Best of luck, Mr. County Executive

On New Year’s Day, I proudly watched the swearing-in of Nassau County’s next leader. Many cheered loudly for Ed Mangano, a candidate who stood for change and overcame great odds to become our new county executive.

You probably didn’t know Mangano before his 2009 campaign. That isn’t surprising given that he was outspent by the incumbent, Tom Suozzi, by more than two to one. He was a relatively unknown seven-term county Legislator from Bethpage, a down-to-earth guy who was suddenly thrown into the spotlight.

New Yorkers statewide wondered, and rightfully so: Can Mangano save Nassau County from financial despair?

He can waste no time basking in the glory of his victory. He holds the reins of the county, and it needs his immediate and undivided attention, for this is a fiscal crisis like no other. Nassau is one of the state’s larger counties, with a population of some 1.35 million and a budget of $2.6 billion. But it now faces a deficit of $130 million, and growing.

Mangano campaigned on a promise to stop wasteful spending, fix the county’s broken tax assessment system, repeal its home energy tax and create jobs. In his inaugural address, he said, “We simply no longer can afford the county government we inherited.”

Nassau County residents are overburdened by taxes, and the reality is that the county will be hard pressed to deliver relief. Mangano’s first move as county executive was to repeal the 2.5 percent home energy tax on heating fuel, claiming that it amounted to no more than a property tax. He has vowed to cut the patronage jobs that cost taxpayers $22 million a year, and reduce the size of his office.

He intends to create much-needed jobs by offering low-interest loans to homeowners to purchase alternative-energy systems. The hope is that this will stimulate these industries and create jobs, and give our environment some much-needed respect. In addition, he plans to create an Office of Local Opportunity to stimulate increased competitiveness in the bidding process between local companies.

By engaging local industry, Mangano hopes to generate more sales tax revenue and stabilize property taxes for county residents.