A Long Island government official wants to close a projected $310 million budget shortfall by cutting more than 1,000 jobs from the Nassau County work force, including police officers.
County Executive Edward Mangano says if he doesn't cut the payroll, county property taxes could rise by 39 percent. Nassau property taxes are already among the highest in the country.
Mangano has already said he will cut the county's number of police precincts from eight to six. The elimination of police jobs is being seriously considered, though Mangano's office said it wants to avoid laying off police officers.
In response to safety concerns, Mangano vowed to shift more officers toward the street and away from the desk, regardless of the number of officers on the books.
But Nassau Police Benevolence Association president James Carver did not buy Mangano's proposal.
"No matter how wants to spin it, there will be less officers on the street," Carver told NBC New York.
Nassau County, just east of New York City, has been struggling for a number of years to trim growing deficits. Earlier this year, a state fiscal watchdog created a decade ago by the state legislature took control of overseeing Nassau's finances. That agency, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, did not immediately comment.
Mangano's plan would leave 7,400 employees on the payroll. He also wants employees to start paying 25 percent of their health insurance.
