by Bruce Lambert, New York Times
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Whether Nassau County ends this year in the red or the black hinges on the outcome of its contract talks with the police unions, the county comptroller said in a report issued here today.
The county could eke out a modest $9 million year-end surplus if police pay is frozen, said the comptroller, Howard S. Weitzman. But he cautioned that the county would tip into a deficit of nearly $19 million if the police were to win raises matching those in neighboring Suffolk County.
The Nassau police are among the highest paid in the nation, and last year with overtime, patrol officers averaged about $95,000.
The comptroller’s projections came in an analysis of the county’s $2.2 billion budget for the first four months of the year.
Nassau’s finances are under close scrutiny because the county government’s repeated fiscal troubles in recent years caused the state to impose an oversight board and to give bail-out aid.
The new county executive, Thomas R. Suozzi, has been pushing for a police wage freeze and various givebacks in scheduling and other contract rules. The police unions have retaliated by attacking him and demanding their right to arbitration for a new contract.
Gary Dela Raba, president of the largest police union, the Nassau Police Benevolent Association, took issue with the comptroller, asking: “Is Weitzman scapegoating the police officers?”
Uncertainty over the union contracts and the lure of pension-raising overtime since Sept. 11 could lead more police officers than usual to retire this year, the comptroller said. He estimated that the number could exceed 200, in contrast to the 160 projected by Mr. Suozzi, thus raising the cost of termination benefits by $9 million.
The comptroller underscored two other budgetary concerns. The previous administration overcounted Medicaid revenue by about $12 million, he said, and Nassau’s sales tax revenue could suffer if New York City’s economic troubles spill over to the rest of the region.
The Suozzi administration recently issued its own report for the first three months and projected a $4.5 million surplus.
The deputy county executive for finance, Arthur Gianelli, said he welcomed the comptroller’s report, which he said “will help ensure that we end with a positive fund balance.”
Mr. Suozzi and Mr. Weitzman, both Democrats, campaigned on fiscal issues last fall, and their elections ended decades of Republican rule.