon U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a federal disaster assistance bill in the U.S. Senate to prevent these potential devastating cuts. 

Earlier this year, Bellone created a COVID-19 Fiscal Impact Task Force to conduct an independent review of the county’s multi-year plan and the true impact to the pandemic.

The report found that Suffolk County could face a cumulative budget shortfall of up to $1.5 billion over the next three years because of the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Bellone says the 2021 Suffolk County Budget currently has a $400 million deficit because of the pandemic. Last week, Bellone announced he's slashing $20 million of Suffolk's police department budget, eliminating 200 officers in the incoming academy class as well as school resource officers.

“This doesn't have to happen. This shouldn't happen and again, it is my great hope that Washington will act and these cuts do not happen,” said the county executive.