NIFA: County relying on risky income to close $130M budget gap

The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority is warning the county that its plans to fix its finances could potentially lead to an even bigger problem. Nassau is facing a budget deficit that could total

News 12 Staff

Aug 18, 2016, 1:53 AM

Updated 2,968 days ago

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The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority is warning the county that its plans to fix its finances could potentially lead to an even bigger problem.
Nassau is facing a budget deficit that could total as much as $130 million by the end of the fiscal year. That estimate comes from NIFA, which oversees the county's finances.
The board released its midyear review and once again criticized County Executive Ed Mangano's administration for putting forth a plan that it says contains significant risks. The report says Nassau's plan "shows a County still unwilling to forcefully confront its financial difficulties."
NIFA says the county's plan to close the budget gap relies on risky income streams such as profits from Nassau Off-Track Betting and underestimates expenses like employee overtime costs.
County Legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) says NIFA should go beyond issuing a report and take control, especially since the report is so similar to what the board has concluded in the past.
"If they say certain things are iffy, certain things are questionable, get rid of those things," Jacobs says.
News 12 Long Island reached out to the county executive's office for comment, and received a statement from the county's executive for finance.
"NIFA has already accepted the County's 2016 plan to balance its budget and will continue to confront the budgetary challenges that municipalities throughout the state face caused by increasing pension and health care costs, as well as the increased cost of police patrols in this ever-changing world of national security concerns," the statement reads.