Nassau residents invited to public hearing to comment on part of county's $4.6B proposed spending plan

The process for reviewing the 2027 Nassau County budget is underway, with the first public hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the legislative chambers in Mineola.

Residents are invited to come give their feedback on Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s proposed $4.6 billion budget, which is available online on the county’s website.

Blakeman announced his spending plan earlier this month, which does not raise Nassau’s portion of property tax and accounts for the hiring of three dozen new police officers. 

Monday's hearing will weigh public safety elements of the budget, including the police department, fire commission, sheriff's department, the traffic and parking violations agency and the office of emergency management.

The county’s police department accounts for nearly one-fourth of the budget at $1.1 billion. For Nassau's fire commission, Blakeman is requesting a $979,428 increase in expenses and a $330,937 increase in wages.

Blakeman's proposal says $1.7 billion in sales tax revenue will help finance the budget overall. 

Monday's discussion will be followed by a second public hearing in early October to consider the remainder of the budget. Legislators will then host a final public hearing and vote on the entire budget at the end of October. The county’s fiscal watchdog group, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, will then either approve or disapprove of the budget.