NIFA gives Nassau County 2 weeks to amend 'illegal' multiyear budget

Nassau’s financial watchdog group declined to approve the county’s budget, a first in six years, unless lawmakers fix an "illegal" accounting approach in the next two weeks.

The seven-member Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) instead passed a resolution requiring the county legislature to amend the county's multiyear financial plan for 2025-2028, which it says improperly uses prior year surpluses to fund future expenses. The state oversight board's decision starts a countdown for the legislature and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman or risk NIFA unilaterally revising the budget.

"I’m hopeful that the county will comply with our directives to correct this budget," said NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel. "Either change it or face the consequences."

If the county does not revise the budget by Dec. 10 to NIFA's satisfaction, the oversight board could reject it at its next meeting on Dec. 19 and craft its own budget.

"We’d rather not do it," Kessel said. "This is their job, not ours."

Nassau's budget is expected to take effect Jan. 1.

The Blakeman administration alleges the claims by NIFA are unfounded.

Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for Blakeman, stood by the budget, calling Nassau County "the most fiscally sound large county in the United States." 

The legislature's presiding officer, Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), said NIFA has historically "struggled" to provide accurate budget projections.

"Nassau County has built record reserves over the last several years, and there exist other opportunities within the budget that address NIFA's concerns without raising taxes," Kopel wrote in a statement.

Blakeman’s budget as it stands does not comply with so-called generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) the county charter or the NIFA Act, according to Kessel.

The county’s 2025 operating budget — which passed in the legislature last month — improperly includes $30 million of surplus dollars in its multiyear budget plan as revenue, totaling $120 million, Kessel said, calling the practice "illegal."

It wouldn’t be the first time the state oversight board has rejected the county’s budget. NIFA voted unanimously to reject Nassau's budget in 2016 and 2018.

"I don’t know which fiscal flag is redder: the County’s use of a patently prohibited accounting gimmick to make its budget add up, or the County’s refusal to ditch the patently prohibited accounting gimmick despite being called out by NIFA, the comptroller, the Office of the Legislative Budget Review, and the legislature," Rory Lancman, NIFA’s vice chair, wrote in a statement.

The vote Wednesday came days after NIFA announced plans to audit spending on outside law firms contracted by the county, which has more than doubled since 2022.