On The Right: NIFA must impose budget on county

Since the Nassau Interim Finance Authority declared a control period in January 2011, taxpayers witness every fall Nassau’s budgetary Kabuki dance.
First, the county, as required by law, unveils in mid-September, a multi-year financial plan that includes a proposed budget for the next fiscal year that begins on Jan. 1.
Next, NIFA reviews the proposal and generally sends it back demanding clarifications, more cuts, or more revenue enhancements.
Then some adjustments, generally pulled out of the air, are made; the Legislature approves the plan by the Oct. 31 deadline; NIFA then blesses it and warns it will carefully monitor the execution of the plan.
Although NIFA made a show of requiring quarterly “cut lists” from the county in order to keep the county’s deficit from exceeding $80 million in 2016, NIFA has accepted every one of those lists, opting for passivity and taking the county executive’s word on everything from those proposed actions (however implausible) to the purported roles and authority of newly hired procurement personnel who have turned out, so far, to be window dressing.
As a result, notwithstanding the words in last year’s budget resolutions, this year has been no different — so far.
NIFA analysts estimate that the County’s multi-year plan will incur Generally Accepted Accounting Principles deficits of $217 million in 2017, $210 million into 2018, $226.4 million in 2019 and in 2020 a deficit of $238 million.
The risks in the 2017 budget fall into three categories:
First, there are $50 million in overly optimistic revenue projections, from sales tax revenues, property sales and the county’ share of Off-Track Betting profits.
Second, there are $147 million in proposed increases in fees, fines and permits that the county Legislature will probably not approve — or, if the speed camera fiasco of recent memory is a guide, will not keep once public pressure is applied. 
The most controversial being the imposition of an additional $105 public safety fee — that is projected to garner $64 million — on all parking and moving violations.
The final risks total $19 million.  
These include non-operating resources that are not permitted by the NIFA statute or GAAP, such as budgeting the use of fund balances.  
According to the NIFA analysis, these non-GAAP sources of funds could increase to $99 million if the county attempts “to use $60 million in bond proceeds earmarked to pay tax certiorari refunds, and $20 million in non-operating resources to pay judgments and settlements as it’s currently assumed by the County in the proposed budget.”
At its Oct. 13 meeting, citing the risks in the proposed 2017 budget, NIFA passed a resolution stating the authority would not take any action on the proposed plan, “until the concerns in the staff report are adequately addressed by the county Legislature such that the budgeted Generally Accepted Accounting Principles deficit (as defined in the staff report) can be reasonably estimated to be no higher than $60 million in fiscal year 2017.”
As NIFA awaited action by the Legislature, however, a monkey wrench was tossed into the works: U.S. Attorney Robert Capers indicted County Executive Mangano — whose word the current and immediately previous NIFA chairmen seemed inclined to take on important matters, notwithstanding better judgment by others to the contrary.  
Charges include bribery, conspiracy, honest services fraud, extortion and obstruction of justice.
Let’s face it, Mangano has never been a hands-on manager; he has never understood the basics of municipal finance.  
He has preferred spending his time attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies where he could smile before cameras and avoid dealing with complex fiscal problems.
But now that Mangano faces prison time if convicted, he will likely be spending all of his time huddled with his defense lawyers or playing video games in his office to escape reality.
And with first deputy County Executive Rob Walker also admittedly under federal investigation — no on one will be watching the store.
Only NIFA can save the day.
If NIFA is not satisfied with the budget that is approved at month end, it can order the county to formulate a new plan. 
If it fails to do so NIFA can then impose a budget.
While NIFA has been reluctant to use that authority in the past, dancing relatively close to the line last fall, in these extraordinary times, NIFA must, at long last, boldly employ all the power at its disposal.
Last year NIFA retained as a consultant, the most highly regarded municipal budget expert in the state, Mark Page.  
Mr. Page should be empowered by NIFA to move into County Hall to direct officials to make the necessary cuts to finally put Nassau on the road to fiscal sanity.
The disgraced Ed Mangano is no longer capable of governing.  
Hence, NIFA must forsake its previous, and dubious, reliance on him and his word, fill the void itself and act to fix the mess Mangano and his cohorts have created.