NIFA OKs Nassau Budget

The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority conditionally approved the county’s $2.6 billion fiscal 2009 operating budget last week.

The conditional approval requires the county to provide a revised fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2012 financial plan by May 1 and a revised contingency plan by Jan. 15 to deal with the possibility of a worsening economy.

The approval marks the end of a level of oversight that the authority has had over the county’s finances. NIFA was created in 2000 when Nassau faced a fiscal crisis. While it will continue to monitor the county’s finances, after Dec. 31 it will no longer have the power to approve the budget.

NIFA, which can still refund bonds but can no longer issue new-money debt, will continue to exist until 2025 when the last of its bonds mature.

The county plans to issue $48 million of debt to pay tax certiorari judgments and settlements against the county, which drew NIFA’s ire. In a letter to the county last month, chairman Ronald Stack said Nassau should not issue bonds to pay for certiorari claims.

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