Ed Mangano: Working Hard For Long Island

Local News

Written by Michele Justic

Thursday, 02 September 2010 10:08

Inheriting a $250 million deficit certainly makes the County Executiveâ€™s job tough. Yet, Edward Mangano has refused to resort to the old one-two punch of raising taxes and cutting services. Instead, he works hard to seek out innovative and creative ways to cut the waste and bring in new funds.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Mangano at his office in the historic Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola last Thursday. His passion for improving the quality of life of Nassau County residents was clear from the start. He began by emphasizing how the structural deficit he inherited is the largest in Nassau County history and how he has taken steps to cut costs within 47 departments of Nassau government.

Top on his list is fixing the broken home assessment system. He explains in his brochure on the subject, â€œFor the past 20 years, Nassau County has been borrowing against our childrenâ€™s future to pay for assessment errors caused by government mistakes. This system has cost the average property owner a whopping 30% more a year on their county tax billâ€”all to pay for debt that has grown to more than $1.1 billion and growing each yearâ€¦with no end in sight. Although the pundits claim itâ€™s too hard to fix, Iâ€™ve never backed down from fighting for whatâ€™s right.â€ The Emergency Reform Plan which he passed stops the annual reassessment of your home, corrects the assessments before demanding payments, addresses the more than $1 billion in debt and tax liability that you pay for with your property taxes, and protects taxpayers by requiring commercial property owners grieving their assessment to provide evidence of their claim. He urges everyone to join him in calling on the State Assembly and State Senate to change Nassauâ€™s assessment system to reduce the burden on taxpayers. Visit www.nassaucountyny.gov/petition to sign the petition.

Mangano is also rightsizing the police department. His police plan involves consolidating duplicative administrative positions while leaving the same number of police on patrol. Though his plan has met with some opposition, he assured me that this plan will only â€œcreate more efficiencies while delivering the same top quality service Nassau County police are known for.â€ As part of his early retirement incentive which was offered across the board to county employees who qualify, 425 county employees opted in, 125 of whom were from the police department .

Thanks in large part to these savings, Mangano has set a goal of producing a â€œno tax increase budget for 2011.â€ His budget is due in mid-September, and of course we all hope his goal comes to fruition. In actuality, Mangano has already lowered our taxes by repealing the home energy tax which cuts an average of two percent off our energy bill

Beyond making cuts, Mr. Mangano also seeks out new opportunities to bring capital into Nassau County and to put people to work. Some of Mr. Manganoâ€™s achievements as former County Legislator can already be seen on the big screen; the hit movie â€œSaltâ€ was filmed at a former Grumman facility. The County Executive and his team will continue to work hard to attract entertainment productions to film on Long Island. This leads to many new jobs within the construction, entertainment, catering, and many other industries. And who doesnâ€™t love bumping into a â€œstarâ€ on the street?

You might call him starstruck, but Mr. Mangano has an eye for green as he hopes to expand Nassau Countyâ€™s â€œgreenâ€ industry. His green energy loan program would lend home and business owners money to convert to green energy. He explains that he has the dollars in place but by law needs state permission or a federal program to access, and he is waiting for one of these options to happen. He proudly exclaims, â€œThis is a true win-win-win situation as it creates jobs in the home improvement industry involving architects, engineers, designers, etc., allows homeowners to save on utility bills, and places less strain on the environment.â€

Mangano says he is â€œproud of the Parks and Recreation Department which had many services which had fallen into private hands to the exclusion of residents but is now run through the county at more reasonable rates.â€ This was the pilot year for a Summer Recreation Program which attracted 425 children, had a successful first season, and which he hopes to continue and improve upon next year. He also wants to work on field allocation to allow residents easier access to the athletic fields at the parks. He is also proud of the free summer concert series which attracted many people to the Lakeside Theatre, including last Mondayâ€™s Israel Night.

Some troubling areas Mangano had to address include a sewage treatment plant which had fallen into disrepair. His team worked on a capital improvement schedule to improve machinery and make it safer with a preventive maintenance crew. He also worked with New York State to divert Zachs Bay sewage, which affects Jones Beach, to an outflow pipe which protects the shoreline, leading to cleaner waters.

As a Five Towns resident who sees firsthand the impact small businesses have in our district, I was particularly interested in learning about plans to benefit this large percentage of the local economy. Patrick Foye, Deputy County Executive of Economic Development, explained how Long Island is an economy of small businesses. The small business advisory council offers seminars for small businesses on accessing capital, financial counseling, and introductions to financial institutions. They help the businesses qualify for federal and state programs. Foye went on to say, â€œI believe the single biggest barrier to small businesses is high taxes.â€ Along those lines, Mangano is suing the MTA since he feels the onerous payroll tax they imposed is unconstitutional. In addition, the Nassau County government is working with Steve Levy in Suffolk County and the state and assembly delegation for pro-small business legislation. These include tax increments and financing reform. Also beneficial to the economy has been the Empire Zone Programs which provide financial incentives to businesses that build in certain locations, and Power for Jobs, which helps qualifying businesses obtain low cost energy.

Those looking for a more optimistic economic outlook have a friend in Ed Mangano. Though he has only held office for less than one year, he has already put into place many beneficial programs, and he is on the right track to eliminating our deficit while improving the quality of life.