Democratic Nassau County legislators last Friday submitted more than twice the number of petition signatures needed to potentially set a public vote on whether the county should have an independent inspector general.
Democrats collected more than 4,300 signatures to place a measure on the county Legislature’s Rules Committee agenda that would trigger a Nov. 8 ballot referendum on the issue. The county charter requires 2,000 signatures, including at least 50 from each legislative district.
The measure faces opposition from Republicans, who control the Legislature and say the inspector general’s role is already filled by two other county officials. Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) has never called a vote on Democrats’ bills to create the office.
“Now, if she ignores the petition of more than 4,300 residents, she will blatantly be ignoring the will of the people she serves,” Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) said in a statement.
The inspector general would have full investigatory powers and serve a six-year term under an employment contract that Democrats say would free the office from political influence.
But a referendum to create the position will not happen if the Republican-controlled Rules Committee votes down or tables the measure. If passed by the committee, it will go to the full Legislature, where the GOP holds a wider majority.
The county’s Office of Legislative Budget Review must also review the petition and the bill that accompanies it.
“Even though this is a political stunt, the legislation shall be put through the normal course of review,” Gonsalves said in a statement.
Democrats have called for an inspector general since former Republican state Sen. Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, were convicted last year of using their political power to secure a $12 million county contract for the environmental technology firm AbTech Industries. The Skeloses are appealing.
Deputy County Executive Rob Walker is also reportedly under federal investigation for signing an amended $12 million contract with VIP Splash Waterways Recovery Group on the same day the firm donated to his Republican political committee.
Gonsalves has called Nassau’s contracting process “the most transparent in the state.” She and County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, say an inspector general is unnecessary since the commissioner of investigations has the same powers and a procurement compliance director already oversees contracts.
The county has also increased financial disclosure requirements for contractors.
Democrats would accept Commissioner of Investigations Donna Myrill as the new inspector general as long as she had an independent contract, Abrahams has said.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas recommended an inspector general last July, when she issued a report calling Nassau’s contract system “a recipe for corruption.”
“The majority in the legislature has refused to allow greater oversight, so I support this referendum proposal to let the people decide,” said Singas, a Democrat.
