Legislator Wayne Wink:

“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 Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) said, “This administration is budgeting by litigation. Whether it is the $60 million in purported savings through union concessions or the elimination of the county's guaranty of tax certiorari refunds, which is claimed to save $80 million a year in the out years, the administration is counting on savings that will likely be subject to extensive litigation and unlikely to materialize. It would appear that the administration recognizes this, since its budget would substantially increase the money spent on personal service contracts for politically connected law firms to defend the county.”

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.

Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) is pictured at the press conference with

Minority Leader Diane Yatauro and Legislators Judi Bosworth, Joe Scannell, Robert Troiano and Dave Denenberg.