Mangano has made holding county property taxes flat a centerpiece of his administration, highlighting the practice in four consecutive county budgets as well as re-election advertisements last year. But his administration has raised fees several times since 2010 and also financed the county’s expenses by borrowing hundreds of millions annually.

“They’re raising taxes through the back door,” Denenberg said. “You’re not walking the walk after talking the talk.”

Venditto did not respond to calls for comment. Though he voted against the increases on June 16, he was absent from a Finance Committee meeting on June 2, when his vote could have halted the measures before they reached the Legislature’s floor. In addition to Venditto, there are three Republicans and three Democrats on the Finance Committee.

William Muller, the clerk of the Legislature, confirmed that Venditto was not at the committee meeting. Muller said Legislator Dennis Dunne Sr., a Levittown Republican, substituted for Venditto.

Claudia Borecky, a former Denenberg aide and a North Merrick civic association leader, alleged that Venditto was campaigning for State Senate while the committee meeting took place. She said that a friend informed her that his wife encountered Venditto at a retired teachers meeting in Wantagh — which lies outside of Venditto’s legislative district but within the State Senate district in which he is running — at 6:15 p.m. on June 2, a quarter-hour after the committee meeting began in Mineola. Borecky said she pressed the claim during the public comment section of the June 16 Legislature meeting.

“I have no doubt in my mind that he would’ve approved [the fee increases] if he wasn’t running for higher office,” Borecky told the Herald. “And he shirked his responsibilities as a legislator in not being in committee for that vote.”

She said she asked Venditto for an explanation during the June 16 Legislature meeting, but he never replied.