Nassau County submitted an amended budget to the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority by its deadline Tuesday to address noncompliance issues, and the finance authority’s Chairman Richard Kessel said they are pleased as it now meets those requirements.
“I give credit to [Nassau County Executive] Bruce Blakeman and his team,” Kessel said. “Whether they agree with us or not, the fact is they made some significant changes in the budget that really makes the budget much more accurate and legal and we’re very pleased about that.”
NIFA rejected the county’s 2025-2028 fiscal plan for the first time in six years. NIFS said the rejection was based on the budget not complying with legal requirements, like generally accepted accounting principles, and issues over how Nassau University Medical Center will be funded.
Blakeman’s $4.2 billion 2025 budget passed the GOP-led legislature on Oct. 30 along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing.
If a new budget was not submitted to NIFA before Wednesday, then NIFA would have taken over and put in place its own crafted budget that complied with all regulatory requirements.
Kessel said NIFA is in the midst of reviewing the county’s budget amendments and revenue estimates, but NIFA officials are pleased by the amendments that were made.
Kessel said NIFA was significantly concerned about the budget’s use of $30 million in reserves as revenue, which did not abide by generally accepted accounted principles as is legally required. He said the amended budget now abides by those principles.
“We’re certainly very pleased that they have put the budget in line with GAAP, with their own charter, with the NIFA statute,” Kessel said. “We may not totally agree with them on the revenue estimates, but we’re working those numbers out as best we can.”
Kessel said he was not able to provide information on what revenues have now replaced the county’s former use of $30 million in reserves. Schneps Media Long Island has not received the amended budget from the county.
The funding of NUMC was also a budgetary concern expressed by NIFA, but Kessel said that issue remains unsolved.
He said NIFA has not received more information from NUMC’s parent organization, Nassau Health Care Corporation, regarding why it should not be responsible for parts of the county’s funding.
“In our opinion, NUMC could create a significant liability for the county,” Kessel said.
NUMC is Nassau County’s only publicly funded hospital and its operations are largely financed by taxpayer dollars.
The federal government currently funds 50% of the program’s amount and the remaining balance is to be covered by Nassau County and/or NHCC, according to NIFA.
NIFA’s resolution said counsel for NHCC rejected any obligation to fund the local share of the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program and Medicaid Upper Payment Limit program payments in a Nov. 21 letter to NIFA.
This lapse in funds could amount to tens of millions of dollars each year.
The future of the hospital is threatened by the center’s decades-long financial problems and the inability of its management, the state and Nassau County to agree on who will run and where the money is coming from to cover its expenses.
The hospital filed a notice of claims against the State of New York on Nov. 19 that alleges the hospital was defrauded millions of dollars.
Kessel said NIFA is awaiting the results of the county Legislature’s budget vote scheduled for Monday.
NIFA has a meeting scheduled on Thursday during which they will accept or deny the budget amendments.
