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It's unfortunate that Michael Zapson is engaging in revisionist history rather than being honest about Tom Suozzi's record. Suozzi raised property taxes by 23% on Nassau County homeowners and businesses. He instituted a Home Energy Tax on everyting you could use to heat your home from oil and natural gas, to firewood. He passed a four-year plan to raise taxes on homeowners and businesses an additional 16.5%, which would have gone into effect had he won re-election four years ago. He bloated the size of County government, hiring an unprecedented number of patronage positions.

Suozzi was able to "balance his budgets" only because the Nassau Interim Finance Authority allowed Tom Suozzi to count money that the County BORROWED as revenue - an accounting practice that would land any CFO in hot water with independent regulatory authorities. In reality, Suozzi's strategy was not to tackle the structural imbalances that threatened Nassau County's financial future - it was to kick the can down the road as far as he could, hoping he would be Governor before it exploded. As a result, Ed Mangano inherited a $347 million dollar deficit and a County on the fast-track to becoming the next Detroit.

In the meantime, Nassau homeowners and businesses struggled to stay afloat. Mangano had a different solution - hold the line on taxes to give families and businsses a break, and actually make the tough choices necessary to bring Nassau County back from the brink. As a result, 16.5% Suozzi real property tax hike never occurrred. The Suozzi-Denenberg Home Energy Tax was repealed, and the 347 million dollar Suozzi budget deficit turned into a 40 million dollar surplus while CUTTING taxes. Nassau County has the lowest unemployment in the region and sales tax revenue is steadily increasing due to increased economic activity and an improved business environment. The Suozzi Administration engaged in unprecedented borrowing to meet operating expenses - about 2.5 Billion dollars from 2006-2009. Mangano has reduced County borrowing by nearly 50%.

Someone looking for the "bad old days", need only to look to Tom Suozzi. Under Mangano - there's light at the end of the tunnel. Under Suozzi, that "light" will be an oncoming train. Michael Zapson, of course, is entitled to his own opinion - but he is not entitled to his own facts. If you look at the facts, returning Tom Suozzi and a Democrat majority to the Nassau County Legislature is a formula for economic disaster for middle-class families and businesses.

Steve Rhoads

From: Mangano is sending Nassau County back to the bad old days

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