EDITORIAL: Nassau right to seek union, school cooperation

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's read of the tightfisted public mood is right on. His 2011 budget calls for a smaller workforce, financial givebacks from unionized labor and a halt to the long-standing practice of having the county pick up the school districts' share of property tax refunds. All that, and no increase in county property taxes.

While the county executive is saying many of the right things about fixing deep-rooted problems, it's uncertain that he can execute the necessary legal and political moves. It's a risky budget that depends on winning fights with the PBA and the PTAs for tens of millions of dollars.

Mangano is threatening to cut off $60 million in pay and benefits to county workers starting Jan. 1. He argues that Nassau is unable to afford these contracts. But an unbalanced budget is not usually sufficient to convince a judge of extreme financial distress. On his first day in office, Mangano canceled a home heating tax, tossing aside $41 million in revenue for political gain. So the county executive has created some of his own problems.

And despite his insistent claims that he can fix the assessment problems, he is resorting to borrowing $364 million to wipe out the backlog of refunds.

If Mangano can't make his budget numbers, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority will take over - with stronger contract-busting powers. So union and school officials would be smart to compromise with the county executive now. hN