Are the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County governments doing a better job managing tight budgets than our neighbors across the city line in New York City?
Consider the real question everyone misses concerning a recently exposed municipal scandal which involves $1 billion in federal aid currently unspent by the New York City Housing Authority. You have to follow up and ask how New York City has managed the $20 billionplus post 9/11 aid as well as the billions of other dollars from Washington every year.
The same also applies to billions in yearly state assistance from Albany, along with billions in locally generated tax revenues.
Does New York City submit grant applications on time? Are current federal- and state-funded programs being completed on time and within budget? What is the justification for carrying over unspent funds year after year? Is there waste, fraud or abuse? Are all change orders for construction projects fair, reasonable and documented?
How do the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County compare on these same issues?
Have New York City Comptroller John Liu and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli conducted audits of each respective municipal agency to see if New York City is doing a good job managing current federal and state aid programs?
What oversight has New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Public Advocate Bill deBlasio, the New York City Council Finance Committee, New York City Office of Management and Budget and the New York City Independent Budget Office provided?
Have Town of North Hempstead Comptroller Kathleen H. Mitterway and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos along with the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority Control Board conducted any audits to see how both the town and county are managing their respective current state and federal aid programs?
What oversight has the Town of North Hempstead Board and Nassau County legislature provided?
It is difficult to convince Washington to send more money when the country is currently running annual budget deficits over $1.2 trillion accompanied by long-term debt now exceeding $16 trillion dollars.
Ditto for Albany with a long term debt approaching $70 billion. In past years, New York City public officials boasted of a budget surplus worth billions, which disappeared in the dead of night when the stock market dropped.
New York City municipal debt was $43 billion 2001.
In 2012, it has reached $68 billion with each resident’s portion of this debt going from $5,300 in 2001 to over $8,000 today.
This per-resident capital debt makes the Big Apple No. 1 nationally. This is nothing to be proud about.
Each year a greater percentage of the New York City budget goes toward debt payments rather than funding current badly needed essentials such as police, fire, sanitation, education and other social services.
No elected official has stepped forward to develop any plans to reduce this long-term debt. Debt service payments now represent 16. percent of the municipal budget.
How do our Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County debts and budgets compare with New York City?
New York City needs to put its own fiscal house in order before asking both Albany and Washington for more assistance.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
