Nassau County, who’s watching out for us?

When County Executive Ed Mangano took office in January, he knew his plate was full. What he didn’t know was just how bad the situation was.

Nassau County’s 2011 budget currently has a gap of $286 million, the largest in its history. Closing this gap is going to take some creative math and, unfortunately, some painful cuts. In order to close the gap, property taxes would have to be raised 36 percent. We’re already one of the highest-taxed counties in the state, so raising taxes wouldn’t be feasible.

It’s difficult to grasp how, over the past eight years, property taxes have risen 42 percent. Despite the tax hikes, Nassau County still borrowed over $1 billion, fees were increased and services were cut.

Much to my surprise, last month Newsday was forced to admit, “It’s true that Mangano inherited some bad deals from the past administration.” Yes, poor decisions were made, but they can’t be blamed solely on the previous administration. The Nassau County Interim Financial Authority, which was supposed to serve as a financial watchdog, was asleep at the wheel.

While the county fell victim to the same problem plaguing Albany — special-interest groups were allowed to dictate policy and financial obligations were put off — no one was defending the taxpayer. NIFA sat back while the county signed contracts and spent money it didn’t have.

According to a report, the county’s 2009 budget didn’t adequately tackle the budget gap, and optimistic rates of recovery were used while forming the Multi-Year Financial Plan. The purpose of NIFA, as the “fiscal authority,” is to intervene and prevent this kind of creative math. In May 2009, NIFA did publicly criticize Mangano’s predecessor, Tom Suozzi, for mishandling county finances, but it was too little, too late.

Even this past November, as voters were deciding on who our next county executive would be, NIFA was nowhere to be found. Weren’t the voters entitled to know the true state of the county’s finances? NIFA is supposed to protect the people!

The authority is also supposed to be apolitical. If that’s the case, then how do you explain why its chairman, Ronald Stack, also holds a high position at Wells Fargo, the bank where Nassau County holds $82 million in funds?