If they were interested in the opportunity for money to be tossed/bet
both Nassau OTB and Suffolk OTB would be open 365 days of the year.
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos on June 12, 2013. Photo Credit: Howard Schnapp
Sales
taxes dropped $70.7 million below budget in Nassau last year while
collections in Suffolk fell $28.5 million short of its adopted 2014
budget, officials said Friday.
The slowdown in sales tax revenue on Long Island had been predicted but became final this week when the state sent its last 2014 sales tax distribution checks to the counties.
Both counties had expected a drop-off in collections when they adopted this year's budgets. But the decline was greater than projected, leaving both counties to start 2015 with a shortfall in sales taxes of about $20 million in Nassau and $19 million in Suffolk.
StoryNassau eyeing $20 million budget shortfallStoryAnalysts: $9.6M more in Suffolk sales taxesStoryMaragos: Budget may have $221M shortfall In Nassau, sales taxes not only came in below budget but actually dropped $47.3 million below 2013's total of $1.138 billion -- the third time since 1990 that the county collected less in sales tax revenue than the year before. Records show the only other year-over-year declines came during the 2008-2009 recession when revenue dropped $60.8 million over the two years.
Suffolk saw a small uptick in collections last year, increasing from $1.28 billion in 2013 to nearly $1.3 billion in 2014.
Nassau officials have blamed last year's harsh winter for part of the decline in sales taxes. Both state and county officials say revenue slowed because of increasing Internet sales, which generates less sales tax, and a return to normal spending after an artificial boost in 2013 as homeowners and businesses rebuilt after superstorm Sandy.
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In Suffolk, Robert Lipp, director of the legislature's
Budget Review Office, also attributed the less-than-projected sales tax
collection to declining gasoline prices at the end of the year.
County Comptroller George Maragos said Nassau's "economy appears to be growing slower than the regional and national economies, people have yet to see wage growth and the shift to online purchases is having an accelerating negative impact on local business."
The Nassau legislature's Budget Review Office had predicted last August that sales tax collections would come in $70 million below budget. In a memo Friday, Budget Review Director Maurice Chalmers said the county needs sales taxes to grow 4.8 percent this year -- compared to the 3 percent budgeted -- to overcome the $20 million shortfall. "However, it would be premature to make any 2015 projections at this time," he wrote.
Deputy County Executive Eric Naughton, who oversees finances for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, said he agrees "that it is premature to say there is a $20 million problem. We'll have a better sense of where sales taxes will be in the middle of April when we get the first quarter results."
Recognizing the possibility of a shortfall, he added, the administration has already reduced department budgets by $10 million and identified potential surpluses in other areas, such as health insurance.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's administration has said it has identified $20 million in cuts, including overtime, supplies and contracted services, and will continue to control spending and hiring.
Legislative Minority Leader Kevin McCaffery (R-Lindenhurst) said there has to be more of an effort to cut costs. He said the Bellone administration was top-heavy. "It's almost like it's guaranteed employment for anybody in politics who's lost an election," he said.
Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) said he has asked Lipp to put together some things about what the county can do to cut costs. He also said it's important for the state to give Suffolk more money for services such as its bus system and for child care, to bring funding in line with what New York pays to Nassau and Westchester counties.
With Paul LaRocco
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
The slowdown in sales tax revenue on Long Island had been predicted but became final this week when the state sent its last 2014 sales tax distribution checks to the counties.
Both counties had expected a drop-off in collections when they adopted this year's budgets. But the decline was greater than projected, leaving both counties to start 2015 with a shortfall in sales taxes of about $20 million in Nassau and $19 million in Suffolk.
StoryNassau eyeing $20 million budget shortfallStoryAnalysts: $9.6M more in Suffolk sales taxesStoryMaragos: Budget may have $221M shortfall In Nassau, sales taxes not only came in below budget but actually dropped $47.3 million below 2013's total of $1.138 billion -- the third time since 1990 that the county collected less in sales tax revenue than the year before. Records show the only other year-over-year declines came during the 2008-2009 recession when revenue dropped $60.8 million over the two years.
Suffolk saw a small uptick in collections last year, increasing from $1.28 billion in 2013 to nearly $1.3 billion in 2014.
Nassau officials have blamed last year's harsh winter for part of the decline in sales taxes. Both state and county officials say revenue slowed because of increasing Internet sales, which generates less sales tax, and a return to normal spending after an artificial boost in 2013 as homeowners and businesses rebuilt after superstorm Sandy.
County Comptroller George Maragos said Nassau's "economy appears to be growing slower than the regional and national economies, people have yet to see wage growth and the shift to online purchases is having an accelerating negative impact on local business."
The Nassau legislature's Budget Review Office had predicted last August that sales tax collections would come in $70 million below budget. In a memo Friday, Budget Review Director Maurice Chalmers said the county needs sales taxes to grow 4.8 percent this year -- compared to the 3 percent budgeted -- to overcome the $20 million shortfall. "However, it would be premature to make any 2015 projections at this time," he wrote.
Deputy County Executive Eric Naughton, who oversees finances for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, said he agrees "that it is premature to say there is a $20 million problem. We'll have a better sense of where sales taxes will be in the middle of April when we get the first quarter results."
Recognizing the possibility of a shortfall, he added, the administration has already reduced department budgets by $10 million and identified potential surpluses in other areas, such as health insurance.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's administration has said it has identified $20 million in cuts, including overtime, supplies and contracted services, and will continue to control spending and hiring.
Legislative Minority Leader Kevin McCaffery (R-Lindenhurst) said there has to be more of an effort to cut costs. He said the Bellone administration was top-heavy. "It's almost like it's guaranteed employment for anybody in politics who's lost an election," he said.
Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) said he has asked Lipp to put together some things about what the county can do to cut costs. He also said it's important for the state to give Suffolk more money for services such as its bus system and for child care, to bring funding in line with what New York pays to Nassau and Westchester counties.
With Paul LaRocco
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Home > LI
Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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