Letter: Mitchel Field deal hurts taxpayers

To fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate the home heating tax, Nassau Executive Edward Mangano has done something even worse . To make up for the lost revenue, Mangano entered into a transaction to sell 30 years of Mitchel Field leases, totaling $114 million, for a fire-sale price of $37.5 million. The 2.5 percent home heating tax was bringing in about the same amount of annual revenue.

Astonishingly, even though the transaction effectively borrows money at a rate of 9.5 percent, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority blessed the transaction in a 5-2 vote. I applaud board member George Marlin for being one of two who voted against the transaction, calling it a "sweetheart deal."

A pledge to give Nassau County residents a tax cut that is fulfilled by borrowing at a rate of 9.5 percent is an egregious and dishonest way to keep a campaign promise and should be noted by voters.