Nassau County 2005 Budget Presentation Address

Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi
September 13, 2004

Today, as promised, I present my second consecutive "no tax increase" budget.

This budget, as with every fiscal document this administration has produced, is responsible, balanced and conservative. And it sets forth the right priorities for Nassau County.

Before discussing the budget in detail, I would like to look back to April 1st 2002.

It was the evening of my 90th day in office. The County was facing a projected $428 million deficit by 2005. Under the threat of takeover by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, I was ordered to present our plan to solve the County's fiscal crisis. I stood before the Nassau County Legislature, the members of the press and the public and after years of bad-news-phony budgets, bond rating downgrades, rumblings of bankruptcy, broken promises, bad priorities, depression and despair, I asked the people of Nassau to trust us - to pull together and move forward.

I pledged to each of you that evening:

This budget fulfills my pledge.

To get to this point has not been easy. To overcome the mess we inherited and the exponential growth in mandated expenses, has demanded creative thought, hard work and tough choices. We have succeeded.

We have balanced every budget. We have had surpluses each year. We have built "rainy day" and other reserve funds of over $100 million dollars. We have paid off over $100 million in debt early and we have received the stamp of approval from every independent analyst of the way we have conducted our financial affairs. In fact, we have achieved the lowest cash flow borrowing in over a decade. We have gone from being "The Worst County in the Country," according to the Maxwell School of Public Policy at Syracuse University, to receiving six bond upgrades, the most of any municipality in a one year period.

Everyone who desired to truly solve the County's fiscal crisis endorsed our plan from the beginning. I want to thank my staff, especially my budget team, the department heads, the County workforce, the Majority of the County Legislature, NIFA, the rating agencies, the editorial pages, the business and not-for-profit community and the civic groups that have supported our plan. Everyone, except those who caused our County's problems in the first place, has contributed to our success.

There are still challenges in our future. They shall be met with the same vigor and determination that have marked our efforts from the beginning. Fortunately, these problems, while daunting, no longer present imminent catastrophe because of the tough, creative hard work our team has performed.

Working together with the newly-installed team, we announced last week that after years of bad news at the Nassau University Medical Center, we have helped stave off otherwise certain demise of the State created independent public-benefit corporation and have implemented a five point plan to bring it to fiscal stability over the next 18 months.

In this budget we are adding to our investments to solve the tax certiorari crisis that precipitated much of the County's previous failings. Later this week we will report on the significant progress that has begun to materialize and our plan to put the decades long problem behind us. By December of 2005, we will eliminate bonding for refunds and implement our "pay as you go" program.

I have personally started a "FixAlbany" campaign to stop the growth in unfunded State mandates, which has begun to receive considerable attention. In December of this year I will assume the position of President of the New York State County Executives Association. I will continue to push to limit the spiraling growth in the County funded portion of Medicaid, pre-school and special education costs over which counties have no legislative control.

While our previous budgets have presented efforts to prevent the county from going under, in this budget we are making significant investments to move our county forward - to make it better and stronger.

First, Public Safety has always been paramount and remains a priority in this administration. Nassau County today enjoys the lowest crime rate of any municipality of its size in the nation. Furthermore, as of this date, our crime rate in Nassau County remains the lowest it has been in 30 years and is over 8% lower today than it was this time last year. We want to do better.

In 2004, pursuant to the Police Commissioner's recommendations, we authorized the first new recruits in over five years and hired 180 sworn officers and 50 civilians. Based upon our desire to improve upon our already-stellar record of low crime and high service delivery, in recognition of last week's final resolution of the Police Labor Contracts, in recognition that the Commissioner's hiring plan calls for at least 100 recruits in the Academy during the majority of the year for the next several years, and in recognition of our desire to reduce overtime, this Budget funds 2,650 sworn officers. The 2,650 sworn officer headcount is 206 officers greater than the planned level of 2,444 announced in the 2002 Multi-Year Financial Plan. Furthermore, if retirements grow more than expected, this plan could accommodate the hiring of as many as 300 cadets in 2005, if necessary, to maintain the 2,650 level.

