By John C. O'Connelly
Broadcast live by cable network WLIW21, and moderated by Harvard University Professor of Law Dr. Arthur R. Miller, 13 men and women, representing sometimes-competing philosophies of governance and fiscal policy, assembled at Hofstra University's Dempster Hall television studios to give Suozzi their ideas about solving the county's financial problems.
Suozzi must submit a four-year plan to the Nassau Interim Finance Authority by April 1. NIFA will take over the county's finances -- essentially running Nassau's government -- unless it approves that plan. Approval would signal NIFA's belief that the spending decreases and revenue increases outlined in the plan were realistic and sufficient to put the county's books in balance.
The symposium, "Nassau County: a Suburb in Crisis," examined the issues and discussed what steps Suozzi, the County Legislature, the state Assembly and Senate, property owners and county employees and their unions must take together to resolve the county's problems.
The panel consisted of Bruce Bent, entrepreneur and former Republican candidate for the county exec. job; Frederick Brewington, civil rights attorney; Phoebe Goodman, director of the Nassau Citizens Budget Committee; Patrick Halpin, former Suffolk County executive; Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association; Irwin Kellner, chief economist for CBS MarketWatch; John Kiernan, former North Hempstead supervisor; James Kluerfeld, Newsday editorial page editor; Robert McMillan, co-host of WLIW21's 'Face Off;' Dave Mejias, attorney and former Democratic candidate for the county Legislature; Jack O'Connell, CEO/president of Long Island Health and Welfare Council; Lisa Tyson, associate director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition; and Melvyn Weiss, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP. Suozzi listened intently from the audience.
Some panel members warned the county executive not to restore fiscal health by making the poor sicker. Worried that social services for seniors, minorities, those in need of recovery services and people already low on the income scale would be cut, some panelists were in favor of an income tax for those making more than $100,000, especially if coupled with a reduction in property taxes for all. They said income taxes are progressive, based on a person's ability to pay, whereas property taxes are regressive, meaning the single senior on fixed and reduced income pays the same property tax as a rich family of multiple income earners in similarly situated houses.
Other panelists dismissed the idea of an income tax, saying it would have a devastating effect on Nassau County and drive future homeowners and businesses away. An income tax is also unpredictable, not a good thing when revenues need to be assumed for budget plans. In a recession, when incomes fall, county revenues would likewise fall.
The lack of affordable housing was decried and pleas were made to provide for additional housing for low-income seniors and the young.
Another suggestion was to the state legislature: that it should stop making the county subsidize school districts and towns. The county now must return 100 percent of property tax refund awards even though the county only keeps 19 percent of the tax. About 60 percent go to help fund school budgets and 21 percent to help towns provide services.
While all panel members agreed that the pain associated with recovery must be shared by all, each counseled a different therapy, insisting too much of any other's plan would further hurt the patient. After 90 minutes of discussion, it was hard to tell whether Suozzi had learned any new approaches to fiscal improvement, or whether he'd yet again heard what not to do.
Suozzi's four-year budget plan, to be unveiled April 1, will reveal if he took any of the many suggestions the symposium participants made.
