NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
"The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt
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NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt |
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September 21, 2004
Nassau County Legislature’s Pay Hike Shelved
Do Tax Hikes Justify Pay Hikes?
Last weekend, Newsday and Channel 12 News reported that several members of the legislature proposed increasing their salaries by 90%. The current base salary of $39,500 would have increased to $75,000 effective in 2006. This effort was lead by the Presiding Officer, Judy Jacobs and supported by the Minority Leader, Peter Schmidt. On September 13, 2004, the proposal was shelved from the legislative agenda due to the negative reaction from Nassau taxpayers.
The position of a Nassau County Legislator was always considered part time. When the old Board of Supervisors was in effect, their full time job was that of town or city supervisor. Once the Board of Supervisors was eliminated in 1996 and replaced by the Legislature, their full time jobs are now in the more lucrative private sector. $39,500 is not unreasonable considering the number of times the legislature is in session, on average twice a month. Only 10% of the legislators maintain district offices.
With the possibility of large tax increases facing Nassau County taxpayers in fiscal year 2006, it would not be prudent to almost double legislator salaries. As elected leaders, they must lead by example. If county employees are held accountable for their performance, so should county legislators. Their performance should be measured by the efficiency of government. Is the size of government limited to what is absolutely necessary and in line with what the taxpayers can afford?
The County Executive, Tom Suozzi has called for reform in state government based on their poor performance as previously defined. The ire of Mr. Suozzi is unfunded mandates like Medicaid which shift the cost of the program to local governments. He has even put his words into action by commencing a campaign, “Fix Albany” to target incumbent state legislators for defeat. While Nassau Taxpayers certainly support his effort to hold legislators accountable for performance, there must be consistency.
Nassau taxpayers were hit with a large 20% property tax increase in fiscal year 2003, an increase in fees in fiscal 2004, and several tax increases from other taxing authorities. The proposed fiscal 2005 budget contains additional fee increases. While reducing the workforce, Mr. Suozzi increased the number of high paid County Executives. Overtime costs have soared. Mr. Suozzi granted double digit rises to his management team earlier this year and recently provided costly benefits for unmarried and homosexual couples. When asked to comment on the legislature’s proposed pay hike, he had no comment.
Nassau County still faces other fiscal time bombs; the financially troubled Nassau University Medical Center and pension funding. It was no surprise that Mr. Suozzi declined to rule out tax increases in fiscal 2006.
The ability to control spending is the key to performance. The failure to control the size, growth of county government and the cost of government will necessitate higher taxes. As Nassau residents continue to pay the highest state and local taxes in the nation, tax hikes do not justify pay hikes.