The Nassau County Legislature on Monday approved a $2.9 billion 2017 budget excluding about $70 million in proposed fee revenue, leaving unfinished its task of passing a balanced budget.
Legislators approved the budget 11-6, but did not vote on several new fees proposed by County Executive Edward Mangano, including the controversial $105 traffic ticket surcharge known as a “public safety fee,” expected to raise $64.4 million.
The Legislature will “exhaust every avenue” to find alternatives to the public safety fee and fill the gap before its Dec. 1 deadline for approving a balanced budget, Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said at a budget hearing Monday.
“My colleagues and I agree that a balanced budget will be achieved, but it is better to take a little extra time to get it right,” Gonsalves said.
The public safety fee, which would add $105 to the fine for any traffic or parking violation, is among dozens of new and increased fees Mangano, a Republican, has proposed to cover required spending increases without raising property taxes.
The plan has drawn fire from finance officials, other lawmakers and advocacy groups who argue the fees are a back-door tax increase that will hurt small businesses.
The criticism continued Monday, the initial deadline for the Legislature to pass a budget, as several county residents and local officials argued against the fee at the hours-long budget hearing.
Democrats repeatedly called for a vote to eliminate the public safety fee. They argued that passing an unbalanced budget violates the county charter and defers a controversial vote until after Tuesday’s election.
“To me this just seems like we’re trying to push transparency to the wayside,” Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) said. “If we were truly trying to balance the budget then we should have come up with solutions to try to do that within the time frame.”
The Legislature unanimously approved seven Republican budget amendments Monday that remove $9.2 million in proposed fee revenue and cut the same amount of spending for debt service, social services and salaries.
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the state oversight board that controls the county’s finances, must approve the county budget once lawmakers balance the budget.
Adam Barsky, the NIFA chairman, threatened to reject an unbalanced budget and said the authority could ultimately impose major spending cuts.
“The actions taken by the County Legislature today are deeply troubling,” Barsky said in a statement Monday. “Leaving the situation in its current form and unaddressed would be irresponsible.”
County Comptroller George Maragos last week recommended cutting $82 million by reducing current spending by 2.5 percent in all county departments, which he said would make fee hikes and a property tax increase unnecessary without requiring layoffs.
The county “needs to better align priorities and challenge every department to economize before asking our residents to pay more,” said Maragos, a Republican-turned-Democrat who is running for county executive.
But Republican legislators asked Maragos to submit a more detailed plan for cuts and criticized him for waiting so long to make his recommendations.
Brian Nevin, a Mangano spokesman, said layoffs would require arbitration under current labor contracts with county workers.
“Maragos’ recommendations are nothing more than a political stunt as he knows darn well that they cannot be accomplished without employee layoffs,” Nevin wrote in an email.
Democratic legislators last week said the public safety fee might be open to a legal challenge because it could be considered an illegal tax rather than a legal fee.
But County Attorney Carnell Foskey rejected that argument, saying the fee would only apply to residents who break the law.
