Suozzi is lying, there is no suplus, but a 300m debt.

[term Limits]

so we can get new ones to keep the balance of power not one sided.

[Truthsayer]

The claim that there is a surplus in Nassau County's budget is a complete lie to the taxpayers of Nassau County. The truth is that Nassau County has a "new" three hundred million dollar debt hanging out there, thanks to Mr. Suozzi's hacks' incompetent handling of the Countys tax grievance cases. Suozzi's hacks have done some "creative" if not completely fraudulant accounting in which they DO NOT include this massive debt. Instead, he has simply pushed off this debt into years 2006 2007, when the taxpayers of Nassau County will have to pay it off WITH ALL THE ADDITIONAL INTEREST which will have accrued. Suozzi is going to leave us completely screwed. If you don't believe me, contact NIFA, READ the last report that the County was forced to give to NIFA. I can't stand Suozzi's lies anymore.
________
Chevrolet Lacetti (http://www.chevy-wiki.com/wiki/Chevrolet_Lacetti)

[Cicero]

We do have term liimts. They're called elections.

Funny, no one was calling for term limits when the Republicans controlled everything and ran the county into the ground.
________
MEDICAL MARIJUANA (http://medicalmarijuanacard.info)

[NASSAU]

Truthsayer- Where exactly can I find this NIFA report about the debt???

[Else]

How about next year, the Conservatives, Independents, and Working Family parties all put up candidates that AREN'T on the other lines.

The Republicans dug a hole for the taxpayers...and now the deomcrats are piling dirt on us.

[The Daily News]

It could be their first story in their new LI Edition and put both Suozzi and his newspaper out of business for good.

[Ramses III]

What do you know about finance or accounting? You havent renewed your CPA license in 12 years or taken continuing education, no?

[Pharoah]

At camp of course------------------

[NASSAU]

You never answered my question, where can I find proof of this debt??

[Flyer]

You can find proof of the debt at the TREASURERS office of Nassau County.

If you call, be persistent, or else take a ride to 240 Old Country Road, Mineola. Go to the 3rd floor.

When you get to TREASURERS, go to the BONDS area. Ask how many outstanding short term AND long term bonds the County has OUTSTANDING. The total is like a giant mortgage.

Remember the County had a mantra: When in doubt, bond it out.

Also, watch the legislature page from the County website. Click on the 'meeting agenda', then click on each date they had a session. You will be amazed at the amount of tax grievances WITH INTEREST that are paid each month. The sad part is they are settling most for back years of 5, 6 and 7 years old. Some have INTEREST payments of 5 and 6 figures. And these are bonded out. So the taxpayer is paying interest on the refund; the County bonds it out...now the taxpayer pays interest on the bond.

So we are paying interest on top of interest. HMMMMM

YOU WILL BE SHOCKED.
________
RHODE ISLAND MARIJUANA DISPENSARY (http://rhodeisland.dispensaries.org/)

[Truthsayer]

You can get the info from NIFA. Suozzi's people tried to hide it, but after NIFA was tipped off by the companies that file tax grievances for Nassau homeowners, Team Suozzi was forced to put it their last report to NIFA. The debt is actually around Three hundred and twenty six ($326,000,000.00) million, and it is accruing interest. It represents monies owed on tax grievances. In an effort to create the appearance that Suozzi had balanced the countys budget, Suozzi's people froze settlements on the tax grievances cases, because they wouldn't show on the books as debts until they were settled. The problem is, the debts not only remain there, but they collect interest. Suozzi's plan now is to "Bond" the debt, but there is no question that he has planted a financial time bomb which could bankrupt the county in 2006-2007. Suozzi's plan to be be out of here before then, but we, the taxpayers, are going to be in real trouble.
________
Lovely Wendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)

[goulatta hack]

these bonds are they the ones Gooloota used to fleece the county the bonds Schmittt endorsed for years. Those bonds the long term debt like murderbrook hospital used to become a republican benefit corp??

[Flyer]

They're the same bonds used for years.

Each year they figure on about $100 million in refunds and have a bond sale 2 or three times a year to finance this 100 million.

On occasion, with an exceptionally large refund (like Gruman was or Verizon MAYBE), they will bond out that one grievance.

Its a stupid system like it has always been. This is the number one reason for the County's financial woes.
________
Vaporite vaporizer temperature (http://vaporizer.org)

[Let me make sure I got it]

What happened to your 100 million dollar plan to save the taxpayers money when you were running for office, oops turned out it was only a tax increase.

I am only going to hire the brightest and the best, yea right.

Try hiring some qualified Nassau County Residents!!!

Looking forward to seeing Pharaoh/Suozzi booted out of office.

[Kerry]

If all of you Republican malcontents are so concerned about debt, why don't you focus your worries on your President?

[Kerry is Stupid]

I'm concerned about Nassau County's debt because I live here you idiot. You must be one of the hacks Suozzi brought in from New York City who couldn't give a rat's patoot about how hard Nassau taxpayers get hurt. Suozzi's hacks have planted a financial time bomb which may bankrupt the County in 2006-2007. But Suozzi doesn't care, because he intends to skip town by then. Nassau Taxpayers will be left holding the bag for three hundred twenty six million, plus interest.

