Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who is running for re-election against a Democratic field that includes former Comptroller Howard Weitzman and Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn), wants voters to know that he is not going anywhere.
The Great Neck Republican, who won his office along with ticket-mate Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano (R-Bethpage) in 2009, ran an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2012, but told Blank Slate Media that he would commit to a full four years as comptroller if re-elected.
“I am making a commitment that I will not seek any other office,” Maragos said.
In an interview, Maragos defended his record as the county’s fiscal watchdog and said he and the Mangano administration were making real progress in fixing Nassau’s debt-ridden balance sheet.
“I think the county finances are stable. We have been meeting our obligations, paying our bills,” Maragos said. “We know our homeowners are taxed to the hilt and cannot pay any more. We recognize that.”
The county has cut its structural deficit and saved money by implementing tighter requirements for contracts and privatizing the bus service, according to Maragos.
“I’ve always tried to do what’s best for the taxpayers and the residents of the county,” Maragos said. “A lot of our problems continue to be at the state level with the unfunded mandates or with Washington, in terms of economic policies. They affect us.”
Weitzman, who narrowly lost his seat to Maragos in 2009 and is seeking a rematch this year, has accused Maragos of being too close to the Mangano administration, pointing to press releases from Maragos’ office touting budget surpluses whose validity has been questioned by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.
But Maragos said he has criticized Mangano’s fiscal policies, citing his opposition to high levels of borrowing in the administration’s proposed budgets and concerns about plans in 2011 for a taxpayer-funded renovation of the Nassau Coliseum.
“I think I’ve proven my independence from day one,” Maragos said. “I think I’ve stood up for the taxpayers.”
Maragos has not been on the friendliest terms with NIFA, the state agency that was granted control over the county’s finances in 2011, citing concerns about Nassau’s budget.
NIFA and its board members have called the surpluses touted by Maragos and Mangano misleading, and Maragos alleged in an interview this year that NIFA trustees were politically motivated in their criticism.
In an interview this week, Maragos said the dispute lies in different accounting methods. The county shows a surplus on a single-year basis, Maragos said, but NIFA’s accounting standard does not count the one-time revenues, like real estate sales, that Mangano’s administration has used to balance its books.
“They’re both legitimate. But they’re different measures,” Maragos said. “Under some rules we have a surplus, and under some rules we don’t.”
Maragos said that the county should examine alternatives to fix the property tax refund system, which has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid liabilities as businesses challenge their property assessments. The county Legislature had passed a law to end the county guarantee and shift the cost of paying those refunds from the county to the schools and special districts that collect the taxes, arguing that the system was inequitable. But that effort has stalled, with an appellate court ruling that the guarantee is part of state law and cannot be revoked by the county.
“Now the courts have ruled against us, so the likelihood that the county will be able to avoid that expenditure has been reduced,” Maragos said, adding that the guarantee would cost the county between $50 million and $70 million starting in 2015, when the law was scheduled to come into effect. “I think the focus now has to be on fixing the commercial [tax refund system.]”
The county has already stopped the buildup of residential tax certiorari cases by settling with homeowners prior to the tax roll being fixed, according to Maragos. He advocated for using a similar system with commercial tax payers, as well as freezing yearly reassessments in order to discourage future challenges.
“That’s what we did with the residential, and if we apply the same principle to the commercial side I think we’re going to achieve the same result,” Maragos said.
Maragos acknowledged that ending the guarantee, as the county is trying to do with an appeal to the recent court decision, would shift the costs of tax refunds onto schools.
“It just would shift it. But it would certainly solve the problem from the county’s point of view,” Maragos said. “You can argue whether that’s fair or not.”
Maragos also weighed in on the Nassau Industrial Development Agency, which is tasked with attracting businesses to the county with tax concessions and financing. The IDA has come under fire from local officials for considering applications to reduce taxes for residential developments that critics said did not provide an economic benefit to the county; those applications were later dropped.
“I spoke publicly and was very instrumental in working with the North Hills mayor, [Marvin Natiss], in rejecting that application for the Bristal [assisted living facility,]” Maragos said. “The test has to be, would the investments have been made? And the benefits – would they have been had?”
Maragos’ office audited the IDA in 2011, and found that the agency lacked controls to ensure that the county was receiving the employment and economic benefits promised in exchange for tax breaks.
“We pointed out that there was little verification to follow up in the various commitments and promises that the organizations made,” Maragos said.
Maragos said that the county’s economic and fiscal record during his term in office has earned him support from voters.
“We’re recovering much quicker than any other county as a result of the policies that we’ve put in place and sending out a very strong business friendly environment here in Nassau County,” Maragos said. “And we’ve done it because we’ve managed financially – we’ve made government more efficient while continuing to provide a high level of service.”
Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
