It was a shame that the Nassau County Legislature could not come up with a balanced budget.
Because of that the county’s finances were taken over by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority.
Now the county has made matters worse first by persuading a state Supreme Court judge to delay the takeover by NIFA.
The county can now postpone submitting the revised budget that was due by Feb. 22.
NIFA was put into place 10 years ago to keep one of the wealthiest counties in the nation from spending itself into oblivion.
The NIFA takeover was triggered when it was determined that the county’s $2.6 billion budget had a deficit greater than 1 percent. Last Friday, Judge Arthur Diamond stayed a requirement by NIFA that the county submit a revised financial plan.
The county insists that the budget is balanced. NIFA and others say that the budget gap could be as great as $176 million. That’s close to 7 percent of the total budget, far more than the 1 percent threshold.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano was elated. “Today’s court proceedings,” he said “further indicate the level of concern that both the court and residents should have over NIFA’s unfounded action to issue a control period over county finances.”
An attorney for the county argued that the NIFA takeover was “unconstitutional” and interfered with the county’s ability to govern. He went on to say that the six members of the NIFA board had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when they voted unanimously in favor of the takeover.
The opposite is true. The law appears very clear: the takeover by NIFA is mandated when the deficit is more than 1 percent of the county budget. What is arbitrary or capricious about following the law?
As far as we can see the NIFA members had nothing personal to gain by the takeover. We don’t remember anyone objecting when the NIFA was created in 2000 in the wake of a fiscal crisis created by years of deficits. At that time the state bailed the county out. That cannot happen in 2011.
Mangano and his team are wasting time.
They should stop stalling and come up with a balanced budget. Even if the judge in Mineola finds that NIFA action was “unfounded,” his decision will be challenged in the Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile Nassau County will be drifting on very dangerous waters.
The principal isn’t complicated. The residents of Nassau County cannot spend more money than they have and neither can their government.
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