By Scott Brinton
"We have sought legislation that would generate revenue to make up for millions of dollars in lost sales tax," Suozzi said. "But not only has Albany continued to ignore our pleas, they have failed to act on behalf of the people they claim to represent."
Suozzi is seeking two "revenue enhancers" to help fill a gap in the county budget: a cigarette tax and a surcharge on traffic and parking tickets. Both require enabling legislation from the state.
Two Democratic senators recently sided with the Republican minority to stage a coup and hand control of the Senate back to the GOP, which lost power in January. In the process, critical pieces of legislation have fallen by the wayside as time runs out on the current legislative session.
In all, the county's proposed cuts to human services would total just over $10 million, including $4.7 million for the Nassau County Youth Board. Jennifer Kim, Suozzi's press secretary, said that the state Legislature is scheduled to end its current session on June 22. If lawmakers leave Albany without acting on the revenue enhancers, Kim said, the county will be forced to move ahead with the planned funding cuts to 40 youth-service agencies with which Nassau contracts, including the Long Island Crisis Center in Bellmore, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week suicide-prevention hotline.
Linda Leonard, executive director of the Crisis Center, which receives $257,000 annually from the county, said the agency would be "devastated" if its funding were cut. "The state needs to look at what it's doing ... and do their job," Leonard said.
Suozzi said the loss of sales tax revenues amid the current recession brought about the deficit in the county budget. In addition to the cuts to social services, the county will have to renegotiate union contracts and lay off low-wage workers if the revenue enhancers don't come through, he said.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
