Mangano to lay off 130 workers

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano Monday announced plans to lay off 130 union workers by July 1 and reorganize the police department by putting 128 officers now in special units back on patrol.

Mangano, at a news conference in Mineola, said the changes will save $36 million in recurring personnel costs and is just the first step in cost-cutting planned to satisfy the Nassau Interim Finance Authority's mandate to close a budget gap by July 1. NIFA took control of the county's finances in January and then froze employee salaries.

The 130 employees targeted for layoffs are members of the Civil Service Employees Association. They include 59 being eliminated from property tax assessment functions, 25 from the parks department and 21 from the juvenile detention center.

Another 54 workers opted to take a voluntary separation package offered by Mangano that pays $750 for every year of service. The deadline for signing up for the program has been extended for two more weeks.

The NIFA board did not comment on Mangano's plans. After NIFA said it found a $176 million hole in this year's $2.6 billion budget in January, Mangano had pared the gap to $126 million in questionable savings and revenue, several NIFA board members said privately a month ago. Mangano would not divulge the current deficit estimate Monday.

The police reorganization will move officers from specialized functions, such as problem-oriented policing, the canine unit and highway patrol, back to the precincts and onto the streets. Mangano said he is still studying whether to close a precinct house, which he had proposed in the past as a cost-saving measure.

Mangano said residents will see no decrease in services because of the changes, insisting that strong management and increased efficiencies would compensate for fewer employees. "We have become more efficient. Our employees are working harder," Mangano said.

Mangano, a Republican, said he had no choice but to make the cuts because union leaders had not volunteered needed concessions. "If everybody gave just a little, nobody would have to give a lot," he said.

But union leaders blasted Mangano after the news conference. "We have given," said Police Benevolent Association president James Carver, noting again that the county's unions had negotiated a three-year concession plan in 2009 that saved $50 million a year while the county has not replaced some 300 police officers who retired, saving another $55 million annually.

"I think services definitely will suffer because of these reductions," Carver said.

Unlike the CSEA, no police officers are scheduled for layoffs because of contract protections.

Jerry Laricchiuta, president of the Civil Service Employees Association, said, "It's time for him to start being responsible and stop trying to hide behind a curtain where he wants to always blame the workforce for his problems."

Because NIFA already froze salaries, Laricchiuta said he had little more to offer Mangano in negotiations. "These 130 souls are not going to fix Nassau County's problems," he said. "He needs permanent change. He needs to increase revenue."

But Mangano promised he will not increase property taxes, repeating at the news conference that Nassau has the overall highest property taxes in the country -- though the county share is less than 20 percent of the total tax bill.

He said laid off employees will be notified after the county legislature approves the layoff plan, which was submitted to lawmakers at 5 p.m. Friday. He said he can order the police redeployment without legislative approval.