“Mangano’s Borrow & Spend Budget is Road Map to Bankruptcy”

At a press conference held on Oct. 4, 2010, Nassau County Legislature’s Minority Leader Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) led the Democratic Caucus in rejecting County Executive Mangano’s proposed 2011 Budget calling it irresponsible, reckless and the roadmap to bankrupting Nassau County.

Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) said, “If the County Executive is successful in his attempt to remove the County Guarantee, the County will no longer pay tax refunds to Towns and School Districts. These refunds result from County assessment mistakes which Mr. Mangano promised to correct. By shifting this burden onto local government and school districts, he will be forcing them to raise our local taxes. The County guarantee is state law. Mr. Mangano’s initiative is unfair and inappropriate.”

Minority Leader Yatauro opened the press conference by saying, “The Mangano budget is dangerously flawed. It is a Borrow and Spend budget, with an excessive reliance on speculative revenue and reckless borrowing. This budget mortgages our children’s future and will lead us on the road to bankruptcy. Since taking office in January, Mangano has proposed nearly $700 million in borrowing and his 2011 budget calls for even more! While Mangano touts his budget as a ‘no tax increase budget,’ his proposed fee increases and borrowing is a hidden tax increase. Mangano’s historic three-quarters of a billion dollars in borrowing will not only burden today’s taxpayers, it will be paid for by generations of taxpayers to come.”

The press conference was called after the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) issued a report sharply critical of Mangano’s proposed budget. In its report, NIFA asserts “extraordinary levels of unacceptable borrowing for operating expenses, ….and labor concessions that have not been secured must be viewed as having a high degree of risk.” In the opinion of many NIFA trustees and staff, the budget is not balanced.

Mangano''s Borrow and Spend Budget is Road Map to Bankruptcy

Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) is pictured at the press conference with Minority Leader Diane Yatauro

and Legislators Wayne Wink, Robert Troiano, Judi Bosworth and Dave Denenberg.