Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s proposed budget came under fire from lawmakers and administrators last week as it goes through hearings in the county Legislature.
The budget puts Nassau County at risk of a $49.1 million deficit, county Comptroller George Maragos told the Legislature during the first of two budget hearings on Oct. 8.
The Republican executive’s proposal includes $30.7 million in spending cuts and $84.3 million in new revenue, but Maragos said much of that revenue is not guaranteed, making a balanced budget unlikely.
“The 2016 proposed budget has little flexibility and leaves no room for error,” he said in a press release.
Among the revenue sources found risky by Maragos, also a Republican, were $20 million from a proposed video casino and $60 million in bonds for property tax refunds.
The review also said sales tax revenue is likely to decline in the coming year, creating an $11.2 million revenue risk.
The county’s debt and liabilities would continue to grow under the budget, Maragos said.
Long-term debt would approach $3.9 billion. Pension and property tax liabilities — the difference between the amount of money the county owes to residents and the amount of funds it has on hand — would also increase to $240 million and $305 million, respectively.
Maragos’s review came a day after all 19 county legislators announced they would reject Mangano’s budget because it contains a property tax increase, which would account for about $12 million in revenue.
In an Oct. 7 statement, Democratic Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) called the proposed tax hike “simply ridiculous and frankly unacceptable,” adding that the Republican majority should follow through and reject it.
“(T)his high-tax budget has to go and if the county executive can’t come up with $12 million dollars of spending cuts in his budget then we will be forced to propose some ourselves,” Abrahams said in the statement.
Mangano spokesman Brian Nevin said the executive would consider amendments to his budget, but the Legislature has yet to present any to him.
Efforts to reach Republican Majority Leader Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) were unavailing.
Mangano’s spokesman Brian Nevin did not respond to a request for comment on Maragos’ review or the legislators’ opposition to the tax hike.
The proposed budget also contains $35.6 million in revenue from fee increases in the county clerk’s office and Department of Assessment, which Maragos’ review says are unlikely to come through.
Nassau County Clerk Maureen O’Connell, a Republican, also wrote a letter to lawmakers Friday opposing the hikes, saying they would dangerously burden the county’s real estate market.
For example, she said in the letter, filing three forms to buy or sell a mortgaged property cost $30 in 2010.
If Mangano’s budget went through, the same three forms would cost $1,575 to file in 2016, a jump of 5,250 percent that O’Connell called “unconscionable.”
Another proposed increase would raise the “tax map verification fee,” which falls under the assessment department, from $75 to $225.
Taken together, O’Connell said in her letter, the hikes would put a “catastrophic” financial burden on homeowners.
“The proposed fee increases before you are egregious and quite possibly in violation of the New York state law,” she wrote.
The Legislature held its second budget hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Reach reporter Noah Manskar by e-mail at nmanskar@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @noahmanskar and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
