Saturday, October 31, 2026
Glen Cove adopted a $70 million budget for 2027 Tuesday night after a 3-3 City Council split, with opponents questioning the reliability of projected revenue and whether the administration has a concrete plan to address the city’s existing financial shortfalls created by the past two budgets.
Republican council members Grady Farnan, Michael Ktistakis and Kevin Maccarone supported Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck’s spending plan, while Democrats Danielle Fugazy Scagliola, John Zozzaro and John Perrone opposed it. It was automatically adopted.
The budget includes a 2.82 percent residential property tax increase, roughly $97 annually for a home assessed at $805,000. Commercial property taxes would remain essentially unchanged.
The vote came after Moody’s downgraded the city’s bond rating and the state comptroller’s office classified Glen Cove as “susceptible to fiscal stress” as a result of shortfalls in its 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Before the vote, Panzenbeck reduced the amount the city expects to collect from a proposed hotel tax by $150,000 and increased projected school bus ticket revenue by the same amount. Fugazy Scagliola said that council members received the revised figures last Friday, three weeks after the original proposal.
“It just doesn’t feel like we’re being honest with ourselves about where we are with this budget,” she said.
Panzenbeck de-fended the administration’s approach, emphasizing that municipal budgets rely on estimates of future revenue. “When we create a budget,” she said, “the only sure revenue is taxes.”
A proposed 4 percent hotel and motel occupancy tax still requires approval by the State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul. It would be added to the existing 3 percent Nassau County hotel tax, and currently would affect the Glen Cove Mansion, the city’s only hotel.
In a call with the Herald on Wednesday, Assemblyman Charles Lavine questioned why City Attorney Tip Henderson waited until May, shortly before the legislative session ended in June, to request authorization for the hotel tax, leaving little time for consideration. Lavine also expressed concern that the tax would affect people visiting Glen Cove to see relatives, as well as local residents staying at the Mansion during home repairs or after fires.
“I want a public hearing,” Lavine said. “I want the City Council to hear from the public with respect to the imposition of this new tax.” He added that he wanted City Council consensus before advancing the legislation.
Panzenbeck said the administration initially anticipated implementing the tax in April, but reduced its revenue estimate to account for a possible August start.
Other revenue
The school Bus Patrol program uses cameras to ticket motorists who illegally pass stopped buses, generating revenue for the city. It has a backlog of around 3,500 tickets, including about 1,000 that motorists have challenged and are awaiting hearings. The administration expects to collect additional revenue as those cases are resolved.
“These adjudications have been processed in a very slow manner,” Panzenbeck said, adding that officials expect hearings to accelerate.
Fugazy Scagliola questioned whether the city could count on the additional collection. She said there is no guarantee the county will start adjudicating tickets sooner.
Building permit revenue also raised concerns. As of Sept. 10, the city had collected just $240,000 of the $1.4 million projected for 2026. Despite higher permit fees, the 2027 budget anticipates $1.5 million in collections.
The city also failed to receive approximately $3.1 million in sales tax revenue budgeted for 2026. In July 2025, the City Council voted to replace Nassau County’s property-tax credit with direct collection of Glen Cove’s 1.5 percent sales tax share. However, the county did not grant the required waiver in time, leaving the city with a shortfall. The change is now expected to take effect in March 2027, though council members questioned how much revenue it would generate.
Given these challenges, Fugazy Scagliola estimated that the city could finish 2026 facing a shortfall of at least $4 million.
Zozzaro warned that Glen Cove homeowners will lose a Nassau County property tax credit, potentially increasing their tax bills beyond the city’s projected $97 increase from the County Sales tax agreement. The county has already removed the rebate that city property owners had received from its budget.
“After reviewing the numbers, I see a shortfall,” Zozzaro said.
Perrone praised Panzenbeck and City Controller Mike Piccirillo for their work in preparing the budget, but said he could not support its financial assumptions. “To plan a budget on hope is a difficult thing that I can’t do as a businessman,” Perrone said.
Former Councilwoman Marsha Silverman addressed Panzenbeck during public comment and repeatedly questioned whether the budget would take any specific action to reduce the city’s existing deficit. She cited the unrealized sales tax revenue, building permit collections, legal expenses and lower-than-anticipated investment interest as potential financial pressures.
“I don’t see anywhere here where you’re putting money aside to cover any of the deficit going into 2027,” she said.
Panzenbeck said the administration intended to eliminate the deficit through sound budgeting practices. “We’re planning to address it,” she said. “We will be working to eliminate the deficit.”
Panzenbeck defended her administration’s financial record, citing an $87,000 surplus last fiscal year. Piccirillo has also cited four consecutive annual surpluses totaling more than $5 million.
Panzenbeck also emphasized rising personnel expenses, including an increase of roughly $860,000 in pension costs. Salaries, pensions, health benefits and other employee expenses account for about $44 million, or 75 percent of the general fund budget, she said.
Ktistakis defended the spending plan as necessary to maintain police, fire and emergency medical services, sanitation, roads, sidewalks and recreational programs amid rising operating costs. “This is an investment in keeping our community thriving,” he said.
