Nassau County’s financial oversight board has asked New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to audit the county’s procedures for contract approvals and vendor payments.
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority voted for the request at Thursday’s directors meeting in Mineola, saying the county amassed nearly $7 million in legal fees without the necessary approval of the county Legislature and NIFA.
A spokesman for DiNapoli said Friday that his office has received the authority’s letter. “We will be taking it under review and taking appropriate steps in the coming weeks,” he said.
“Personally, I’m disgusted by the county’s cynical and arrogant approach to government. I think it’s essential that the comptroller come in and figure out what went wrong here,” said NIFA director George Marlin, citing bills related to work on failed projects, including a police lab, a county Legislature redistricting proposal and the referendum to replace the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Fellow NIFA director Robert Wild, a co-founding member of Great Neck law firm Garfunkel Wild PC and chairman of the United Way of Long Island, said some charities have not received their funding from the county. “I’ve been told by a number of charities and by United Way itself,” he said.
Brian Nevin, the county’s senior policy advisor, said in a statement that no government has more oversight than Nassau.
“All contracts are approved by a 19-member legislative body, the comptroller, Independent Office of Budget and Review, and NIFA prior to execution by the county executive,” he said. “Additional oversight is always welcome.”
The relationship between the county and its state-appointed receiver has been vitriolic over the past year. The county sued NIFA when it imposed fiscal control in January, then withdrew its lawsuit when a judge in March denied Nassau’s request for a temporary injunction.
They also sparred over the budget. NIFA last week approved the county’s $2.6 billion spending plan for fiscal 2012 and four-year fiscal plan after twice rejecting it, but directors still criticized county officials for excessive borrowing and prematurely assuming cost savings from layoffs and concessions. The plan calls for $450 million of borrowing over four years to cover tax refunds, employee severance expenses and court judgments.
Fitch Ratings, on Dec. 12, dropped the county’s general obligation bonds to A-plus from AA-minus, citing dependence on sales tax revenue and constant use of stop-gap measures to close budget gaps.
“Fitch anticipated that the control period imposed, while not changing fundamental budgeting practices, would enforce a level of fiscal discipline. However, Fitch has not observed improvement in this area,” the rating agency said.
Moody’s Investors Service rates Nassau’s GO bonds A1, while Standard & Poor’s rates them an equivalent A-plus.
