When you are presented with problems in life, you have a choice: either to confront them in the moment or delay your response. Far too often, putting it off allows the problem to become bigger and harder to manage - something which is true both in life and in municipal budgeting.
As the Ranking Member of the Nassau County Legislature’s Budget Review committee, I have had a front-row seat to how the administration of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has time and again sought to paint a rosy picture rather than deal with reality.
Starting in 2022, instead of providing promised tax cuts to property owners, the County began depleting surpluses that Blakeman inherited from his predecessor, Laura Curran. Last year, the County shifted $272.4 million in reserves – much of it derived from the County’s $385 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allotment from the federal government – into Nassau’s general fund.
Perhaps most appallingly, the administration earlier this year tried to move $13.7 million of interest, generated from the tens of millions of dollars sitting dormant in the County’s Opioid Litigation Settlement Fund, into the general fund.
The Democratic Minority caucus and I successfully thwarted this plan – and a subsequent attempt to put opioid settlement interest directly into the general fund – because the sole purpose for these funds must be providing life-saving prevention, treatment and recovery services to neighbors confronted with the scourge of addiction.
These are just a handful of examples demonstrating how the County has sought to delay a collision with fiscal reality, and hearings on the County administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget are proving that the budgetary mirage has just about evaporated.
A report from Nassau County’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Budget Review (OLBR) shows how the County will have to drain another $44 million from its reserves to balance next year’s budget and the Administration has allocated $373 million more for other potential shortfalls.
As we await the County’s performance for the current year, there are warning signs in reports and statements by the Nassau Interim Finance Agency (NIFA) and County Comptroller Elaine Phillips. A recent NIFA report showed that Nassau ended Fiscal Year 2025 with a $56 million deficit. In testimony to the Legislature on Oct. 7, Comptroller Phillips further confirmed that, by her calculations, the County did not report any surplus for FY 25, and she did not foresee one for FY 27, either.
In fact, by the standard of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the Comptroller’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report pronounces a $144.7 million GAAP deficit, further evidence that the County is spending its “rainy day” fund even before the umbrellas have been opened.
NIFA and the Comptroller’s office hardly, if ever, reach similar conclusions regarding Nassau’s fiscal standing. When they do, we must take notice.
Nevertheless, the County continued its exorbitant spending on outside counsel to the tune of $23 million in 2025. In many cases, the work was farmed out to campaign donors, allies and ex-political candidates, all while staffing levels at the County Attorney’s office continue to dwindle.
The administration has shown no signs of a desire to recalibrate, and in fact, their testimony during budget hearings demonstrated a willingness to draw down the County’s litigation fund – which should only serve as a firewall against substantial settlement payouts – to continue the practice.
Meanwhile, other cost-saving measures have caused their own problems. Administration officials confirmed that 594 County employees availed themselves of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) – a voluntary “buy-out” of $2,000 per year of service for union members of any age with more than 10 consecutive years of full-time County employment.
I supported VSIP because these men and women have earned this payout through their dedicated service to our communities, and it can be a helpful tool for managing County payroll so long as staffing shortfalls are addressed responsibly. Despite assurances, departments like Child Protective Services, emergency communications, the Nassau County Police Department’s detective’s bureau, Corrections, are still burdened with an unmanageable number of vacancies in key positions.
While numerous County department heads touted the imminent arrival of new hires during the budget presentations, we will remain woefully – and in some cases dangerously – understaffed until these men and women are successfully onboarded.
The first step toward addressing these challenges is for the administration to stop the spin and sit down with stakeholders to take corrective action.
Our final budget hearing prior to the Legislature’s vote is set for 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, and whether you participate in person or provide written testimony, I encourage you to add your voice to this conversation about Nassau County’s future.
Arnold W. Drucker, of Plainview, is the Nassau County Legislature’s Deputy Minority Leader and has represented District 16 since 2016.