Editorial: Suffolk strain on 2012 budget

After weeks of hand-wringing and number-crunching, the Suffolk County Legislature has nearly finished its work on reshaping the 2012 budget that County Executive Steve Levy submitted in September.

Levy's budget created a bipartisan consensus among the lawmakers: It was the worst they'd ever seen -- something like $135 million out of balance. That's not as bad as Nassau County's staggering fiscal problems, but it's no walk in the park, either.

So the legislature's budget working group has been laboring to close the gap. Now the legislature is putting together an omnibus budget bill that would make the painful, necessary changes. Legislative leaders will spend this week firming up the votes to pass that and other budget bills Wednesday, then override the expected vetoes. They've worked hard. We hope they get it all to add up.