When I was elected county executive three years ago, Nassau had inherited a $311 million deficit from the prior administration and all signs indicated that the county was spiraling into deeper financial despair.
With double-digit increases in pension and healthcare costs, unfunded mandates, a stagnant economy and poor fiscal and administrative practices that failed to acknowledge the challenges Nassau was facing, I recognized that my administration would need to make tough choices to institute reform.
In the last three years, I have delivered to the Legislature three no property tax increase budgets. For the second consecutive year, the budget reduces spending while continuing to deliver critical services to our residents.
Today I can say that we have overcome fiscal hurdles of historic proportions and we are on the upside repairing our county for our generation and future generations. The progress we have made through cost-cutting measures and administrative reforms has laid the groundwork for structurally sound recurring savings and a balanced budget.
The proposed budget illustrates fiscal discipline and responsible choices. Since 2010, the County’s workforce has been reduced by 20%, including 33% fewer appointed positions, representing the lowest headcount since the 1950’s and saving taxpayers $240 million. In fact, Nassau County now employs 20% less people than neighboring Suffolk County.
I have cut wasteful spending by consolidating department while eliminating approximately 100 vehicles, eliminating 1,500+ telephone and fax lines and reducing photocopy machines from over 2,500 to 561. The public-private partnership between Nassau and Veolia Transportation for bus service formerly provided by the MTA has saved County residents $33 million and an agreement with Armor Correctional Health Services for the provision of healthcare services for inmates at the Nassau County Correction Center is generating a savings of $7 million.
My administration undertook the first reorganization of the Police Department since the 1970’s, assigning more officers to patrol our streets and saving County taxpayers $20 million annually. Advances in technology and communications enabled the consolidation while maintaining 177 neighborhood patrol cars, moving police officers from administrative desk jobs to patrol positions and redistributing administrative workloads evenly among the four new precincts.
In partnership with our dedicated economic development team, I am paving the way for retention of and continued growth in private sector jobs, which is so vital to the stability of our tax base. Together we have returned 15,000 jobs to the former U.S. Navy-Grumman Corporation property in Bethpage and secured a commitment from our business partners to create and retain 2,700 jobs that will generate an estimated $1.5 billion in economic activity in Nassau.
My administration, in cooperation with the Republican caucus in the Legislature, instituted reforms in Nassau’s dysfunctional assessment system, which has in the past decade generated $1.6 billion in debt and $100 million in errors annually.
By instituting landmark reforms that ended the accumulation of residential tax assessment debt, we saved residents $58 million plus interest. By tackling this issue, Nassau County residential assessments are corrected prior to paying taxes thereby relieving homeowners of the burden of paying money they do not owe to the County, town or school district. In the process the County has saved $4.3 million a year in labor employee processing savings and operates the department with fewer employees.
There is no doubt that we live in challenging times. Many families are struggling to make ends meet and to pay their mortgage or rent. Others are struggling to assist their children with education costs. Young adults are struggling to find jobs that they are educated for and many have no option but to live with their parents. I understand the struggles and have fought to put in place plans that lessen your tax burden while creating jobs and opportunities.
The proposed 2013 budget does just that by holding the line on property taxes and launching an aggressive job creation campaign. The fiscal issues we face in our county, state and nation were created over a decade of failed policies. The 2013 budget recognizes the past, corrects it and puts us on the path to repair Nassau’s finances while delivering important services.
