Nassau County lawmakers held a closed-door meeting Sunday to discuss possible massive budget cuts and layoffs.
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi plans to deliver an emergency budget address. News 12 Long Island is told he will ask all county employees to take a 7 percent pay cut. If they don't take the cuts, Suozzi will announce more than 850 layoffs, including an unspecified number in the police department, 320 civil service/union employees, as well as 300 corrections jobs and non-union positions.
The county offices will also shut down for 26 days this year with employees going unpaid.
Suozzi will ask legislators to approve a cigarette tax, red light cameras and a traffic ticket surcharge. If they don't get those, they'll start to slash funding to health and human services, and impose a home heating fuel tax.
?Bottom line is none of us are happy right now,? says Legislator Judy Jacobs. ?We all know that any decisions that are going to have to be made are going to be...hurtful to a lot of people.?
Jacobs is one of many not liking the options, but knows it may be the only way to fix the projected $150 million budget shortfall.