[just curious]

Call me crazy, but didn't Mr. Suozzi create the same fiscal crisis in the City of Glen Cove when he was mayor that he has now created in Nassau County?? He left the city in a disasterous state of affairs and it continues on under the tenure of Maryanne Holzkamp. Mike Norman, Glen Cove City Councilman is a master at coverup. He and Maryanne have become very proficient at protecting the Suozzi name. I just wish the voters of Nassau County had looked into the real Tom Suozzi before they voted for him as their County Exec. The debt in Glen Cove is staggering. That's his modis operendi: point your finger at the other guy and then borrow, borrow, borrow!!!
________
CHEAP CYMA P389A UPGRADED AIRSOFT SHOTGUN (http://airsoft-shop.info/p/cyma-p389a-upgraded-airsoft-shotgun/)

[RepWard]

and do not forget Tax, Tax, Tax

and more fees, fees, fees
________
IOLITE VAPORIZER (http://vaporizer.org/reviews/iolite)

[you]

Both Suozzi and Bush came out of the same mold. They are both spending money like crazy and creating a huge deficit. They are both very stupid. If you live in Nassau County (which happens to be part of the US) and these two morons get re-elected you will be getting screwed twice. There will be both a huge Federal deficit and a huge County deficit to be paid off.

To all those with very limited intelligence who vote for anyone who runs for "your" political party, no matter how bad they are, take note that there are real bad Republicans and real bad Democrats. Suozzi and Bush are the perfect example.

[elpmilk]

sheriff reilly will blow the budget to bits.
He is gonna spend $6.3 million dollars above his budget
(for jail overtime)
________
vaporgenie (http://vaporizers.net/vapor-genie)

[Pharaoh]

There was no county property tax increase in 2004 and I'll bet that Souzzi won't raise them in 2005 either. read the budget when it comes out.

[RepWard]

You raised them a ton in 2003. People are just finding how much you raised them in 2004. Then you raised all the fees as well. You are just taxing us to death.
________
MERKUR XR4TI (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Merkur_XR4Ti)

[Where is the Beef]

I keep on getting errors from the county web site as if it no longer existed.

How about the detail. Where ar all the job titles? I could be wrong but, King Tutt, in your attempt to simplify the budget presentation you made it opaque, you left out or glossed over the details.

A while ago, us outside budget watchdogs got a copy of the complete budget available. And before that, we were able to get the old Ordinance One, to see the new and existing titles that existed. It was very cryptic but full of detail.

Where's the Beef?

[Where is the Beef]

Whew, I hope you don't print this. In color it would cost a fortune in printing costs.

Its the same as the old budget summary Gullotta put out during the hearings.

It looks good but is it an official submission? I thought detail listing was the official budget.

[Daily News Reporter]

The LI Edition of the Daily News will be doing it' s own audit of the County' s finances and then we'll get the real truth about the budget - where his revenue really came from and at what cost to the people of the county.

[Budget Insider]

We've gotten 6 ratings upgrades from the professionals at all three bond rating agencies (Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch) and we are on Positive CreditWatch from Moody's for yet another upgrade into the "A" rating category.

We welcome the Daily News analysis, and any other impartial one conducted by finance professionals!

[TAXMAN]

in addition to sales taxes earned of the backs of the driving public.

Suozzi should be giving all SUV drivers a party! Both them and the the property owners will be paying his way to the Governor?s Mansion!

________
Washington Medical Marijuana (http://washington.dispensaries.org/)

[The Arty Party]

Arty is not “Jimmy Neutron”. He is just the dealer in a rigged game designed by him and Suozzi! He knows it, and Suozzi does too. As illustrated by the hilarious antics of Team Suozzi, by the likes of Arty, Peter Sylver, Craig Love, and Dimowitz et. al., this is no MENSA chapter. Those who know the trick, are allowed to do ANYTHING! Most of the others are ignorant of the whole picture.

You see, it’s like three card Monty! It’s all about cash flow! If you can’t borrow enough each week to meet your bills, you are sunk.

If you reshuffle the departments so no one can compare budgets and spending with the last guy; fire all the people who know better and could tell on you; soak the tax payers for over four hundred million dollars; let NIFA have the responsibility of old debt; hide another three hundred million in tax certiorari exposure or judgments (thanks to Newsday); declare victory and pat each other on the back.

[To: Budget Insider]

I think that Finance's "accomplishments" must be considered questionable. Gianelli had audit responsibility over Sylver and fell down on the job. Also, why would Suozzi need to hire three accounting firms at a tune of $1.5 Million to implement compliance programs that should be addressed by literally an army of public sector employees already, including but not limited to, the Controller's Office, the Legislative Budget Office, the County Executive's Budget and Management Office, the Commissioner of Investigation, NIFA, and the Deputy County Executive for Compliance (Helene Williams).

Ok, so maybe Arty can make pretty little reports and is a good bonds salesman. But, with the systemic managerial problems encountered by the County belies genuine fiscal health.

And again, if the County is as solvent as alleged, why doesn't Nassau County participate in the Sales Tax Holiday.

Face it. The Suozzi Administration is one gigantic house of cards, propped up by Newsday and some of the other bigs who still don't get that Herr Suozzi is a Hindenburg type disaster ready to happen, full of hot air and about to explode.

[Rating Agencies]

Those same rating agencies would love if suozzi raised taxes another 20%. Heck, they would raise Nassau to triple golden status if they sold us all down the river!

They care about the investors and not the residents. YET, they know that we would never default on our obligations because there are unlimited ways to get money, unpopular but unlimited!

So, Suozzi would tax your private parts and put a parking meter out front of your house to make it easier for him to get up in the world.

[Show me the proof]

Yeah - you show me where Suozzi has turned Nassau County finances around - you show me what he's done and don't point to the increase in revenue from sales tax - that wasn't Suozzi - that was Pataki and Bush's tax CUT programs that did that. Show me WHAT HE"S done for the budget?

[Proof? You Want Proof?]

Suozzi hired Lorna Goodman and gave all the Suozzi hacks raises. Then he screwed up the roads and the parks by terminating the rank in file who actually did the work. What more proof do you need?