In furtherance of our desire to enhance public safety and reduce overtime, this plan also commits to 25 new sworn officers and 32 civilians in Corrections and 26 new Probation Department hires above the present headcount.

Second, while Parks and Recreation are only 3% of the total County budget and are not a major focus of this administration's budget balancing efforts, they do symbolize what we cherish most here in our suburban hometown. With that in mind, after over a decade of neglect, we began in 2004 an aggressive "Nassau County Parks are Making a Comeback" Campaign. As part of this budget, in addition to outstanding capital funds, we are making our Parks a priority by investing more than $2.5 million in additional operating budget funds to make a visible transformation of our Major Park Properties. This "Comeback" campaign contemplates improvements in park benches, bathrooms, ball fields and playgrounds, while hiring 20 additional employees to improve maintenance and operations.

The third investment we make in Nassau's future is the further implementation of our Health and Human Services "No-Wrong-Door" Policy. No longer will social services clients go from one County government door to another, lost in a spider's web of bureaucracy. This budget funds the lease of the new modern building at 60 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, which will consolidate our services to one location and the hiring of eight "community service representatives" who will help clients to navigate the bureaucratic maze. The end result will be improved service at a lower cost.

Our fourth priority will increase funding to combat gangs. The County's Taskforce Against Gangs (TAG) will receive $250,000 in funding through the Police department but will be designed to coordinate with all County agencies and other outside entities focused on gang reduction on a community-by-community basis. Last year's pilot program through the Youth Board, will be increased to $530,000 and a new effort will be made to synthesize enforcement and non-enforcement anti-gang initiatives.

Our fifth investment is in several initiatives and priorities to deal with the lack of growth in our mature suburban county. Nassau is now engaged in a long-term effort to grow our tax base while preserving our suburban quality of life with a focus on addressing traffic congestion, affordable housing and the environment.

In addition to doubling our subsidy to Long Island Bus in order to maintain service due to the serious cuts inflicted on the MTA by New York State, during the course of the next year the County will introduce its plan for a mass transit system to service the Nassau HUB which will be implemented over the next five years.

This budget will continue to fund the newly-created Nassau County Planning Federation to build a consensus at the County, Town and Village level for zoning and planning standards that will promote smart growth and "next generation housing." We will outline in December our Affordable Housing Plan that will formalize several of the effective policies we have implemented to date and propose new initiatives.

This budget funds, under the direction of our new Director of Environmental Coordination, further development of our Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). The EIP will establish a consistent strategy, utilizing existing staff, to develop brownfields, secure open-space, conserve and produce energy, preserve drinking water, protect our waterways, manage storm water, control traffic, and insure a safe and healthy future for the next generation.

Finally, during the course of 2005 this administration will focus new efforts to promote the enhancement of our minority communities. This administration will continue our efforts to enhance minority health care and attack health care disparities. We will continue our efforts to make sure that our government looks like the people of Nassau County, and that our staff is culturally competent. We will implement our plan to ensure that county vendors look like the people of Nassau County.

Our main effort will be to focus special attention on the community of Roosevelt. We are developing a collaborative approach to service provision that will join forces between the non-profit community, philanthropy and government. During the course of 2005, Nassau County will put in motion plans to build a new police precinct and health clinic on Nassau Road. We will be able to leverage our resources to implement community priorities such as enhanced youth programs and recreational facilities, and a special effort will be made to promote minority businesses.

Today we present a balanced no-tax increase budget. We offer new ideas to move our county forward. We reaffirm our commitment to continued accomplishment and we renew our efforts to work harder, longer and better everyday.

Today we fulfill the pledge made to the people of this county when we first took office. We are facing what needs to be faced, fixing what needs to be fixed, and we are restoring…not only crumbling buildings, neglected programs and broken finances...

...We are restoring pride in Nassau County, confidence in its government and hope for its future.

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