$100 million in Nassau fee cuts up for vote in Friday emergency session

Nassau County lawmakers are scheduled to vote Friday in an emergency session on bills to eliminate steep real estate and traffic fees that generate about $100 million in annual revenue for the county.

But Democratic and Republican legislators continue to feud over the Republican-sponsored bills.

Republicans proposed the fee reductions on Sept. 13, two days before Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat who is seeking reelection, filed her $3.5 billion spending plan for 2022.

Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) complained this week that Republicans who had backed fee increases over Democratic opposition for much of the past decade were attempting to send Curran's 2022 budget "into chaos" by eliminating a major source of revenue just weeks before county elections.

Legislative Democrats who blocked a vote on the fee cuts on Monday say they want to vote on the fee cuts after budget hearings have been held and alternative funding sources are identified.

Meanwhile, the prospects for a Curran proposal to provide $375 payments to many county residents that majority Republicans had tabled Monday remained unclear.

Despite Curran's appeal to Republicans on Thursday to call up her payments legislation, Republicans have announced no plan for consideration of the cash assistance program at the emergency session.

Curran's 2022 budget relies in part on revenues from fees the Republicans want to cut.

GOP bills would eliminate a $55 public safety fee that is tacked onto traffic tickets and a $355 fee to verify a property’s section, while reducing a $300 mortgage recording fee to $50.

Curran has called the fee cuts "irresponsible legislation." She has not said whether she would veto the fee cuts if they pass.

Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said the fee cuts are possible now because Nassau's finances have improved significantly this year due to factors including a $1.1 billion refinancing of county debt receipt of millions of dollars in federal pandemic aid.

The fees that are expected to be discussed Friday have been the subject of sometimes bitter debate since 2010, when former County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican was in office.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted over the years to approve some fee increases, a review of legislative records shows.

Curran opposed some increases when she served as a county legislator from 2013 to 2017, and as a candidate for County Executive in 2017.

Public safety fees

In 2016, Curran, then the ranking Democrat on the GOP-controlled legislature's public safety committee, called a Mangano proposal for a public safety fee of $105 "draconian," arguing that it "almost banks on people to break the law."

Mangano, who then was dealing with ballooning county deficits, said the county would use the extra revenue from to hire 150 police officers and 81 civilian police employees.

GOP county legislators cut the fee to $55, and made it apply only to traffic violations, including red light camera tickets.

The county legislature Lawmakers approved the $55 fee in an 11-8 vote, with Legis. Denise Ford, a Long Beach Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, joining Democrats in opposing the fee.

Tax Map Verification Fees

The fight over the tax map verification fee dates to 2012, when the legislature approved a $50 fee for verification of a property’s section, block, and lot.

In 2014, lawmakers voted to increase the fee to $75 in an 11-8 vote.

The next year, legislators voted 18-1 to hike the fee to $225, with Legis. Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) opposed.

Backers of the increase said the alternative was massive cuts to youth and county bus services.

In 2016, lawmakers voted along party lines to boost the fee to $355. The GOP-controlled legislature voted 11-7 for the increase.

"Nobody likes talking about fee increases," Legis. Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore) said at the time. "But we have a responsibility to protect public safety and youth services."

In March 2020, a state Supreme Court justice ruled the $355 fee to be "an unlawful and unconstitutional tax."

The county is appealing and continues to collect the fee.

Mortgage Recording Fee

In October 2010, legislators voted 11-8 to raise the mortgage recording fee from $10 to $75.

In 2012, legislators voted 10-9 to boost the fee to $150, and in 2015 voted 18-1 to hike the fee to $300, with Kopel opposed.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.