By Jacquie Rath
Botwin will replace Jane Levine, who has been chief deputy comptroller since 2002. Levine is leaving the comptroller's office to become a vice president of the Fund for the City of New York, a not-for-profit agency in Manhattan.
"I was very pleased to learn I'd been appointed," said Botwin, who has lived in Rockville Centre for seven years. "I'm a great fan of Howard Weitzman."
While at the Nassau County Attorney's Office, Botwin helped rebuild the 85-attorney municipal law department, assisted in developing the county's multi-year financial plan, helped create and implement the Sewer and Storm Water Finance Authority and handled major county litigation.
Botwin holds a J.D. degree from Columbia University School of Law. Prior to beginning her work for the county, she served with the New York City Corporation Counsel's Office for 17 years, where she was chief of the Tax and Condemnation Division.
"We are very fortunate to be able to enlist Liz Botwin," said Weitzman. "She brings to the job of chief deputy comptroller a wealth of government experience with both Nassau County and the City of New York. She will be an enormous asset to this office as we embark on our second-term agenda, in which we will continue our aggressive audits and seek ways to make government more efficient and save taxpayers money."
According to Botwin, she will be assisting Weitzman with major projects when she assumes her new role on March 1, including continued audits of special service districts and an ongoing audit of county operations. She will also be responsible for helping to oversee the comptroller's office staff, and will be Weitzman's chief advisor. Additionally, she hopes to work toward getting more state funding for Nassau County schools.
Botwin believes her solid grasp of financial and fiscal issues will serve her well in her new position. "I have worked on budgets and finance initiatives as part of the Suozzi administration," she said. "I am excited to work on bringing more fiscal discipline to the county. I hope to make government more efficient and effective. I want to help bring better services and lower costs to the people of Nassau County."
