C.W. Post Professor Fights for
Fiscal Reform in Nassau County
August 12, 1999 -- Nassau County government is in trouble. A series
of significant budget deficits during this decade has led to a staggering
$300 million-plus deficit for fiscal '99. This led to a recent downgrade
in the county bond rating. County government's solution? A real-estate
transfer tax that will raise about $51 million a year but expire on January
31, 2001.
One C.W. Post professor says he has a better idea. Dr. Justin Renz,
an associate professor of health care and public administration at the
C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, recommends streamlining government,
modernizing public delivery systems and creating an environment of "competitive
tension." Public services, for example, could be provided by private
or non-profit agencies that offer less expensive rates than their counterparts
in government.
Working with the Nassau Citizen's Budget Committee, a government fiscal
responsibility watchdog group, he came up with a formal proposal to study
the county's finances. He presented it to county officials in March, but
has yet to receive any serious interest from them. A proposal for an independent
board to oversee Nassau's finances was soundly rejected by state and county
legislators. The "blue-ribbon" committee that has been proposed
in its place would probably take months to become operational and be only
advisory in nature.
"The key problem is that Nassau County has not adopted good government
management principles," says Dr. Renz. "They're not organized
properly; their fiscal management stresses short-term, Band-Aid fixes rather
than permanent , long-term solutions, and their personnel are overpaid
and inadequately motivated. If this study is done you could cut county
government expenditures by 10-15 percent. So we're talking about savings
of close to $300 million, which would balance the deficit they currently
have without raising taxes."
In conducting the study, Dr. Renz would draw on his experience as a
former director of the Nassau County Office of Productivity and Administrative
Analysis and as Deputy Director of the Nassau County Budget Office (NCBC).
His initial proposal includes an overview of the problems plaguing the
county and possible solutions.
Dr. Renz would scrutinize Nassau's organization, budgeting/finance,
administration and delivery of services. But he already has a good idea
of what needs to be done. The government, he says, has to do such things
as cut jobs, consolidate departments and emphasize productivity improvements.
"This is what we teach the students in our public administration
program," says Dr. Renz. "We also teach them that good government
is always good politics."
Despite the apparent rejection of his proposal, Dr. Renz remains confident
that they will eventually commission the basic elements of the study. "If
they're smart they'll do it," he says. "It is something that
would benefit county taxpayers now and in the future."
For more information call the C.W. Post Public
Relations Office at (516) 299-2333 or e-mail pr@cwpost.liu.edu
or send mail to: Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, 720 Northern
Blvd., Brookville, New York 11548-1300.
