2007 Nassau County Budget passes unanimously, 19-0

Dems shift priorities

Yatauro trims department expenses to fund senior, youth & social service programs

Nassau County Legislator Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) and Majority members, faced with difficult choices in an extremely tight budget, today approved County Executive Thomas Suozzi’s $2.3B budget for 2007, adding some belt-tightening measures for county departments, while funding programs that benefit the County’s neediest residents. Majority members shifted approximately $3.8 M to enhance social service programs, while NOT INCREASING the budget or adding a tax increase.

“We have shifted some priorities in the 2007 budget, in order to fund health, safety and quality of life programs that assist the county’s most vulnerable residents,” Yatauro said. “These initiatives have always been, and will continue to be a top priority for the majority members of this legislature.”

The amendments to the budget will be funded through reallocation of funds in various county departments. The Democratic majority initiatives include:

•ADULT LITERACY - $25,000 for programs aimed at teaching disadvantaged adults to read and navigate today’s complex society.

•BEHAVIORIAL SERVICES (DRUG AND ALCOHOL) - $400,000 to restore funding for community based organizations.

•BEHAVIORIAL SERVICES (MENTAL HEALTH) - $600,000 to restore funding for community based organizations.

•DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION INITIATIVE - $100,000 in funding for advocacy for victims of domestic violence involved in Family Court proceedings. 

•ESL PROGRAM - $75,000 for English as a Second Language programs for hard working adults.                                                                 

•HEALTH DEPARTMENT - $75,000 to fund free health clinics.

•LEGAL SERVICES – $300,000 to fund legal services for indigent tenants in District Court.

•SENIOR CITIZENS - $275,000 to restore funding for community based organizations.

•SOCIAL SERVICES - $200,000 for employment training programs and housing services for women on temporary assistance.

•SPCA  (SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS) - $100,000 to fund a contract with the Nassau County SPCA.

•VETERAN SERVICES - $40,000 for one clerk position.  Plus $20,000 for fringe benefits.

•YOUTH BOARD - $700,000 to restore funding for community based organizations, and an additional $300,000 of new funding for those organizations.

•YOUTH BOARD - $70,000 for two positions for data collection and analysis and an additional $30,000 to fund fringe benefits for those positions.

•211 SYSTEM - $100,000 to help implement in Nassau County the Federal Communications Commission approved 2-1-1 system for the exclusive purpose of providing widespread access to community information and referral services.  

•FIRE COMMISSION – The County Fire Prevention, Safety, Communication and Education budget has been taken out of the general fund and restored to a stand-alone fund in the budget. In addition, $63,000 and two clerical positions have been added; and $17,079 to fund fringe benefits for the two additional clerks.

LI BUS STUDY - $300,000 for a Long Island Bus Study.

•LIVING WAGE -$244,861 to fund five positions in the Office of the Comptroller, which will enforce the Nassau county living wage law; plus, an additional $108,000 for fringe benefits for the additional personnel.

“While the County Executive’s 2007 proposed budget contains less financial cushion and more risks than in recent years, the Majority members believe that we have achieved a delicate balance between fiscal responsibility and our responsibility to our fellow human beings,” Yatauro said.

The budget was approved 19-0.