:lol:

[Bond floats]

It's true. If there's really a surplus and not a deficit why does he keep floating bonds - the bond for "preservation of land" which should be paid for with the general funds because it's nothing more than maintaining the parks and common lands and highways we already have here and the bond for building a science center on private property where LIJ is building it's first outpatient center and why is he so worried that the tax assessment judgments won't get paid when the authority to float more bonds for that purpose ends at the end of this year? Why is so concerned about squeezing money out of every nook and cranny the taxpayers have left even to the point of denying them their constitutional rights - like trying to bankrupt older community spouses of nursing home partners, parents who have special needs children, threatening people with old, unprovable and lached claims, developing an affirmation action bureau within the county attorney's office for the sole purpose of having their out of town lawyers going after nassau county residents and taxpayers as an additional source of revenue to satisfy Suozzi's blurgeoning salary budgets and ridiculous and unworkable real estate consolidation plans? He is afraid because he knows his budget is being hidden by a see-through blanket and once it's exposed, the county will see that it is in worse financial shape than it ever was in under the republican rule and the biggest worry is that we are already taxed to the max. NOW what?

[DR. KNOW]

Remember the mantra--ACTIVITY DOES NOT EQUAL ACHIEVEMENT; IT JUST BECOMES A DISTRACTION. The magician moves around the stage and constantly adjusts his hands because he hopes you will be distracted. Some of you are being distracted by "the Swazz" many of us are not. If there is a $326,000,000 deficit confirmed by NIFA ( thats $326 million for those of you drinking the Suozzi Kool-Aid), caused by incompetence , or worse, at the Board of Assessors and Assessment Review, why isnt Harvey Levinson or Glen Borin being publiclly called out? Oh thats right, Harvey is doing the TOWN's job at Housing Code enforcement and (suprise) running for Town Supervisor. His activity does not equal acheivement, only distraction. And as we all know, don't look to NEWSDAY to answer these questions. They sent Michael Rothfeld, the assessment reporter that covered O'Shea to Albany so Levinson wouldnt have to deal with a seasoned reporter who knew more than the new Assessor did. I hope the Daily News gets this story right!

[Great post Dr. Know]

Funny, how trouble seems to follow Glen Borin. Why did he allow his assessors to take bribes when he worked as their supervisor in NYC? Why is he falling down on the job today?

[Hadrick was bought off]

Then how do you explain the article celeste hadrick wrote on feb. 18 confirming a surplus, continuing the rhetoric about nassau being near bankruptcy pre 2001 and leaves it at that? Why such a disappointing fluff piece? S & P says the credit rating crashed to near junk level in 1999 but rose back to A- right where it was before it crashed. Well, when was that? 1998? 1997? When was the credit rating at A-? What caused it to crash - tax assessments, low gasoline prices, high investment interest rates, low sales tax revenues? What about all the hidden judgments not counted on the books because the appeals haven't been in? Are they trying to say that from 1999 to 2004 Nassau did better? Gee, maybe the years 1999-2001 contributed to rise in fiscal wellness, which Suozzi was lucky enough to capitalize - keep the budgetary problems hidden or in check for 2 more years, and now - he can longer hold down the fort. And why doesn't the article explain how, the day before, Suozzi claims he shrunk government, but government costs are what is going to cost the deficit? Is it because of what we've been saying all along on this website? Because the increase in taxes were going to pay for his bloated NYC salaries and seasonal workers and verticle managment system while the parks, the highways and everything else fell apart? He's done nothing. Now he's got a fixing the parks campaign for visibility - because in November he floated a bond instead of using money from the general pot to pay for it. When is that article gonna come out?

[well thought out]

A well researched article would have told us how long the credit was depressed against how long it was A- - which my guess is - was for most of the republican rule. It declined only for a year or so and there were concrete things that happened that can be pointed to that accounted for it and which could have been repaired and would have been repaired. Suozzi got lucky when he inherited the county with the continued decrease in interest rates and increase in spending and gasoline prices and his one and two shot revenue sources were less stable than realized. Nifa wanted out pure and simple and they got out. Haddrick's article should have mentioned that even Nifa knows there really is a deficit, always existed one for the reasons mentioned on this website many times before. I really wish the paper wouldn't bother to publish such poorly written and poorly analyzed articles. Having some stupid fluff piece that raises more questions than answers and only gives half a story is really frustrating. Oh and the bloat in Suozzi's so=-called decreasing salary is expected to be 54% of the deficit next year. So much for his brief career as a Newsday columnist.

[CPA 2]

The postings on this thread are wrong. It would be charitable to say it's because of a lack of understanding accounting, finance and government budgeting. It would probably be more accurate to attribute it to partisan wishful thinking.

Here are facts:

1. Bonds keep getting floated because interest rates have declined. Just as the entire countryhas been refinancing their mortgages, the County, wisely and shrewdly, has been refinancing its debt. This leads to lower interest rates and lower debt service payments (principal and interest) in the future. Debt is not refinanced unless the present value of future payments reflects a savings of at least 2% over the original debt. So the level or amount of debt activity is nota good indicator of financial wellbeing. In fact, the refinancings are GOOD for the county's finances.

2. A much better indicator of the County's financial health is looking at its Cash Flow Borrowings. These borrowings are made to smooth out the imbalances between the County's cash inflows from taxes and outflows for expenses. Because real estate taxes are received disproportionately during the year, there are times the County is cash short. When running a deficit, these cash flow shortages are exacerbated. When running a surplus, the surplus funds help smooth over the natural shortfallsof the County's fiscal calendar.

Historically the County borrowed these funds twice a year --- in the summer, and a second cash flow borrowing in December. Each of these borrowings would be repaid within 11 months. The County had issued in one year as much as $450MM in short term notes in the Gulotta years.

