The Nassau County Legislature’s Rules Committee did not vote Monday on whether to hold a public referendum for a county inspector general, narrowing the time frame for Democratic legislators’ proposal to make the Nov. 8 ballot.
The measure Democrats submitted with more than 4,300 petition signatures July 15 was not on the agenda for Monday’s committee meeting because the county attorney’s office is still reviewing it, county officials said.
A referendum cannot make the Nov. 8 general election ballot unless the committee and the full Legislature approve the measure at their next meetings in September, but Republicans control both houses and have so far opposed Democrats’ proposals for an inspector general.
“We have done everything from our position and if the Republicans want to place it on the calendar, they would have to do so pretty quickly,” said the minority leader, Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead).
Democrats want the public to vote on whether the county should have an independent inspector general with a six-year employment contract because the Legislature’s Republican majority has blocked their efforts to create the office. They submitted the petition July 15 to force a vote by the GOP-controlled Rules Committee under a provision in the county charter.
The Legislature would have to approve a referendum by early October because the law requires that the public have 30 days’ notice of the vote, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections.
The full Legislature would not vote to set a referendum at its Sept. 26 meeting unless the Rules Committee approves one at its Sept. 12 meeting.
A referendum could be held at a later date, the Board of Elections said.
But Democrats want the measure to appear alongside the ballots for president and other offices in November to avoid the expense of holding a separate vote, Abrahams said.
If a referendum is not set, Abrahams said Democrats will continue to block most county borrowing, as they have since March.
“We would continue our position — only bonding for necessary public safety, emergency items, and continue not to bond until we see satisfaction,” Abrahams said.
The presiding officer, Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), has called the Democrats’ petition and referendum proposal a “political stunt.” She and County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, say the county’s commissioner of investigations already has the powers an inspector general would have.
The county also has a procurement compliance director to oversee its contract process, which Gonsalves has called “the most transparent in the state.”
Republican legislators have also called Democrats “reckless” for blocking county borrowing, which would fund capital projects such as road repairs.
Democrats have approved money for “emergency” items, such as new ambulances and bulletproof vests for police, Abrahams said.
Cristina Brennan, Gonsalves’ spokeswoman, rejected Democrats’ claim that Republicans would be “ignoring the will of the people” if they did not set a referendum.
The Legislature’s Democratic majority in 2007 dismissed Republicans’ petition for a five-year freeze on property assessments without sending it through the normal legislative review process, Brennan said in an email.
“This is more like the will of the Democratic Party, not the will of the people,” she said.
Democrats, including Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, have called for an inspector general since former Republican state Sen. Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, were convicted last year of using political influence to secure a $12 million Nassau contract for a company for which Adam Skelos worked. The Skeloses are appealing.
Deputy County Executive Rob Walker is also reportedly under investigation for signing an amended $12 million contract with VIP Splash Waterways Recovery Group on the same day the firm donated to his Republican political committee.
