Time for control board to act on Nassau budget
Exprssing concerns about revenue and spending projectiions in the 2016 Nassau County budget, the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) met in Westbury on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015 to discuss the county's fiscal health. From left, members Christopher P. Wright, chairman Jon Kaiman and John R. Buran are shown during the meeting. Credit: Daniel Goodrich
At this point, if the state control board set up to oversee Nassau County's finances doesn't grab the reins and move revenue and spending toward balance, it might as well be disbanded.
Nassau Executive Edward Mangano's first pass at the 2016 budget was overly optimistic and way out of balance. However, with a property tax increase to raise $12 million more a year and fee increases worth another $16 million, the proposed budget did show a willingness to take tough steps to start balancing county finances. But the county legislature blew those up, taking the fee and tax increases out of the budget, then overriding Mangano 14-4 when he vetoed the hikes back into the budget. It's worth noting that the four legislators who seem to have the ability to add figures -- other than the number of votes strong action might lose incumbents in 2017 -- are Democrats Laura Curran and Siela Bynoe and Republicans Francis Becker and Denise Ford.
Throughout this process, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority has warned that the county needs $28 million in increased taxes and fees. Even with those, it said, the budget will probably run short by as much as $130 million.
In fact, NIFA has been warning of trouble for a lot longer, but generally not acting to prevent it. In 2011, the board made an agreement with Mangano to let the county borrow a certain amount of money for a few years in exchange for a balanced budget by 2015. But NIFA also enabled the problem by letting Mangano and the legislature lift a county pay freeze based on imaginary sales tax and speed-camera revenue. So now what?
NIFA meets Thursdayand will almost certainly reject the budget the legislature delivered, sending it back to Mangano. He can try to alter it to meet NIFA's demands, but legally, spending cuts may be his only option because he cannot raise taxes or fees without legislative approval. The same is true of NIFA if Mangano fails to fix the budget, and it falls back to the board. So what is the reasonable expectation?
The county is looking at future deficits of at least $160 million a year. If Nassau's plan to end tax refunds for commercial property by having owners pre-fund the return of overpayments is successful, that will cut $60 million in annual spending starting in 2018. That will leave a gap of $100 million a year to make up, gradually, in 2016, 2017 and 2018. And after all this time, it is not unreasonable to ask that the county get its budget in order by 2018.
It's tempting to demand that Nassau do so immediately, but such a move could end services needed by our most vulnerable residents, the young and the old.
NIFA is hiring a fiscal expert to help it with the budget. It has to present and enforce a firm and serious plan to move Nassau toward solvency. Hopefully, when the legislature and Mangano see NIFA is unshakable in this goal, they will target appropriate cuts and actual, not imaginary, revenue increases, as they were elected to do.
It will be a painful process akin to endlessly bailing out a leaky boat. But it will be better than letting the ship go down.
