County Legislature OKs layoff plans

The Nassau County Legislature voted Monday night to approve about 380 layoffs of county employees. The layoffs could take place before the end of the month. According to Dave Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick who represents the 19th District, the layoff plan was approved along party lines, with 11 Republicans voting for it and six Democrats against it. Two Democratic legislators were absent for the vote.

On Nov. 28, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, a Republican from Bethpage, issued an ultimatum to the unions, saying that $75 million in concessions had to be agreed upon by Dec. 15, or 400 county workers would be laid off, and another 200 would be demoted.

It is not yet known which positions will be cut, but earlier documents submitted by Mangano to the Legislature suggested that the hardest-hit departments would be social services, parks and recreation, and public works.

However, Ryan Mulholland, a spokesman for the Civil Service Employees Association, told the Herald that the CSEA was working with the Legislature to hammer out an incentive package for workers who voluntarily choose to retire. Of the $75 million in concessions that Mangano sought, about $54 million is to come from the CSEA, which represents 5,800 workers in Nassau. Mulholland said that the “early separation incentive” would give $1,000 for every year of service to any CSEA employee who chose to retire immediately.

“We would rather people leave voluntarily than be forced out the door via layoffs,” said Mulholland.

Bonding for the incentives was voted on and approved unanimously on Monday night, said a Nassau County spokesperson. However, Mulholland said that the workers who choose to take the incentive plan must do so by Thursday, Dec. 29. In addition to the incentives, workers would still receive their state pensions, which are based on a worker’s years of service and salary, said Mulholland.

“We wish it would have been more time,” said Mulholland. “We had this deal on the table for a couple months, but it just wasn’t able to work out until [Monday] night. But it’s definitely a good thing because it will definitely save some jobs, and that is the most important thing.”