In 2003, the County did NOTissue its summer notes, and issued only $120MM of notes in December (at a rate of 1.05% per annum). In 2004, the County did NOTborrow short term funds in either the summer months or December. This lack of a need to borrow short term fundshas been one of the most telling objective indicators of the County's fiscal recovery, as pointed out by the rating agencies. In THIS case, the lack of borrowing is INDEED a great indicator of the County's recovery.

3. Successful challenges to real estate assessments (tax certiorari claims) have historically been paid with 30 year bond funds, to the tune of $100MM borrowed per year - - - fully $1 Billion of the County's nearly $3Billion in debt is due to these judgments.

The County plans to pay all claims beginning January 2006 out of the then current operating budget. This is a
major, significantchange to prior administration finances. Gulotta would remove normal operating expenses OUT of his budget and use Capital Funds financed with Long Term Debt to pay for them. A classic abuse of finance and mismanaged budgeting. If you want to learn how bad Gulotta's finances were, check carefully the capital funds he spent and figure out how much should have properly been included in his annual operating budget. I estimate at least $50MM per year.

4. If there are $326MM in future tax certiorari claims out there, it's because this administration has taken the time to quantify them. Certainly they have taken steps to reduce these claims such as a reassessment with annual updates, and a real Assessment Review Commission working to make corrections in a timely manner.

5. Bottom Line - - - the rating crashed because the expenses of the County exceeded their revenues AND this included one shot revenues (sale of hospital, special MTA deal where MTA gives County $100mm and County agrees to repay them $200MM, etc) and the removal of expenses from operating budget and onto Capital budget. Cash flow boirrowings went sky high, budgets were meaningless, Nixon Peabody was running the County's cash flows, and rating agencies were deathly afraid the County would default on its debt.

Yes, Suozzi raised taxes - - - once, as he promised. He also cut payroll, neotiated some tough union contracts, refinanced the debt, and established a Sewer and Stormwater Finance Authority. (Check the administration's 5 point recovery plan in 2003). That's how you balance a budget and turn around a financial house of cards. That'swhy this recovery is recognized by rating agencies.

Does Suozzi have flaws? Yes indeed. Did he make mistakes and have scandals and blunders? Sure. And the Republicans will use each and every one of them to hold him accountable in his reelection bid.

However, demeaning the true fiscal turnaround which his team HAS achieved, will only cause all your other arguments to come into question. Because any rational, clear thinking finance person who has examined the facts and the datawill come to congratulate Suozzi on this particular achievement.

[sylvester puddy tat]

stanks for using this board for yet another ad for schwazi

[CPA needs a job]

Nice textbook analysis CPA - but you need a job to learn the practical application of your textbook academics. When bonds were floated under Gulotta you and people like you called it poor fiscal management. Now you claim the fact that Suozzi is continuing to float the bonds that GULOTTA set up and put in place to leverage the county's debt is a brilliant fiscal policy. Make up your mind. The fact is - the bonds we're talking about on this board were floated by Gulotta to pay the judgements for the small claims tax assessment refunds and they are scheduled to disappear on Dec. 31st of this year. We're not talking generalities here and the postings on this board are absolutely on target. The truth is - and here's where some textbook reading won't help you - the scar refunds are still sitting in the same pile they were in during the first re-assessment, and Suozzi has had two more since then - one was more capricious and arbitrary than the other and both led to thousands more refunds being offered because of their mis-management. Suozzi was suppose to be cleaning up this mess, instead he made it worse - twice over AND on top of not being able to handle the hearings or oversee proper assessments - he raised the county's tax rates. So first you have court ordered re-assessments, which Gulotta did - and those were appealed and some of those won appeal but Gulotta got put out of office before they got paid, although he did set in motion the mechanism to pay them - floated bonds. That brought down the County's credit rating. Then you have Suozzi coming in and doing the second phase, a second re-assessment - which because of the haphazard way the market values were arrived at, using comparables that were so absurd - almost everyone who appealed WON - and Suozzi not only failed to pay the judgments sitting there under the court ordered re-assessment, but he failed to pay the judgments under the first re-assessment. While taxpayers were still waiting for their refunds due to the reductions in their property values, Suozzi came in again - swinging double fisted tax rate increases - bringing up the property taxes to double what they were and confusing hell out of half the residents who appealed the first two times - they not understanding or knowing that the third increase was a separate issue. While all of those judgments remain unpaid, interest piling up at the 9% rate allowed under law for judgments, the low interest bonds for borrowing money lay either dormant or Suozzi used the money for other purposes. In any event, at the end of the year they will no longer be available to pay for the judgments and the County will be in a huge fiscal mess. That's the reality of the situation. The very thing you and your Suozzi people won the 2001 election because of, is the very thing that Suozzi screwed up completely, and it's leaving the county is WORSE financial shape. PLUS, because of his tax rate increases - there were actually two of them - he pulled a dummy whammy on the taxpayers.

[Pead my Pants]

