Nassau County Budget vs NIFA, 2017–2026

Past: Legislature budget hearings Oct 5–7 (e.g. Government Services & Operations, Oct 7, 9 AM), Rules Oct 26, special budget meeting Oct 30, 10 AM (adoption deadline Oct 30), committees Nov 9. The County Executive's signing date was not verified. NIFA's December meeting date is not posted yet.

1. 1End its reliance on reserves to pay for ordinary operating expenditures.
2. 2Clarify when it expects to use the various appropriations in the reserves.
3. 3Establish proper overtime controls.
4. 4Produce and post cash reports as required by the County Charter.
5. 5Adequately and appropriately spend funds from the Opioid Litigation Settlement Fund.
6. 6Maintain appropriate staffing levels with accurate vacancies projections by department.
7. 7Cooperate with NIFA.

NIFA also asks the County to fund contingency reserves, answer its prior unanswered information requests, cooperate with the assessment audit, and have NCC produce a gap-closing plan with milestones (pp.3, 18, 20).

Key prior recommendations — followed?

1. 01The Major Funds levy has been $755.3M since FY2022, when the County cut it $70M (8.5%) from $825.3M. FY2027 is the 5th straight budget with no increase.
2. 02From FY2017 to FY2027 the Major Funds budget grew 28.7% ($2.97B to $3.82B) while the levy fell 7.6% ($817.0M to $755.3M). The levy's share of the budget dropped from 27.5% to 19.7%.
3. 03Sales tax filled most of the space: budgeted sales tax rose 50% ($1,142.5M to $1,713.2M) and is now 45.3% of Major Funds revenue. NIFA says 2026 growth is only 0.39% after inflation.
4. 04Reserves fill the rest: $43.5M budgeted in FY2027 and $476.5M appropriated across the plan, out of $615.9M on hand. Reserves are down $135.0M since 12/31/2024.
5. 05Tax-cap math (derived): 2% of the levy is $15.1M a year. Taking 2% each year from FY2023 would put the FY2027 levy at about $833.9M, $78.6M a year more, or about $232.7M left on the table over five years.
6. 06Even a full 2% increase would replace only about a third of the $43.5M reserve draw. Replacing it alone needs a 5.8% levy increase (derived).
7. 07Closing NIFA's FY2027 gap without reserves needs $104.0M–$189.0M, a 13.8%–25.0% levy increase. By FY2030 it is $142.5M–$295.1M, or 18.9%–39.1%. Anything above the cap needs an override (derived).
8. 08FY2025 showed the strain: a ($56.0M) control-period deficit, ($129.4M) restated, equal to 17.1% of a year's levy. NIFA projects deficits above the 1% trigger through FY2030, so the control period stays.
9. 09Tax certiorari is the hidden levy cost: $292.7M owed at 12/31/2025 (38.8% of a year's levy), versus the County's own $160.0M target. Only $15.0M a year is budgeted in the out-years.
10. 10NIFA ties the refund burden to the assessment freeze, which it says shifts taxes onto owners who do not grieve. The County has refused NIFA's assessment audit since April 2026.
11. 11NIFA does not call for a levy increase in the reports reviewed. It calls the plan structurally imbalanced and says reserve reliance with no contingency is "a sign of fiscal weakness." The County says the plan is structurally balanced.
12. 12Labor will push harder: police/corrections contracts were extended one year at 4.5%, with only $30.0M a year carried for later rounds. NIFA votes on those MOUs and the FY2027 plan on Nov 19.

Levy math (derived)

Caveats: the state cap applies to the County's total levy, not just the Major Funds, and also depends on the tax-base growth factor, PILOTs, exclusions and up to 1.5% carryover, so this is an illustration. NIFA's risk ranges already assume budgeted reserves, so "without reserves" adds them back. Sources: NIFA Oct 22, 2026 review pp.2, 22; OSC 2027 cap release.

Last updated Nov 14, 2026. Full per-year sources, NIFA figures, news and the derived levy math are in the workbook above.