The Lie:
County Executive Bruce Blakeman lies when he says Nassau County no longer needs financial oversight by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA).
Why You May Believe the Lie:
Touting budget surpluses, Blakeman has called for ending NIFA’s oversight of the County’s finances. In early April 2026, Blakeman said the County is “more financially stable than ever.”
The Truth:
NIFA had to force Blakeman to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) when he proposed his illegal $4.2 billion budget for 2025, riddled with serious risks. More recently, approval of the County’s 2026 budget was on the condition that Blakeman provide a contingency plan to plug a potential shortfall.
NIFA was created to address Nassau’s fiscal mismanagement largely due to increasing tax assessment appeals in the 1990s when the County nearly went bankrupt. That problem remains today even though Blakeman promised to fix the County’s broken assessment system.
NIFA has again raised concerns about additional systemic problems in Blakeman’s 2026 budget, including but not limited to:
- Relying on reserve funds for expenses instead of building new, recurring revenue streams, reflecting a lack of long-term fiscal discipline;
- Overestimation of sales tax revenues;
- Underestimation of the cost of employee health insurance.
Action You Can Take:
- Share this post on your social media and email and discuss it with your friends.
- Contact Blakeman and ask him to stop relying on the County’s reserves to balance the budget, and instead encourage him to keep his promise to fix the tax assessment system, both of which would go a long way in fixing the County’s “shaky” finances – via email at nassaucountyny.gov/481/County-Executive, or call Blakeman at 516-571-6000 or 516-571-3131 – prompt 5, then “other”.
Source & Additional Media:
- News 12 Long Island: Semder, K. (2024/06/17), “Nassau County reports budget surplus again, wants end of NIFA control over finances”
- Newsday: Ostadan, B. (2024/12/19), “NIFA board approves $4.2B Nassau County budget for 2025”
- NIFA: Executive Report (2024/10/22), “Nassau County Interim Finance Authority: Review of Nassau County’s Proposed Multi-Year Financial Plan Fiscal 2025 – 2028”
- NIFA: “What We Do”
- Wikipedia: “Nassau Interim Finance Authority”
- Politics NY: Formisano, N. (2024/10/29), ” ‘Major Risks’ in 2025 Nassau Budget, NIFA Report Says”
- Long Island Herald: Malaszczyk, M. (2024/02/16), “Nassau County tax assessments remain frozen”
- Long Island Press: Bonfigli0, B. (2021/11/16), “Blakeman Unseats Nassau Exec Curran in Official Vote Count”
- Newsday, “Nassau’s state-backed financial watchdog approves county’s $4.4B budget with condition” By Candice Ferrette, December 19, 2025