I was quite amused by CPA's high school lecture on balance sheets but when I got to line the line about how Suozzi is going to pay all his debts in cash in January 2006 I couldn't hold back anymore - I damn well near pee'd in my pants! CPA must be studying for his exam poor kid - what - the sixth time around now? Suozzi couldn't pay all the debts he's let accumulate in the past 3 plus years without paying if he broke into the Federal Reserve Bank and stole all the gold bars he found. Great campaign though - IF you re-elect me, I'LL do everything I failed to do my first term. It's like an alcoholic saying - if you just let me drink that last bottle of Scotch - I swear it'll be my last bottle ! CPA completely missed the point of everything too. What EXPENSES has the guy paid? His bloated salaries and engorged staff? The guys who got contracts from his Industrial Development Agency? Outside advisors and task force committees that came up with campaign slogans and ideas about building Zoos? He didn't DO anything. When you don't DO anything - it's easy to pay for all your frivolous patronage jobs and wasteful hoaxes and Publicity Budgets and trips to upstate New York and Albany and campaigns against people in your own party. He didn't pay ANYTHING - didn't make a dent toward the debt. Didn't fix the highways or the parks - in fact - he spent 3 years fighting with the towns and villages trying to get them to take responsibility until just recently giving up on that lame idea. He found out the folks who run the villages and towns aren't stupid and the taxpayers aren't stupid either. We already pay - thanks to Tom Suozzi - incredibly high property taxes precisely so the county can fix things like highways and parks with that money. If he dumps that responsibility on the Towns - those taxes will go up too and we'll have nothing to show for the high county taxes. He is NOT balancing the budget because the money hasn't covered basic services that he is suppose to be paying for because he hasn't provided for those services over the past 3 years. The reality of that is - the taxpayers lose. Suozzi only recently even admitted that the streets and the parks are his responsibility, and only recently started to CLAIM he's going to repair them - suspiciously after floating a $38 million bond. CPA just doesn't seem to understand that he's playing with the books. He's misusing the funds and not accomplishing anything. Besides - how is he going to pay CASH for all the judgments he's been ignoring for 4 years in January 2006 - the man himself is telling us that he's leading the county into a multi-million dollar deficit in 2006. WHY? Because he hasn't done anything in 4 years and that will catch up. There is no surplus because if he did what the county needs to have done, if he accomplished what he promised he'd accomplish in 2001, if he had to cover the basics we expeced the budget would cover - he couldn't have done it. He sweated to cover his expenses with the revenue and the expenses consisted mostly of his wasteful spending. AND the revenue was courtesy of Bush and Pataki tax CUT policies - leading to high sales tax revenues combined with high gas prices and BLEEDING the taxpayers dry. Geesh - If they sent somebody like you to check the worldcom books those people would still be in business.

[Keep it simple stupid]

Mommy and Daddy give you $20 every week and tell you that you can spend it anyway you want but you have to pay her $5 a week if you want mommy to keep your room clean and you are responsible for all your school supplies. You also have to have a balanced budget at the end of the month. At the end of the month, you DO have a balanced budget. You got $80 and you spent $80. So you run to Newsday and they are proud. And you tell Grandma and Grandpa and they say you are now an excellent credit risk and they raise your bonds. But every week you took your friends to the candy store and bought them all candy. And you bought them toys. And you treated them to the movies. Except you never paid your mommy to to clean your room and now it's really filthy and so she raised her price and now it will cost you $15 a week to have it cleaned. And you've used up all your school supplies and never replaced them and the school break is almost over. But you have balanced your budget.

Now what? That's pretty much where Tom Suozzi has left us.

[complains about himself]

How stupid is Tom Suozzi? He's so stupid that he's complaining that he raised the property taxes so high and thinks "we" should do something about it !

We should. If he's so stupid he doesn't know HE can lower them - by cutting his workface and making appointed employees earning over $60K take a 5% PAY CUT and those earning over $70K take a 10% PAY CUT and by revoking the exemptions for non-Nassau County residents ---- then we should.

We should do something about these high taxes. We should send Tom Suozzi home and vote for Greg Peterson for County Executive.

[A Black Hole]

We are in a black hole. All Suozzi is campaigning on now are visions and promises. He's GONNA GONNA GONNA but the fact is - he never does. And he can't because he's all out of money. He spent money on frivalties and ignored the basic services, debts and expenses. The real truth is that Suozzi has DONE nothing, accomplished NOTHING. And he never will. He plans on getting re-elected only because he sees it as an entry level job that will give him a nice salary, and the visability and mobility to campaign for a new job in 2006. He doesn't plan on doing anything for Nassau County if he's re-elected. He plans only on doing for himself.

[$50K electionyr paint job]

Suozzi's broke - that's why his idea of an election year clean up is to use the loan he took out with the $50K bond to paint stuff - pretending to make it look new and clean and safe - running around during election year flinging money at youth groups that he starved before and caused gangs to increase trifold. NOW all of a sudden he's concerned about that stuff. Give me a break. He withheld doing the important things that needed to be done and now he's using the hoarded money and loans - not to pay off the assessment refunds, but to make himself look good by artificially propping things up. Give me a break.

You can find proof of the debt at the TREASURERS office of Nassau County.

If you call, be persistent, or else take a ride to 240 Old Country Road, Mineola. Go to the 3rd floor.

When you get to TREASURERS, go to the BONDS area. Ask how many outstanding short term AND long term bonds the County has OUTSTANDING. The total is like a giant mortgage.

Remember the County had a mantra: When in doubt, bond it out.

Also, watch the legislature page from the County website. Click on the 'meeting agenda', then click on each date they had a session. You will be amazed at the amount of tax grievances WITH INTEREST that are paid each month. The sad part is they are settling most for back years of 5, 6 and 7 years old. Some have INTEREST payments of 5 and 6 figures. And these are bonded out. So the taxpayer is paying interest on the refund; the County bonds it out...now the taxpayer pays interest on the bond.

So we are paying interest on top of interest. HMMMMM

YOU WILL BE SHOCKED.


I'm shocked that someone could be so stupid. All counties have debt - don't they. Also, the only reason you see Nassau's debt is that it unlike all other counties has a five year financial plan. I guess you can expect this from a bunch of morons who are complainting about our crime rate, when ti is the lowest in the country. Finally, if the County is settling 7 year old grievances, you can only fault those that were in power when the property was improperly valued, and then not fixed prior to Suozzi coming in. Face it, You're gonna lose bad in November, because your issues are tired, and your candidates repeat ridiculous mantras.

