By John C. O'Connell
Democrat Suozzi's $2.28-billion budget, endorsed by the state's fiscal monitors on Oct. 7, had mandated $641,047 in spending cuts and would have had problems getting approved by a majority of legislators, even in the Democrat-controlled chamber.
But an agreement reached between Democratic legislators and the county executive restores Suozzi's planned youth-services cuts. An alternative $671,435 spending reduction proposed by Democrats calls for eliminating two funded positions in the Corrections Center and two in the Department of Investigations, further reducing use of outside counsel in the County Attorney's Office and a reduction of $95,635 from a chauffeur's salary in the District Attorney's office that was incorrectly stated in the proposed budget.
An earlier Democrat alternative that included forcing non-union county employees to contribute to their health insurance premiums was rejected by the Republicans and dropped by the Democrats.
Susan Peitler of the Five Towns Community Center said Monday that she would like to thank Legis. Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) "and all the other legislators who supported us in getting these cuts restored." Peitler was one of dozens who spoke against the cuts in legislative budget hearings Oct. 21.
"This is a very big relief to single parents and youth who need these services so much. Even if it saves two out of 10 kids, it's helping two that would otherwise be lost. Instead of getting mad and expressing themselves in the street by shooting each other, they can come to a structured environment and shoot hoops, or dance or do other things, learning and getting jobs with this help," Peitler said.
Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) said, "I believe it's our responsibility and commitment as legislators to make sure that those among us who are most in need of services, such as our youth who are in crisis, are protected from the budget ax rather than being the first cut."
"There are some things you just don't cut.... It was clear [to me that] we could offset $640,000 worth of service cuts to youth with [other] cuts and we did it. These cuts are from items that are far more palatable than youth services," Denenberg said.
The county executive is happy the sum of projected revenues and planned spending contained in his budget remains intact.
"I am obviously very glad that an agreement could be reached with the Legislature to restore the Youth Board cuts without increasing spending so that the budget remains balanced," Suozzi said.
The restoration of cuts is "wonderful news" to Linda Leonard of the Bellmore-based Long Island Crisis Center, an organization that provides Nassau County's only 24-hour, seven-day-a-week suicide-prevention hotline.
"We're very appreciative to the Democratic leadership that understood the concept that cutting youth services was the poorest choice to attack the budget crisis," Leonard said. "It was attacking the most-vulnerable and cost-effective service system that never recovered from the cuts of 2000.
"For us personally at Long Island Crisis Center, if those cuts had remained, we were very much in danger of not being able to maintain the county's only round-the-clock, crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention center. We're still struggling, but at least we will be able to maintain the services that we have been at this moment," Leonard said.
Legis. John Ciotti (R-Elmont), who also strongly opposed to the youth-service cuts, would have preferred to use different alternatives to restore funding than the ways Democrats chose. He said there is a "buffer account" of $33 million in the budget dedicated to vacant positions throughout the county work force, yet at the same time the plan is for reducing the work force by 1,400 people.
"I believe there are smoke and mirrors going on here," Ciotti said. "The children of Nassau County deserve better than what they were getting in the budget. We have 1,600 families in Elmont who use Elmont Youth Outreach. By cutting those programs, you have potentially 1,600 people out of work because they wouldn't be able to have jobs without [the help of Youth Outreach]."
Barry Wilansky, executive director of Temp Group, with offices in the Five Towns and North Merrick, was glad the cuts were restored. "We are grateful to the executive director of the Youth Board and others that provided the information necessary to [the legislators] to make the right decision to support family life in the community," Wilansky said.
"The sad commentary is that the political process is often so frightening and hurtful to people who fear losing services. But the saddest commentary of all," Wilansky said, "is that we're involved in discussing [such cuts] at all."
Scott Brinton contributed to this story.
