April 20, 2010

15th Legislative District Update

County Executive Ed Mangano and the new Legislative Majority have inherited a county with chronic financial problems. County Comptroller George Maragos just issued his 2009 year end analysis, and the results are startling. Pursuant to the Comptroller, “…the County had an operating structural budget deficit of $248.9 Million” in 2009. The structural deficit is the difference between recurring revenues and expenses.

The new Legislative Majority and the new County Executive are already taking measures to fix the fiscal mess we inherited from the prior administration and the old Democrat Majority on the Legislature. I am proud of my vote to repeal the onerous Home Energy Tax, and I am pleased that it will disappear from your utility bills as of June 1st. I also joined with County Executive Mangano to announce $49 Million in spending cuts to fill the gap in the 2010 budget. These cuts include $22 Million eliminated from the county payroll.

We will next embark on our plan to freeze property tax assessments so corrections to the system can be made to stop the endless increases in property taxes and to reduce the debt caused by mounting refunds. Last year, the county paid out over $117 Million in tax refunds due to erroneous assessments.

Every action the county takes to deal with these problems affects our residents, who are already dealing with the hardships caused by the recession. Jointly with the new County Executive, we must also focus our attention on job creation. The county is exploring many new ways to create and keep businesses here in Nassau.

Together, we will steer Nassau County out of the mess created by prior fiscal mismanagement. Please join my “E-Team” to receive messages and updates on our progress. To join, please visit my website at: www.nassaucountyny.gov/ld15. Thank you for your interest in reforming Nassau County.