[Gary US Bonds]

Didnt TSG do this too rather unsuccessfully? I thought Dakowitz the genius would figure things out.

[Fed up Nassau Res.]

That's the only reason he will win, but not as BIG as he thinks. He has 50% supporters and 50% antiSuozzites. His list of enemies grows by two a day. :x

[Shuffel off to Buffalo]

hevisi wants to send Tommy tatrum, I did it my way, I mean Nifa's way, I can do it for you. From tonawanda-news.com. No wonder hevisis's face is plastered all over tommies web page.


Bring in an expert.

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, whose “Fix Albany” campaign has ruffled feathers at the State Capitol, rescued his county from a similar fate. Although he’s a busy guy, it’s likely Suozzi would love to garner more support for a potential gubernatorial run in 2008. Bring Suozzi to Buffalo, pick his brain and get a non-partisan view of what went wrong.

As Hevesi said, this is going to be a painful process, but Erie County can be saved. A new board, one that focuses on results rather than extending party favors, can make a difference in righting a sinking ship.

[Between the liness]

In other words, the state is saying it will close it's eyes to the fraud committed by suozzi and his administration if suozzi will mind his own business and stay the hell out of state politics until 2008.

[NIFA Who?]

Suozzi bi-partisen??? Thought that was NIFA's role in Nassau County? Newspaers and Hevisi ine would aessume seem to miss that point. Tommy do not have the miss'es pack the winter garments, it's pretty cold up there.

[hedgehog II]

Anybody notice Nassau's bond rating was upgraded again? And you all know that benefits every Nassau taxpayer, right? And isn't this so much better than the Gulotta days, when Nassau's bond rating was just above junk status? And did you all notice Nassau has the lowest crime rate of any municipality its size in the US? So if the Dems can do municipal finance and crime reduction better than the Repubs, why do we need the Repubs at all?

[to hedgehog]

if you read the legal notices which ii dont think you do.....why if the county is so good A+ rating they say.......than why are they still floating emergency bonds for projects????

[hedgehog II]

It's the other way around.

Hedgehog...have you looked around Nassau? It is getting worse. Sure, our bond rating did increase, largely because of a punishing tax hike. I'd definitely like to know where you got your crime information, because I've heard the opposite. Also, while your at it, can you look up how our schools have fared over the past 4 years? How about the rise in gang activity and illegal immigration? Finances are easy to fix by raising taxes. The other problems that have reared their ugly heads in Suozzi's tenure will stick with us forever if we don't turn them around now. Do yourself and your county a favor and vote Republican.

Anybody notice Nassau's bond rating was upgraded again? And you all know that benefits every Nassau taxpayer, right? And isn't this so much better than the Gulotta days, when Nassau's bond rating was just above junk status? And did you all notice Nassau has the lowest crime rate of any municipality its size in the US? So if the Dems can do municipal finance and crime reduction better than the Repubs, why do we need the Repubs at all?

[Who gives a fig?]

Who the hell gives a fig about the gosh darned bond ratings? What the hell difference does it make? Nobody should care except newsday and the democrats pretend like it's this big deal and these morons running around talking about it don't even know what the hell it is. It doesn't mean a damned thing if the government is run right and doesn't need to borrow money to finance itself - and right now the borrowing interest rate is so freaking low who cares if the bond rating adds a 1/2% rate. It doesn't matter. If the government is doing it's job - it wouldn't be borrowing so much but Suozzi is still borrowing even though he buried us in taxes because his staff of patronage people have such high salary's and his administration is so top heavy that he doesn't have money to do basic things he is expected to do. I rather have a decrease in my property taxes and a decrease in whatever the hell wall street's perception happens to be that lowers the bond rating - then live like a struggle worm under a ogre who is managing us to death.

[hedgehog II]

What kind of a blithering idiot are you?? Bond ratings affect each and every taxpayer in the county. Go back to school and pay attention this time. A higher bond rating means lower borrowing costs for the county - that's you and me pal. And the crime stats are a verifiable fact - go look it up. I'm not relying on incoherent Republican babbling.

[Taxpayer 101]

The bomd rating went up because the Suozzi dems in the leg. approved the 4 1/2 energy tax comming this fall on each and every sourse of energy you use in your home.lets call it secure payment for the corrupt administartion, secure blatent exploitation of the home owner in Nassau, as we know Wall Street dont give a hoot on how you get it, just as long as you get it. So in the end bond ratings are floated on the back of the tax payer, and the ability of Team suozzi to milk the cow as long as he can, just like he did in Glen Cove,which by the way has bond ratings sinking each day, just like the derilict dock for the foxwoods ferry, which has been removed at taxpayers expence, and the dilapidated Regina Marris wich now sits in sluge on the Glen Cove Creek.

Hog when you know how bond ratings are forumulated come on back and give an educated discourse.The educated class is leaving Nassau in droves, so are the young professionals, for all the RED States. Lets just call it the Suozzi Factor!

[hedgehog]

G'bye. Take all the other whiney repubs with you.

Just so you crackpot conservatives understand, bond ratings are a measure of risk and Nassau is lot less of a risky place to invest your $$ than it was under Gulotta, got it?

[Standard and Poor]

G'bye. Take all the other whiney repubs with you.

Just so you crackpot conservatives understand, bond ratings are a measure of risk and Nassau is lot less of a risky place to invest your $$ than it was under Gulotta, got it?

Definition of a Bond Rating: Organizations like Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s rate the riskiness of corporate, municipal, and government issued securities and gives each security a Bond Rating. The risk is based on two elements: the probability the organization will file for bankruptcy before the final bond payment is due and what percentage of the bondholder’s clams creditors will receive if a bankruptcy takes place.

