Shifting the burden

The Nassau County Legislature voted 11-8 to approve County Executive Ed Mangano’s $2.6 billion budget on the night of Oct. 30, following a contentious, two-day public hearing in Mineola that turned bitterly partisan as legislators argued over details of the spending plan.

Democratic legislators railed against Mangano’s reliance on borrowing and fee increases to balance next year’s budget. “This budget mortgages our children’s future…,” said Diane Yatauro, a Democrat from Glen Cove and the Legislature’s minority leader, in a prepared statement. “Since taking office in January, Mangano has proposed nearly $700 million in borrowing, and his 2011 budget calls for even more.”

Mangano, meanwhile, said that his budget would close a $340 million deficit, in part by cutting $100 million in spending, while keeping county property taxes level next year. He noted that the budget would dramatically reduce Nassau’s work force.

The Legislature’s 11 Republicans voted for the budget, while the eight Democrats rejected it.

In a separate budget resolution, the Legislature voted 11-8 along party lines to shift Nassau’s tax-certiorari refund payments to school districts, towns, villages and other local jurisdictions. School administrators have criticized the plan, saying that it will force them to increase school budgets — and thus property taxes — and potentially lay off staff. The shift is scheduled to take place in 2013, which Mangano and Republicans in the Legislature said should give school districts and local municipalities time to budget for the changeover.

Guarantee debated

Since 1938, the county has “guaranteed” that it will refund successful tax-certiorari challenges made by residents and business owners. According to Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, Nassau had for years paid out more than $100 million annually in tax-certiorari refunds, but from 2005 to 2009, the county reduced its refund liability to under $50 million through reform measures. This year, the county paid out more than $80 million, of which it had to bond $30 million to meet its refund obligation.