Nassau's $450M borrowing plan is flawed

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority has decided to roll back the clock for Nassau County. For the second time in a decade, New York State is giving county leadership the precious commodities of time and money to get their fiscal act together.

But there's a difference this time around.

Instead of gifting Nassau more state money -- a decade ago, state residents kicked in more than $100 million to help one of the richest counties in the nation get back on track -- NIFA's letting Nassau dip into the pockets of its own residents.

A proposed deal, a turnaround from NIFA's previous position, would allow the county to borrow up to $450 million over four years to cover expenses that ought to be coming from its operating budget.

The cost of the bonding, plus interest, would be borne by generations of county property taxpayers to come.

The borrowing, plus $150 million in likely-never-to-be-realized savings from county labor unions, are supposed to equal firm fiscal footing for Nassau. But it's a dangerous gamble with no guarantee of success.

Worse, it's a waste of a perfectly good crisis.

No one wants Nassau to founder. But maybe the shock and embarrassment of one late payroll would have kick-started real and sustained progress.

Yes, NIFA's new stance will keep Nassau under a control board for four more years. And yes, Nassau gets to keep paying its bills, while the state gets to stay hands-off on county daily finances.

But even with NIFA's new direction, Nassau's unions remain adamantly against bowing to County Executive Edward Mangano's demands for another $150 million in concessions.

And Mangano's threat to impose furloughs if there are no concessions likely will fall flat, just as former Gov. David A. Paterson's did. All of which leaves borrowing and layoffs -- absent the revenue boost of a property or sales tax increase -- as the only significant budget controls currently on the table.

The proposal to allow borrowing will end Nassau's cash-crunch crisis. Just as it did when NIFA allowed former County Executive Thomas Suozzi to increase borrowing for successful property tax appeals. It was shortsighted then; it is shortsighted now. Why?

The ability to borrow won't bring unions and Nassau to the negotiating table.

It likely won't keep the county legislature from passing a budget that includes more questions than answers on projected layoffs, precinct and museum closings and the future of Long Island Bus.

And it won't guarantee that Nassau -- burdened with debt -- will be able to responsibly balance its budget four years from now.

But a second chance, flawed, is still a second chance. It remains to be seen what Nassau's leadership -- over two legislative and one county executive election cycles -- makes of it.