Nassau County Facing Layoffs, Millions of Dollars in Budget Cuts

Hundreds of workers in Nassau County are facing layoffs as millions of dollars in budget cuts for neighborhood-based social programs loom. A budget proposal will be made public on Monday.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi has been faced with a major decline in sales tax revenue. Suozzi was previously expected to announce a new budget, which would increase revenue and cut services, and hopefully close a gap of about $130 million in a $2.6 billion budget that went into effect just one month ago.

To avoid layoffs, all county workers would have to take a 7 percent pay cut.

“Our nation economic crisis has hit home. And we in Nassau County must step up and solve this as a team,” said Suozzi in an late interview on Friday.

The plan, which has become increasingly difficult to implement, will be explained in an “emergency budget address Suozzi is to deliver this morning before a special session of the Nassau County Legislature in Mineola.

The plan calls for about $50 million in increased revenue from a new Medicaid reimbursement formula now being worked out in Washington. It also calls for dramatic cuts in social programs, which may be avoided should the county get permission from the state for $30 million on local initiatives, like installing cameras to catch people who run red lights and an imposed tax on cigarettes.

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