Nassau County Proposed Budget 2021 Unveiled

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County Executive Laura Curran on Wednesday submitted the county’s proposed $3.3 billion budget for 2021 and proposed the county's financial plan for 2021 to 2024 amid what she called "stormy waters" brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposed plan hits at Curran's three core goals outlined in her State of the County 2020 address: maintaining fiscal discipline, not increasing property taxes, and ensuring sufficient resources for the Department of Health, law enforcement and first responders, her office said in a news release.

Nassau has one of the highest median property taxes in the nation, ranking 2nd among the 3,143 counties in order of median property taxes, according to tax-rates.org. The median property tax in Nassau County is $8,711 a year for a home worth the median value of $487,900. The average property tax amounts to about 8.26 percent of residents' yearly income, according to the site.

Curran's proposed budget includes targeted cuts and restructuring of debt through the county's Interim Finance Authority, Curran's office said. It also maintains key social services and avoids layoffs. Additionally, the budget calls for more funding for vital public safety and public health priorities. This includes expanding the county's so-called "Problem-Oriented Police Unit," the Community Affairs Unit, the Mental Health Mobile Care Crisis Team, and the Police Activity League.

“The pandemic has plunged Nassau and other local economies into a steep and unprecedented financial crisis, and my budget reflects this emergency," Curran said in a statement. "Today, I’m proposing a responsible plan that will keep Nassau safe, healthy, and strong as we continue to navigate stormy waters."

Nassau's finances were in strong shape heading into the pandemic, Curran's office said. The county was poised this year to emerge from the control period that the finance authority imposed nine years ago, as Nassau ended last year with a surplus of $76.8 million.

Curran's budget includes $285 million in savings from the finance authority's restructuring of outstanding bonds maturing next year to preserve essential services and keep the county government's workforce at necessary levels. Her multi-year financial plan adds $150 million in restructuring savings in 2022.

A combined restructuring would produce the best financial results for the county due to low interest rates and future economic uncertainty, the county said, in addition to efficiencies from having a single transaction. The approach would also generate potential resources for future labor costs as identified in the proposed budget and multi-year financial plan. The declaration of need to the finance authority for the restructuring that Curran filed for legislative approval covers both 2021 and 2022 restructured debt, which also requests that NIFA refund other county bonds for present value savings.

“Restructuring bonds would not be necessary or justifiable in an ordinary year. Extraordinary times as these, however, call for this extraordinary, yet targeted and appropriate, measures,” said County Executive Curran.

Despite a projected 2020 mid-year deficit of $385 million due to the pandemic’s unprecedented impacts on sales tax (and other revenues) and emergency-related expenses, Nassau expects it will end this year with a balanced budget. Under the 2020 gap-closing plan, $112 million of fund balance will be combined with $103 million in federal CARES Act money, $75 million from finance authority debt extension, $25 million in expense controls, $38 million in dedicated money for litigation and workers’ compensation expenses, and $32 million from the close out of completed or abandoned capital projects.

"Our fiscal integrity over the past two years has paid off, allowing the county to weather an unprecedented financial crisis, while maintaining services and staffing levels – and still projecting to end 2020 with a balanced budget," Curran said.

Below is a breakdown of County Executive Curran’s budget.

Highlights of Proposed 2021 Budget and 2021-2024 Multi-Year Financial Plan

Other Highlights

Police Department: The proposed budget funds additional classes of up to 200 recruits and maintains sworn headcount of 2,500, consistent with the 2020 level and minimum manning dictates.

Funding for three additional Police Activity League offices.

The Problem Oriented Policing unit increased from two to three officers in each precinct for a total of 24 total. The unit also now has an inspector assigned as coordinator and each officer is assigned a member of the Youth Advisory Council, which consists of young leaders committed to criminal justice issues and improving police-community relations.

Sheriff’s Department: The proposed budget funds a class of up to 40 corrections officers. Inmate population is falling but officials say hiring is needed to keep pace with attrition.

Probation Department: The proposed budget expects seven new staff hires for the Juvenile Detention Center to comply with rising age requirements, as well as for the Electronic Monitoring Unit to comply with bail reform measures.

Traffic and Parking Violations Agency – The proposed budget contemplates new revenue from the ticket reconciliation program.

Office of Crime Victims Advocate – The County fully supports OCVA, which was created to ensure that victims of crime and witnesses to crime are afforded all their legal rights and protections and receive appropriate assistance. Six staff are planned for this office.

Office of the Medical Examiner – The proposed budget adds seven staff members to help meet the requirements of recent state criminal justice legislation that affects the crime and toxicology lab. Additional staffing includes a firearms expert and DNA and chemistry personnel to assist with discovery reform. Separately, the office is fully staffed to support COVID-19-related needs.

Health and Human Services: The proposed budget includes additional staffing in the Department of Human Services consistent with new efforts under the governor’s executive order on police reform. This includes hiring two psychiatric social workers to help police manage a Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team responding to 911 emergency calls involving residents under mental health duress and who may be a danger to themselves or others. The Veterans Services Agency will add a female counselor to its staff to replace a veteran female counselor who resigned last year.

Social Services: The county expects there will be a greater need for public assistance services provided by the Department of Social Services. The $600 in weekly additional unemployment checks in July, the county is providing eligible residents with relevant social services information and options. Applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and housing assistance increased during the pandemic, and the county expects to add social welfare examiners and caseworkers to process and manage the influx of applications and cases.

Housing: The county is also focused on developing affordable and fair housing, as well as promoting its model housing law, while working closely with municipal partners and private and nonprofit developers. Part of the strategy is to preserve housing for seniors, disabled residents and families on tight budgets. As local administrator of the Housing Choice Voucher Program through the state, the county helps lower-income residents secure decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private rental market. The proposed budget also ensures that the Human Rights Commission can continue to address housing discrimination.

Minority Communities: The proposed budget continues to promote opportunities for minority communities. It provides staffing for the Offices of Minority Affairs, the Office of Hispanic Affairs and the Office of Asian American Affairs to meet each office’s mission, including an attorney at the minority affair's office. These offices work together to promote business opportunities, cultural awareness, inclusiveness and important initiatives such as the bi-county disparity study.

Parks and Public Works: As COVID-19 restrictions on park activities have been relaxed or lifted, the county reopened recreational facilities, such as golf, beaches, pools and other facilities.

The Nassau County Training and Intelligence Center is expected to open next year. This bond-financed facility will provide police, correction officer and probation officer training and community engagement. It will also be made available to other local jurisdictions.

Slight changes are coming to the county's transit services, which were significantly affected by the pandemic. Full-service restoration will happen if Federal Transit Administration aid is released.

Shared Services: The Department of Information Technology is fully funded in the proposed budget and automating certain functions remains a priority. The new Peoplesoft system is being rolled out to overhaul the human resources management function, replacing multiple outdated software packages with a single user-friendly system. The new system will enable improved tracking and reporting of employee time and improve Fair Labor Standards Act compliance.