The Nassau County Legislature on Monday approved a one-year extension of police union contracts covering the PBA, SOA, DAI and COBA with a roughly 4.5% wage increase, at a total cost of $43 million over two years.
Andy Persic of the Office of Management and Budget told legislators the cost would be $17 million this year and $36 million next year.
The legislature also approved a $974,300 two-year contract with 192 Branch Interior Services, Inc. for asbestos and lead abatement at county facilities, funded entirely through capital and awarded to a minority- and women-owned business, according to Deputy Public Works Commissioner Douglas Tooman.
Lawmakers approved a new towing and impound contract with Bill's Towing Service covering police zones 18 and 23, requiring 24-hour, seven-day service and an $80,210 annual franchise fee, Deputy Chief Jeanine Palazzolo said.
An 18-month extension of a disaster debris monitoring contract with Thompson Consulting Services also passed, along with a $1,137,220 supplemental appropriation, funded by the state, to pay the salaries of 24 crime victim advocates in the District Attorney's office, Assistant District Attorney Dennis McDermott said.
The legislature approved an agreement allowing the county to provide wastewater treatment for a facility operated by the Manhasset Lakeville Water District.
Members approved two supplemental appropriations of $693,230 and $1,223,875, both fully state-funded, for cost-of-living increases in adult and children's mental health programs, fiscal director Sima Zaki said, along with a $16,949 Safe Harbors grant for social services presented by Persic.
A new adjunct faculty agreement with Nassau Community College's largest union, representing more than 2,000 members, was approved after negotiations produced lower annual percentage increases than the union's initial request, saving the college nearly $300,000 over the term of the agreement, according to a college administration representative.
Legislators also approved a $131,613 budget transfer for the Office of Emergency Management to fund digital marketing aimed at recruiting younger volunteer firefighters, and a $25,000 hotel/motel tax grant to the Village of Stewart Manor for its 100th anniversary, which Parks Commissioner Darcy Bellet said will fund historical society museum displays and a drone video project.
Four items related to the county's annual budget passed by a vote of four to zero with three abstentions, as some legislators said they wanted to wait for upcoming budget hearings before voting.
At the close of the finance committee, one legislator asked when a proposed gas tax holiday bill would be put on the agenda, saying it was needed to provide relief to constituents.
The finance committee chairman responded that budget hearings later in the week could be an avenue for that inquiry.