Nassau County’s legislative majority approved a deal on Monday that gives the Nassau Interim Finance Authority the ability to refinance county debt as the county struggles with the ripple effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The county’s proposed $3.3 billion budget for 2021 calls for the authority, which has overseen the county’s finances for the past two decades, to refinance $473 million in debt from the county and the finance authority, according to a county news release.
Earlier in the year, a plan from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, featured the finance authority restructuring $435 million in debt over 30 years. Majority officials said Curran agreed to reduce the bonds from 30 years to 15.
The new agreement, according to the news release, will save taxpayers over $883 million over 15 years.
“This deal negotiated by the Majority will save Nassau taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and return money back to small business owner and residents, where it belongs,“ Nassau County Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said. “The Majority will continue to stand up for Nassau residents, and fight to lower taxes for working class families.”
County spokesperson Michael Fricchione cited the bipartisan work of the Curran administration and the majority legislators to find common ground to mitigate the pandemic’s harmful financial impacts.
“This deal is a testament to bipartisan cooperation and the recognition that this crisis can only be weathered by working together,” Fricchione said. “The declaration of need now paves the way for both the County and NIFA to responsibly refinance debt at historically low interest rates so that the County Executive has the resources to lead us out of this pandemic.”
Finance authority Chairman Adam Barsky told Newsday that the organization “stands ready to assist the County in this unprecedented time of need that has been created by the COVID pandemic.”
Approval by the finance authority is required by the end of the year, with the next board meeting scheduled for Thursday.
The deal also featured the creation of a “special revenue fund” to ensure that county operations will continue and will assist in paying back residents and businesses owed tax refunds. The fund will consist of surplus monies in any line of the 2021 budget, according to officials.
Nassau’s sales tax revenue has been severely impacted by the pandemic, according to county figures. County projections from October’s annual budget report indicate the county will be down $261.7 million in sales tax revenue, which makes up 40 percent of the budget.
Majority leaders had previously questioned if county budget officials were “overly pessimistic” with their revenue projections, dating back to August hearings.
Nassau’s deputy county executive for finance, Raymond Orlando, and Budget Director Andrew Persich answered questions from the County Legislature’s Budget Committee in August after being subpoenaed.
“We share your goal of effectively managing the county’s budget using NIFA in such a way, if possible, to not go beyond its existing existence currently,” Orlando said. “We believe as you do that we should return the ultimate financial decision-making back to the county’s elected officials, the county executive and this Legislature.”
Orlando also expressed concerns about the costs of the finance authority’s future involvement in restructuring debt but touted the “flexibility” that using the organization would provide to the county in order to remain financially afloat.
