Lawmakers reject multiyear budgeting in Suffolk
General Counsel to the Suffolk County Legislature George Nolan and Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory attend a meeting with the Suffolk Legislature on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. Credit: Jeffrey Basinger
Democratic Suffolk legislators Tuesday killed a bill that would have required the county to produce a multiyear budget that supporters said would boost fiscal discipline by exposing problems on the horizon.
Bill sponsor Legis. Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) said the county needs to acknowledge looming financial problems. The county is on pace to spend $100 million more than it takes in during 2016.
"It's completely inconceivable to me, in the face of such tremendous financial challenges, the county executive and many of the Democrats on the legislature fail to see the value in planning," Cilmi said.
Budget director Connie Corso told the five-member Budget and Finance Committee that creating budgets that project three years out as Cilmi proposed would create a constant flow of work for a document of little use. "It's unwieldy and I feel it's onerous and the potential benefits are questionable at best," she said.
Projections, she said, would be "so speculative, they would be misleading -- they would be wrong right out of the box."
She cited the county's difficulty predicting the volatile sales taxes, the county's major income source. "We can barely project next year. How could we expect to project 2018 and 2019?" she said.
Legis. Lou D'Amaro (D-North Babylon), Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) and Legis. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) voted against the bill in committee.
D'Amaro said "the three-year budget solves none of the problems we're facing in the county right now. We need more solutions, rather than another layer of budget projections."
Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), who joined Cilmi in voting for the bill, said the county has looming costs it is not planning for, such as payouts to police officers when they retire. "It would be irresponsible not to account for those costs," Trotta said.
Nassau County prepares a multiyear financial plan with financial details for the current budget year and the following three years.
Cilmi said he has offered budget solutions, including adding auditors to look for fraud at the Department of Social Services, which Democrats rejected.
Democrats and minor-party allies have a 12-6 majority.
David Schwartz covers environmental issues. A native Long Islander, he's worked at Newsday since 2013.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
