Letters to the Editor of the Rockville Centre Herald Sept. 30, 2010

Pledges from the county exec

Dear Fellow Taxpayer:

We live in unprecedented and difficult economic times. Thousands of jobs have been lost, careers have been destroyed and retirement savings have vanished. The value of our homes has decreased; more homes have been foreclosed in Nassau County than ever before. We are facing challenges that have not been seen in our county since its founding in 1899.

Together, we will tackle these challenges.

Two weeks ago, I submitted to the Legislature a Proposed County Budget for 2011 that reflects the enormity of these economic hardships. Our county faces a $343 million deficit next year. This is the result of years of mismanagement, a poor economy and empty promises of paying for labor deals without funding. Without the difficult cuts and corrective actions I have taken, we would have been forced to raise property taxes by 43 percent.

This budget does not increase property taxes by a single dollar.

The county is very fortunate to have a dedicated work force that has contributed without question to help the county achieve its operational and financial objectives. I seek to continue this partnership with its unionized work force.

It is of paramount importance that Nassau return to fiscal stability. For this goal to be met, we must realistically live within our means. Unfortunately for taxpayers, my predecessor did not understand this simple principle. A review of the county’s collective bargaining agreements reveals that the cost of labor and associated benefits, including rising pension, benefit and health care costs and agreements unknown in the private sector, far exceed our ability to pay.

In developing the budget proposal, my first priority was the health, safety and welfare of our residents. I then considered those services we are required by law to provide the public, the resources available to deliver such services, and, most important, taxpayers’ ability to pay for such services.

This budget makes over $130 million in departmental cuts and headcount reductions. I led the way by cutting the number of jobs throughout the county and by cutting $1 million within my office. In fact, the proposal calls for the smallest county work force since the 1950s.

While keeping the same number of police patrolling our streets, I have worked hard with the Police Department to consolidate duplicative administrative functions. From creating a new Department of Shared Services to entering into purchasing agreements that increase our buying power and thereby lower our costs, we are taking every necessary step to reduce the size of our government.

Despite all these efforts, it is still not enough to place our county on stable ground. To balance the budget, I will order labor savings from Nassau County employees. Since taking office Jan. 1, I have met with labor leaders to ask for assistance in closing this colossal deficit. While concessions are difficult, I am left with no other options. Together, we must have the ability to restore our county to fiscal stability and ensure that it lives within its means.

I am asking the County Legislature to pass the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2010 to ensure that shared sacrifices are made to prevent property tax hikes. To protect the county’s future for years to come, I will implement significant reforms to address our fiscal instability.

I am introducing legislation to amend county law to eliminate the so-called “county guarantee” of liabilities for property tax assessment of other levels of government. That change alone will save taxpayers $80 million a year and stop the growth of debt associated with this broken system.

Finally, I am proposing that not-for-profit entities (excluding houses of worship) for the first time pay for county sewage service. In an effort to benefit ratepayers, I have also ordered exploration of entering into a public-private partnership for Nassau County’s Sewer District.

Reforming Nassau’s finances is critical to improving our economy. I will never give up fighting for you, the taxpayers of Nassau County.

Edward Mangano

County executive

Mangano worsens financial crisis

To the Editor:

No matter who had won the last county election, it was clear that Nassau County would be going down a tough financial road. The administration of Republican Ed Mangano, however, seems to be basing its financial plan on former County Executive Tom Gullota’s guide to county government: borrow, overestimate revenues, underestimate expenses, sell property and, if that’s not enough, borrow more.

Mangano heralds a no-tax-increase budget without the use of revenue one-shots — non-recurring items such as the sale of county-owned property or borrowing as opposed to taxes and fees — and then proceeds to call for the biggest one-shot of all, $350 million in new borrowing for real estate tax refunds. When added to the $86 million borrowed for early retirements and the 2010 capital plan, the county executive will have borrowed or proposed to borrow close to $500 million — half a billion dollars. More than 85 percent is for operating expenses, which is like using your credit cards to pay for your living expenses.

Mangano said he was going to fix the broken assessment system and save $100 million per year. But then his team found the system wasn’t as broken as they thought. He is now proposing to rescind the law requiring Nassau County to refund school and town taxes when taxpayers successfully challenge their assessments, saving the county $80 million per year, while borrowing $350 million to “transition” that burden to local schools and towns.

Nassau County executives have been trying to change this law forever. Lawsuits have failed as well. Albany legislators have never shown any interest in alienating the school constituency by changing this law, and there is little such interest now.

To ensure “shared sacrifice” and save $60 million, Mangano is proposing legislation to roll back union salaries and benefits — after he gave back $40 million in energy taxes and boasted that sales tax receipts are rising. This ploy would also require approval in Albany. Trying to unilaterally re-open union contracts is just not going to happen and will be a waste of legal fees.

Mangano’s county budget also proposes to cut $100 million in “wasteful spending,” without offering any specifics. As a county legislator, he voted against the 2010 budget when it was adopted in 2009. He has been county executive for nine months now. If there was $100 million in wasteful spending in the budget, why didn’t he eliminate it after the election instead of whining about the Suozzi administration? Instead he spent his time floating fantasies like selling off the future rents from Mitchel Field, having taxpayers pay for the refurbishment of the Nassau Coliseum instead of the Islanders, and opening a casino on Hempstead turnpike. Why not sell the Nassau University Medical Center again?

The only “savings” realized by the administration in 2010 is money borrowed for operating expenses and savings built into the budget by the prior administration. After eight years of expense reductions by the Suozzi administration, it is doubtful that cuts of this magnitude could be made without reducing services.

If the Democrats vote against this huge borrowing (as they should, and as the Republicans said they would), Mangano will face a deficit of $50 to $70 million in 2010, according to the Republican comptroller, and hundreds of millions in 2011.

Other questionable items, such as asking Albany for permission to install $25 million more in red-light cameras and overestimating state reimbursements, sales taxes and non-tax revenues, are just retreads of old, failed budget gimmicks. The hole in this budget could approach the $400 million gap in the 1999 spending plan that led to the state’s creation of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. That would equal more than 15 percent of the county’s $2.6 billion budget, which is unprecedented. At this point, the only question is, What can and will NIFA do as this crisis unfolds?

Howard Weitzman

Great Neck Estates

Weitzman is a former Nassau County comptroller.