News: Nassau County’s Ticket Plan
(Long Island, N.Y.) Nassau County has made the headlines time and again for the financial crises that continually plague the county. Several plans have been designed by County Executive Edward Mangano to get Nassau County out of the hole. This time, Nassau County officials have proposed collecting up to $16.2 million on unpaid tickets.
The new program will go in effect this July and will attempt to use unpaid parking tickets to collect revenue. In previous months, Nassau County has also used roadway violations as a source of income. A new wave of red-light cameras was expected to be implemented throughout the county, which some say is another attempt to obtain money from Nassau County residents.
This time around, Nassau County Officials are targeting fourteen thousand motorists who haven’t paid three or more tickets during an eighteen-month period. The new policy will apply to unpaid parking tickets, as well as red-light violations. This, to many Nassau County residents, comes as a double-whammy.
In the meantime, Nassau County drivers will have the next two months to negotiate reduced settlements on outstanding tickets. The new program will also target cars parked at any public street or parking location in Nassau County. A locked boot will be placed on the wheel of the violator’s vehicle until the tickets are paid, and will have to be removed by the county.
Under the old system, the names of violators were turned over to a collection agency. This time around, Mangano claims to be cracking down on traffic violators and is determined to collect the money he believes is owed to fellow Nassau County taxpayers. Nonetheless, Nassau County residents wonder whether the new system will make people more or less likely to pay their tickets.
According to the Adopted Multi-Year Financial Plan Fiscal for 2011-2014, Nassau County Officials still claim that there will not be a property tax increase for residents. They also claim to have the lowest government staff headcount since the fifties and to be cutting waste/duplicate services. Their final promise is that Nassau County will live within its means.
Most of the legislation in the new plan is centered around the Tax Payer Relief Act. The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, a state-run oversee program, will complete its review of the county on August 31st of this year. The review will focus on areas of the county’s operations that are most likely to produce savings and make the most out of federal and state aid.
During recent months Nassau County continues to be the subject of a variety of financial mishaps. Controversy over the development of a Long Island Bus has come to light, surrounding a scandal of money owed to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Reports have stated that the struggle in court has resulted in favoring the side of the MTA.
Nassau County may eventually have to cough up $20 million to be paid to the MTA, which claims that it lent the county $51 million in 1996. According to some reports, Nassau County had promised to pay back double the amount it borrowed fifteen years ago, and has made good on $89 million. Though Nassau County tried to get out of the agreement and has claimed to appeal court rulings, it may soon have to fork over the difference in addition to interest and legal fees.
