51.0°,
Fog/Mist Keep Weitzman as county comptroller
Herald Endorsement
While Nassau County residents are paying some of the highest taxes in the nation, Comptroller Howard Weitzman has done his part to ease the burden somewhat. During the past eight years Weitzman has shown that he is a competent financial watchdog, and has looked for savings in places no one before him ever tried.
Weitzman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2001, the same year Tom Suozzi took office as county executive. Back then, Nassau County was a financial mess — so bad that the state appointed an independent monitoring firm to watch over the county. The Nassau Interim Finance Authority is still around, but no one would know because of the county’s much-improved leadership. Weitzman has been an integral part of the solution.
In his most recent term, he has taken on special districts, most notably garbage and water districts. He discovered that half of the employees of one water district were related. He has found great disparities among districts in the costs associated with delivering these services, and uncovered millions of dollars in unnecessary expenses.
Weitzman, unlike his predecessors, took advantage of the power the comptroller has to audit special districts. Though they account for just a small portion of an individual homeowner’s tax bill, any savings helps.
He has also reviewed the finances of the county’s big-dollar departments such as the police, corrections, social services, public works and parks.
Eliminating duplicate health benefits for spouses who are both on the county payroll has saved about $5 million per year. Also, newer employees must now have more time working in government — and specifically for the county — before they can receive health care coverage for life. This will save money down the road. Weitzman, believing there was extra money in the New York Health Insurance Plan, pushed for a rate reduction. He got it — saving $250 million for municipalities across the state, including $11 million for Nassau County and $100 million for Long Island school districts.
