County exec talks transparency in address

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano delivered his State of the County address to a crowd of more than 400 government officials and supporters on March 15 at the Museum of American Armor at Old Bethpage. He emphasized the need for greater transparency, saying, “as one of the most transparent counties, we have learned over the years that our system can further improve.”

Mangano detailed two executive orders that he signed to make the contract approval process more open. The first requires client registration and disclosure by lobbyists, and the second mandates disclosures by contractors and consultants, he said.

“Together with the [Nassau County] Legislature,” Mangano said, “we have also adopted requirements for contractors to disclose signed affidavits.” He detailed the 10 levels of approval in place to OK a contract. At each step, he said, a contract is thoroughly reviewed before it is approved.

Contracts valued at more than $25,000 have been available for public viewing since 2010, when Mangano took office, he said. “The public has the right to full disclosure,” he noted. “Under my administration, there is a procurement system that has historic levels of transparency, oversight, and checks and balances.”

Mangano also spoke of the efforts made by local and national businesses based in the county to help reduce Nassau’s jobless rate, saying the county now has New York’s highest employment rate. The county’s unemployment rate dropped from 7 percent in 2010, he said, to 4.2 percent as of January.

“My administration knows that high taxes kill jobs and depress the local economy,” he said in a statement earlier this month. “That is why I repealed the Home Energy Tax and worked with the Legislature to freeze property taxes for five years. Our taxpayer-conscious policies have sent a clear message to employers to create local jobs.”