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After a decade of higher taxes and lavish spending, Nassau is now on the road to recovery because of the tough decisions made to take on the status quo.
For too many years, Nassau ignored its future and settled for quick fixes rather than address the real underlying problems. This band-aid approach left our great County on life support.
The County has also played “kick-the-can” down the road with expensive labor contracts that taxpayers cannot afford.
That is why, early on, the Republican Legislature and I made the tough decisions needed to structurally improve our County finances while carving a path for its future.
While we could not solve all of the problems in one year, we made the tough decisions needed today to bring Nassau back to the great County it once was while fulfilling my pledges to:
- Freeze & Fix the broken Assessment System;
- Repeal the home energy tax;
- Cut wasteful spending; and
- Create jobs and opportunities
The first step we took was to repeal the tax on home energy use. This tax cut was the equivalent of a 5% property tax reduction. I am the first County Executive to put money back in residents pocket.
Next, we stopped additional property tax hikes totaling 16.5% that the prior administration had put in place.
The critics claimed that my tax cuts were wrong. I disagree. I, along with Republican Legislators, laid out a plan to right size government. Comptroller Maragos reported that not only did we close the $133 million deficit we inherited but Nassau is ending 2010 with a $17.2 million surplus. This surplus proves the pundits wrong and establishes this administration’s ability to meet and overcome fiscal challenges without taking more of your hard-earned money.
In short, we closed a $133 million deficit, returned money to residents, reduced the size of government to the lowest levels since the 1950′s and turned a deficit into a surplus.
While there is still more to do, we have made significant progress in restoring Nassau’s fiscal health.
Residents ask me…..can we recover from the past? Can we bring real reform and the needed budget cuts to this government? Can we bring jobs to our community?
Today I say to you…not that we can but we have and we will continue this year and in the years to follow. The citizens of Nassau deserve nothing less.
Together we are building a better Nassau, we will recover.
Click here to view the State of the County Address
(Click here to read the full text of the State of the County Address)