So it can be said as long as money is flowing in, there is less risk. Raise taxes and fees, guarantee money flow. Raise taxes and fees, you raise your bond rating.

there is no 4.5 % energy tax in the current county plan. removed by suozzi in june.

can't complain about that anymore. find something else to complain about.

[Of course we can]

Assuming that's correct - it's only so stupid people believe his removing it months after he starts giving press releases for his campaign rhetoric blasting high taxes (which he created) believe that his temporarily removing makes it a non issue. It doesn't. This is the way he thinks. Tax, tax, tax. Spend, spend, spend. Maybe he won't do it in June, because he has this election coming up and singing about how he's already ruined the County with his high taxes on top of adding NEW taxes on top of LIPA increasing energy costs - wouldn't be too bright - even for Tom Suozzi. Rest assured though - this was and remains his plan and if the stupid people manage to find their way to the polls, and Helene shows them how to pull the TS lever down, come December - and that energy tax will be right back on his agenda - and so will every other tax, fee and increase he can think of because to hell with Nassau County. It's what's best for the STATE now, even if that means he focuses on "fixing" NYC and Upstate at the ExpENSe of Nassau County - which we've already seen - he's already screwed us over and over and over for his own, personal agenda.

[hedgehog II]

This is the perfect time to remind voters that no matter who was in office 4 years ago, taxes would have had to go up. Gulotta created the environment for that, remember? Even if he had run and won, Gulotta would have had to raise taxes. So yes, Suozzi raised taxes, and as a result Nassau is in better shape financially than it was 4 years ago. Crybaby conseratives just can't see this through all their tears.

This is the perfect time to remind voters that no matter who was in office 4 years ago, taxes would have had to go up. Gulotta created the environment for that, remember? Even if he had run and won, Gulotta would have had to raise taxes. So yes, Suozzi raised taxes, and as a result Nassau is in better shape financially than it was 4 years ago. Crybaby conseratives just can't see this through all their tears.

Maybe the government and the $100k+ NYC employees are, but are the residents? Isn't that who matters?

[Tax payer 101]

there is no 4.5 % energy tax in the current county plan. removed by suozzi in june.

can't complain about that anymore. find something else to complain about.

Suozzi and his erasor head dem's in the leg have assured the creditors that this will happen as a "gap" closing measure should other tax efforts fall short, ie: sales tax revenue. Which may look good now on the price of gasoline, but there aint nobody shoping at the malls. With the lumming bankrupcy legislation leverage living is comming to a screaching halt.

Do the math, 4 & 1/2 for each and every energy source, even firewood. So what is the cumlitive tax for a home owner that uses gas, oil & electric??

[hedgehog II]

I suppose you repubs would have been ecstatic if Nassau had gone bankrupt, which it probably would have under Gulotta.

[Who says?]

Who says Nassau is in better shape now? The bond rating went up? So what? That means the politicians can borrow money at lower interest rates - that's all that means - because wall street has the confidence that they'll pay it back. First, the goal is not to borrow money - to pay as you go. Suozzi hasn't been able to do that. Second, the reason there's confidence is because they see how willing Suozzi is to rape the Nassau County Taxpayers to fund his special interest groups and personal projects. He can always raise taxes to pay off his loans.

Open your eyes man - Suozzi doesn't even have the money to fix a leaky roof on the jail, renovate the old courthouse (his campaign promise), or finish a 4 year old memorial in Eisenhower park and he's painting the parks with left over paint and planting half dead flowers.

The average taxpayer can't even afford to go to the beach in this County anymore, let alone breath.

Nobody is better off except the NYC rejects that Suozzi rescued. Nobody.

[NYC is better off]

Do you want to hear something really, really funny? Do you know what Pete's last words were in his racist work on juvenile delinquency, Killer Kids? Well, here they are:


"It is time to move out of the city."


Gee, I guess that means that Mr. Reinharz will be coming to a neighborhood near you really soon.... Oh, I forgot, that would means he would have to pay the high real estate taxes in Nassau County that his buddies are forcing on us and he's already said he'd never move into Nassau County because the "taxes are too high".

Sure they are. We pay his salary.

Get rid of Suozzi & his NYC rejects in November.

[Not necessarily true]

This is the perfect time to remind voters that no matter who was in office 4 years ago, taxes would have had to go up. Gulotta created the environment for that, remember? Even if he had run and won, Gulotta would have had to raise taxes. So yes, Suozzi raised taxes, and as a result Nassau is in better shape financially than it was 4 years ago. Crybaby conseratives just can't see this through all their tears.


Taxes might have needed a slight increase, but not as much as Suozzi raised them and the rates - the assessment rates - didn't have to be increased all at once like Suozzi did. ALL the fees that Suozzi raised and all the surcharges didn't have to happen - selling 9 parks for $3million to the TONH, borrowing another $50 million to paint park benches, borrowing another $2 million for a science center on LIJ property, gifting $25 million to OTB for debts, spending over $16 million in patronage and importing 200 NYC residents all didn't have to happen. The State would have given the Republicans the same $100 Million bandaid that Suozzi got - because the Republicans set it up for him, they left him with unspent money in their budgets for the following year and new, unused computer systems that all the IT department had to do was hook up - which he didn't have to include, they got the assessment refunds (which he never paid off) bonded until this year and they set up NIFA (led by Republicans Zarb and Kessel) to help brainstorm a solution (so all Suozzi had to do was lay low and be led - instead of getting into the whole Peter Sylver, Campanella, Williams-Pellegrini, Industrial Development Agency, Jail overtime, Albany fights, Cop fights, School War, Town War, Sidikman take down bouts - ) and we'd be in the same place

except on higher, more secure and more affordable ground.

Suozzi was the wrong choice. Lets not make it again.

