Bruce Blakeman declares NIFA oversight of Nassau County's finances over, which state panel disputes

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, citing the county's "terrific" financial outlook, unilaterally declared on Friday that a state-backed oversight board no longer has a say in the county's finances — a move state and local officials insist he has absolutely no power to implement.

Blakeman, a two-term GOP executive who is the Republican gubernatorial nominee in November against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, said the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state oversight board with control of the county's finances, can now move into an "advisory" role. Hochul appoints NIFA board members.

Control period dispute

"There is no longer any reason why we should be in a control period and be controlled by NIFA," Blakeman said. "So at this time, we are notifying NIFA that, pursuant to their own legislation ... we are no longer in a control period. We are in an advisory period and we are welcome to get their advice."

Under the 2000 legislation, passed by state lawmakers, that created NIFA during an earlier fiscal crisis, only the board itself can end a control period once its implemented.

During a control period, NIFA has the authority to approve or reject the county's annual budget, labor agreements, most contracts and can freeze county wages.

NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel told Newsday that Blakeman has no authority to end the control period and said the board's oversight is not ending anytime soon.

"We are needed in Nassau County to control [Blakeman's] excessive spending habits," Kessel told Newsday Friday. "So we have no intention of ending the control period. We're going to be around for a long, long time. We have saved the taxpayers millions of dollars, in terms of watching over the county's spending. And so we're going to continue on in that role."

In a statement, Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said "Blakeman’s failed leadership helped create the mess that needed rescuing in the first place." 

NIFA seized control of Nassau's finances in 2011, then led by Republican County Executive Edward Mangano, citing a then-$176-million budget deficit — more than seven times the 1% gap that triggers a takeover under state law. 

Mangano sued to block the state takeover and later to prevent the control board from blocking union pay raises, but was rejected each time.

NIFA is governed by a board of seven directors, recommended by the either the governor, Senate majority leader, state Assembly speaker or state comptroller — currently all Democrats. Two director positions are now vacant.

'No longer necessary'

Blakeman, questioned by Newsday about his authority to end NIFA's oversight role, insisted Friday that the county has "met or exceeded" the criteria needed to end the control period. Blakeman declined to say if he would sue the board to end the control period.

"They are no longer necessary. They are a bloated bureaucracy," Blakeman said, noting that NIFA’s total annual budget, including five staff employees, is between $2 million and $3 million annually. The NIFA board members, meanwhile, serve in an unpaid capacity.

At his news conference Friday, Blakeman, along with County Comptroller Elaine Phillips and Nassau Treasurer David Chiang, both Republicans, boasted that the county's financial outlook is better than its been in decades. 

The county executive cited millions now held in the county's reserves, overall declines in spending on lawsuits and tax refunds and the lack of a tax increase since he took office.

"Nassau County is in the best fiscal shape it's ever been in," Chiang said. "We have maintained our service level while keeping revenues stable."

But Nassau Democrats and Kessel insist the county's finances only stabilized after Blakeman in 2024 transferred more than $260 million in federal pandemic aid into the county's general fund. The funds were part of $385 million that the federal government sent to the county from then-President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan Act.

More recently, Blakeman was criticized for his decision to transfer nearly $14 million in interest earned from unused opioid settlement funds into the county's general fund.

"Numbers don’t lie," said Nassau Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, of Glen Cove, the Democratic minority leader. "A budget that relies on tapping into the county’s savings — money meant to combat the opioid crisis — while allowing police and 911 operator headcounts to fall dangerously low, forcing taxpayers to pay penalties for unsafe staffing levels, is completely disingenuous. It’s time to stop the habitual campaigning and start focusing on Nassau County."

But Mary Studdert, a spokeswoman for the county GOP legislative majority, said "given the county’s strong financial standing, pouring millions of taxpayer dollars to a political control board is hard to justify, especially as its reports and analyses have become so erroneous over the years that they are effectively useless. Their only role in recent years has been obstructing the county's operations and mandating financial decisions whose only function has been to extend its existence."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.