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December 5, 2000 Legislative Budget Office Says Gulotta's Numbers Don't Add Up
Democrats' Win Restorations, Initiatives As Part Of 2001 Budget Less than a week after members of the Nassau County Legislature reluctantly signed off on a four year financial plan submitted by County Executive Thomas Gulotta, Eric Naughton, Acting Director of the independent Office of Legislative Budget Review said information provided by Public Financial Management (PFM), Mr. Gulotta's budget advisors, indicates the tax levy is higher than originally proposed. Therefore, the 7.9 percent tax rate for residential properties being touted by Mr. Gulotta should have been 8.9 percent. By consensus, PFM, OLBR and NIFA all agree the overall tax rate for all properties in the county would actually be 9.02 percent. The budgeting controversy came to light late Friday, during a final review of the budget by Mr. Naughton and the OLBR. In a December 1 memo to Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs and minority leader Peter Schmitt, Mr. Naughton states that "The increase in property tax initiative (… of the Multi-Year Plan) incorrectly stated that revenue would increase by $43,680,334, but the actual amount is $46,579,136." Presiding Officer Jacobs, who noted the legislature must pass a tax levy by December 18, said, "I have sent a letter to Mr. Gulotta requesting he send a copy of the proposed tax levy ordinance to the Clerk of the Legislature no later than December 5. I want to be certain of the mathematical calculation of the overall property tax increase or the increase per household. It is important to have honesty in budgeting practices, therefore, the figures must be accurate and verified." In a 19-0 vote, the Democratic majority of the Nassau County Legislature was joined by the Republican minority in adopting a four year financial plan for Nassau County put forth by County Executive Gulotta that includes a number of initiatives originally proposed by the Democrats in their 2001 budget and four year plan. The Democrat's budget, which was hailed by the State Comptroller, the County Comptroller and the Office of Independent Budget Review as balanced and as taking the first steps toward addressing the troubling risks that existed in prior budgeting practices, was line item vetoed by Mr. Gulotta last month and Republican lawmakers voted to uphold Mr. Gulotta's vetoes. The $2.2 billion budget for 2001, cuts spending by more than $100 million while addressing many of the risky budget practices employed by the administration over the past 10 years. The financial package builds on the Democrat's initiatives which include reducing the county's reliance on expensive personal service contracts, consolidation of departments and services, and the reliance on one-shots and unrealistic revenue estimates. With the approval from the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the state board charged with oversight of the county's finances, the 2001 budget and three consecutive years, each include a $10 million contingency fund that can be accessed for limited purposes only with the consent of both the legislature and the county executive. The fund is intended to insulate the county against unforeseen fiscal events that could disrupt Nassau's already shaky financial situation. While the County Executive vetoed the majority's proposal to replace 15 percent of the more than 120 positions vacated by employees in the Department of Public Works and the Department of Recreation and Parks, an agreement between the Democrats, Republicans, the county executive and NIFA officials, resulted in the restoration of $1.3 million which will enable the county to provide mandated services that will ensure roads are maintained and plowed during snow storms, and parks will remain open. The consensus plan allocates $665,000 for the county to add 10 deputy county attorneys and reduce its reliance on expensive private law firms for routine legal matters, thereby reducing the exorbitant costs of outside contracts. While the majority's budget and financial plan, which invested $3 million on a technology initiative intent on improving efficiencies in departments and bringing the county into the 21st century was vetoed, the four year plan that was adopted contains a $1 million allocation for a technology initiative, a first step toward the future and one that was fully supported by NIFA. "We fully recognize that this plan does not take all of the steps necessary to restore fiscal health to the county. We still believe that we will revisit the concerns we raised during the budget process in the next fiscal year since the recurring revenue stream implemented in the 2001 budget does not provide a strong enough foundation for future fiscal years," said Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs on behalf of the Democratic majority. "However, this four year plan prevents, at least for now, the takeover of Nassau County by a state board that is ultimately unaccountable to the residents. While what has happened here represents the sad passing of a missed opportunity, it keeps alive the possibility that reason and good will can yet prevail, if not now, perhaps in the future," Presiding Officer Jacobs said. |