The legal team representing Nassau’s Civil Service Employees Association spent much of Tuesday in court fighting a law passed by the county Legislature nearly 24 hours earlier, which gives County Executive Edward Mangano the ultimate power to make $40 million in budget cuts.
After Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) initially tabled the motion earlier in the day on Monday, the Republican-controlled 19-member county Legislature reconvened at about 5:30 p.m. and voted 10-9 to give Mangano the power to attain the budget cuts without prior legislative approval.
CSEA Local 830 President Jerry Laricchiuta called the law “unconstitutional” during his presentation to the Legislature on Monday prior to the vote.
“We sit here today and you are about to pass a law that violates our very foundation as a country,” the union leader said. “I find it very, very insulting.”
On Tuesday, CSEA lawyers filed a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Central Islip against the legislation, which was proposed by Mangano on Monday.
“Being that Mangano has yet to sign the bill into law, CSEA was not yet granted the (temporary restraining order),” CSEA spokesman Ryan Mulholland said in a statement on Tuesday. “Indications are that was the sole reason that the (temporary restraining order) was not granted.”
Mulholland said the CSEA represents over 6,000 county employees, which could be effected by furloughs that Mangano would be authorized to enact to achieve the $40 million in budget cuts.
“CSEA is extremely confident that once Mangano signs the bill into law that a TRO would be granted, preventing Mangano from proceeding with any of the actions detailed in the bill,” Mulholland said. “As soon as the bill is signed, then CSEA will once again be in U.S. District Court to file for the TRO.”
Mangano had not signed the bill into law as of press time on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Mangano vowed to slash $41 million from this year’s budget and warned of the institution of liens against the county’s bank accounts if Democrats in the Legislature failed to approve borrowing to pay for $102 million in property tax refunds.
“The county needs to be protected from these judgments,” Schmitt said on Monday.
For any borrowing to be approved, the 19-member Legislature must support the proposal by a two-thirds majority.
With Republicans holding a 10-9 majority, that would mean at least three members of the Democratic caucus would have to cross party lines for the borrowing to be approved.
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) has said Democrats will not support any further borrowing by the GOP-led Legislature until an agreement on fair redistricting could be made between the two parties.
Schmitt said the Democrats’ refusal to approve the borrowing led to Monday’s vote to allow Mangano to achieve the $41 million in budget cuts.
“It gives him the power to take the steps necessary, obviously within the confines of state and county law,” Schmitt said.
During a press conference earlier this month, Mangano said at least five “massive cuts” could be made to the county’s budget in lieu of approval for borrowing.
Those cuts include a furlough for all “nonessential” county employees and the closure of a majority of Nassau offices on Mondays.
The county’s Youth Board, Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities could also be eliminated by cuts, along with Nassau’s Red Light Camera Dedicated Fund.
“(This law) is in itself illegal,” Laricchiuta said. “I believe as lawmakers, you cannot be lawbreakers, you must be lawmakers.”
“Those lawmakers that vote in favor of this,” he added on Monday, “should be sanctified.”
But Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli appeared before the Legislature on Monday and defended the new law. He said giving Mangano the power to make budget cuts without prior legislative approval was necessary to achieve the $41 million of savings.
“I agree with the position that this legislation is a broad mandate to the county executive to solve the problem at hand,” Ciampoli said. “When the problem is solved the legislation sunsets.”
Reach reporter John Santa by e-mail at jsanta@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203
