Nassau comptroller projects budget surplus

Nassau Comptroller George Maragos reported Wednesday that Nassau likely ended 2011 with a surplus of about $300,000, assuming the county borrows $43.1 million to pay tax refunds on assessment challenges settled last year.

If county lawmakers don't authorize the borrowing, which also requires approval by Nassau's control board, the county could instead record a $42.9 million deficit when outside auditors close the books on the $2.6 billion budget in June, he said.

Still, Maragos lauded County Executive Edward Mangano, a fellow Republican, for making "a steady improvement in the financial performance of the county" over three years. He said the budget gap between recurring revenue and expenses dropped to $127.5 million last year from $251.6 million in 2009.

"We've projected a budgetary balance and we haven't raised property taxes for three consecutive years," said Maragos, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for U.S. Senate. "We think that's a pretty good story."

He said lawmakers, until last year, had regularly approved borrowing to pay for tax refunds. "The administration feels they will be able to convince the legislature to approve at least $43 million," Maragos said.

Democrats so far have refused to borrow to pay the refunds, saying they have not received enough information. They also have demanded that Republicans first agree to a "fair" redistricting process.

Mangano aide Brian Nevin said the administration "is meeting Nassau's fiscal challenges without raising property taxes by making the tough decisions to cut spending and take on the special interests."

But Chris Wright, a member of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, said, "The first step toward balancing the budget is admitting that a deficit exists."

Using NIFA's methods, which do not count the use of borrowed money or one-time revenue sources, Nassau ended 2011 with a $167.7 million deficit.

Democratic minority leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), said, "Given the way the rest of world manages their budgets, while this administration uses Mangano Math, excuse the pun, . . . I'd put my money on real accounting principles."