[Old country rd]

Suozzi's a shoe in. Get over it....outstanding poll numbers.

[hedgehog II]

When some repub know-very-little says "that just means politicians can borrow at lower interest rates", that means higher bond ratings save taxpayers money. And every municipality has to borrow $$. So what you said was pointless.

Gulotta's screw-ups paved the way for Suozzi getting elected. You repubs have only yourselves to blame.

[Pointless?]

The post said what you restated fellow. You are pointless. You had nothing to say so you should have said nothing. Not every local authority borrows money. The goal of a balanced budget is a pay as you go ledger. Otherwise - it's not balanced - and that's the point. Suozzi is a liar - he balanced nothing. He did nothing. He is nothing. He's done.

[hedgehog II]

Name a municipality the size of Nassau that doesn't borrow. The fact is higher bond ratings save taxpayers money. Period.

Name a municipality the size of Nassau that doesn't borrow. The fact is higher bond ratings save taxpayers money. Period.

If every bond issued was for necessary items, I could understand this, but they're not. Is Suozzi going to float bonds to build his zoo in Eisenhower Park? It's nice and all, but do we need to pay interest on a bond so we can feed the pigs? How about the capital plans to replace a working e-mail system instead of just expanding it. Millions went to that and it's still not done so they're throwing millions more into it. How about the skateboard park where kids aren't monitored to make sure they're wearing safety equipment... as Newsday kindly showed us.... that's a lawsuit waiting to happen so it's bond money plus more bond money to pay off the lawsuits.

Maybe we can borrow for less now, but we're still paying a crapload of money we didn't need to in the first place so it's a moot point.

[Think about fool]

Think about what you're arguing and then think about how we'll all paying an average of 40% higher bills to live here since Suozzi took over.

With all the tax and fee impositions and increases the man put on us over his one term - he should have been able to pay down the debt and not borrowed - especially with all the state and federal the REPUBLICANS sent him from Albany and Washington before he shot off his big mouth and caused a war with the very people in charge of the grant money we need.

He had a huge influx from sales revenue and high gas prices and yet the man SPENT every penney and after 4 years - can't even come up with a lousy $100K to finish a freaking Sept. 11, 2001 memorial in Eisenhower Park. 4 years to erect some lego models and the man can't even manage that.

Slapped some paint and planted a few flowers. That's what you got for your tax increase.

Give me a break. Suozzi is the worse thing that Nassau County has ever seen.

Or ever will.

Row A in November - all the way across !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hedgehog II]

By definition Suozzi can't be the worst thing to happen to Nassau County because Gulotta's screw-ups made him possible in the first place. If you take everything you said at face value as true, Nassau is still in better shape financially than it was under Gulotta. That's how bad Gulotta was. Nassau needed to borrow under Gulotta more than at any other time in its history, and it wasn't going to be able to borrow anything if its bond rating kept deteriorating. Getting rid of Gulotta was the best thing to happen to Nassau - ever.

[So?]

So - even if Suozzi isn't as bad as Gulotta (he's worse) who cares? It's not Suozzi versus Gulotta anymore - that free ride is over.
It's Suozzi versus Peterson - and Suozzi is so bad that Peterson must be better - pretty much the same platform Suozzi ran on but now it's reversed. Let's see how the Naked Emperor likes a real campaign?

[Here's the real truth]

Spiraling housing costs started in 1998 because of a class action lawsuit brought by the democrats, led by Hempstead lawyer Fred Brewington using plaintiffs from Roosevelt. The democrats claimed inequality in tax assessment. That's what the court finally agreed to while the republican led county fought like hell against it. Thanks to those democrats - everyone's tax assessments went up and will continue to go up as long as the market keeps going up every year - means higher taxes every year. Then the stupid voters blame the republicans and vote in the democrats who caused the problem and what happens? Suozzi raises taxes 20% to pay off the tax assessment refunds which nearly bankrupted the county - and guess what? He hasn't paid them off yet.

Bring back sanity - vote for Greg Peterson. It's the only hope.

[hedgehog II]

More republican revisionist history bulls*it. My whole point in bringing up Gulotta is that the mindless repubs on this board seem to believe Nassau was Shangri-La and then along came Suozzi and ruined everybody's life. That is as stupid as your average repub. I'm here to remind everybody that Nassau was thisclose to bankruptcy under Gulotta. Suozzi gets voted in and has to raise taxes to clean Gulotta's mess. And you know what? It has worked. Nassau's on a lot firmer footing than it was and property values continue to climb. Property values climb when you live in a desirable area. Nassau continues to be desirable.

Gulotta's screw-ups paved the way for Suozzi getting elected. You repubs have only yourselves to blame.
"Us republicans" agree that there was probably a need for change in Nassau County. However, What we have now in Tom Souzzi is an egotistical, arrogant, power hungry monger who will stop at nothing to advance his own causes. And the well being of Nassau County and the people who live and work here is not one of those causes. The man and the people under him have done many criminal and unethical things that have hurt many good people.I too hope he falls hard this November.

[desirable to who?]

More republican revisionist history bulls*it. My whole point in bringing up Gulotta is that the mindless repubs on this board seem to believe Nassau was Shangri-La and then along came Suozzi and ruined everybody's life. That is as stupid as your average repub. I'm here to remind everybody that Nassau was thisclose to bankruptcy under Gulotta. Suozzi gets voted in and has to raise taxes to clean Gulotta's mess. And you know what? It has worked. Nassau's on a lot firmer footing than it was and property values continue to climb. Property values climb when you live in a desirable area. Nassau continues to be desirable.

illegal immigrants and gangs?

sheriff reilly will blow the budget to bits.
He is gonna spend $6.3 million dollars above his budget
(for jail overtime)
thats all????