Letter: County contracts should bind
Nassau County workers rally outside the Uniondale Marriott on March 10, 2014. Credit: Howard Schnapp
I'm sick of people blaming the Nassau fiscal crisis on contracts for county workers ["Old and new Nassau workers should pay in," Letters, April 21]. Three major issues keep getting overlooked.
First, we're talking about county residents -- friends and neighbors who have been trying to make do with the same salary they had three years ago, while their taxes and costs of living have increased. The 15 percent shortfall in sales tax revenue might have something to do with the fact that those county workers have less to spend.
Second, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority was given the job of watchdog. Every year, Nassau borrows to pay refunds after people challenge their property tax bills. Interest accrues. Why hasn't NIFA forced an overhaul of the assessment system?
When Wall Street was bailed out through Troubled Asset Relief Program, many of the firms still awarded bonuses to workers because their contracts called for bonuses. That a contract is binding is a fundamental right we can ill afford to ignore.
Larry Bassen, East Meadow
Editor's note: The writer's wife works for Nassau County.
