Veto decision approaching fast in Nassau

Friday, the 13th.

That's this Friday. And it's the deadline for Nassau lawmakers to decide whether they will override County Executive Edward Mangano's veto reinstating a property tax increase for 2016.

Or let it stand, as the Republican majority reluctantly did last year.

Last year, the quantity and quality of services in the fiscally fragile county were at stake.

But this time around -- insert horror movie scream here -- the legislature's decision could fire up a state fiscal control board takeover.

Which leaves a lot on Legis. Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), who, as presiding officer, will have a lead part in whatever goes down.

The last time budget drama was so, well, dramatic, was in 1999. That's when then-presiding officer (and current Hempstead Town council member) Bruce Blakeman and other Republican lawmakers called a news conference and publicly fed then-County Executive Thomas Gulotta's proposed 2000 budget through a shredder.

Republican lawmakers went on to significantly rewrite a budget they branded as unacceptable because it was not balanced.

Gulotta, a Republican, vetoed some portions of the legislative remake, and revised others -- leaving Blakeman and lawmakers to declare victory and move on.

This time around, Gonsalves and Republican lawmakers stripped a 1.2 percent property tax increase, cut proposed fee increases in half and made other alterations to Mangano's budget -- with the goal of eliminating the need for higher taxes.

Last week, Mangano let most of their amendments stand. But, as expected, he vetoed the amendment eliminating the tax increase, which would cost the average homeowner $23 a year.

With Friday fast approaching, Gonsalves will have to decide whether lawmakers will leave things be, or -- for the first time in the legislature's short history -- override a county executive's veto.

Monday, Democrats -- who during hearings on Mangano's proposed budget pledged to override the tax increase -- said their position had not changed.

Gonsalves, according to a spokeswoman, Monday still was weighing her options, as a Mangano spokesman said the county executive was awaiting her decision.

But another player -- the county financial control board -- appears newly fortified.

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority last month -- for the first time in its 15-year history -- established subcommittees that could revise the county budget, eliminating nonessential services and deciding where Nassau's fiscal resources will be deployed.

That's never happened in Nassau.

"We are waiting to see what they do," Jon Kaiman, NIFA's chairman, said of the county legislature Monday, adding that Gonsalves had not yet reached out to the authority.

"From my end, NIFA is putting together the pieces that will enable us to do what needs to be done to fulfill our responsibilities," he said.

Which leaves the scene set, with an audience of Nassau residents waiting for action.