By Nassau County Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello

After months of negotiations, the Legislative Majority has reached a deal with the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, and the Curran administration in connection with the proposed restructuring of county debt and the 2021 budget.

The majority achieved its goals, including reducing the time within which county bonds have to be paid off, saving county taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and creating a special fund to repay residents and small businesses monies that the county owes them for tax refunds.
Earlier this year the county executive proposed to restructure $435 million in county debt over 30 years. The majority resisted the plan, which would have saddled county taxpayers hundreds of millions in unnecessary costs over the 30-year period.

Faced with opposition from the majority, the county executive agreed to reduce the bonds from 30-year to 15-year bonds. The shorter term will save taxpayers more than $200 million. The administration also agreed to a provision that will allow the county to pay off the bonds during the 15-year term.

The county executive has agreed to the majority’s proposal for a special revenue fund for monies beyond the administration’s estimates in the budget. The reserve fund will ensure that county operations will continue during the pandemic while dedicating increased sales tax revenues to paying tax refunds to residents and businesses incorrectly assessed by the county. The fund may also be used for unreimbursed COVID expenses.

In sum, the majority has achieved the following:
· Reduced the term of the borrowing from 30 years to 15 years, saving taxpayers more than $200 million over the course of the term of the bonds.
· Created a mechanism allowing the county to pay off the bonds before 15 years.
· Created a dedicated fund to assist in paying back residents and businesses who are owed tax refunds.

The deal the majority negotiated will ensure the county is able to financially recover from the financial impact of COVID-19, without straddling our children and grandchildren with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

The majority’s special revenue fund will finally begin to repay tax monies incorrectly charged to small business owners and residents. The majority will continue to stand up for Nassau residents, and fight to lower taxes for our overburdened residents.