Announcing a New Senior Discounts Program
I’m pleased to announce the launch of a new Nassau County Senior Discount Program. In collaboration with the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, we’ve created a program that will benefit both seniors AND Nassau County businesses! And when Nassau businesses do well, the County does well – after all, sales tax accounts for about 40 percent of the County’s revenue.
Nassau County is home to approximately 300,000 residents who are 60 years old and over, and about 45,000 small businesses (50 employees or less) and many large companies.
Phase one of the program includes signing up participating businesses who can register for inclusion in the Senior Discount Program. Businesses can register using this convenient online form. Registration is free and the program is open to all Nassau County businesses.
Phase two will be the publication and dissemination of the list. Once the list reaches suitable geographic and business-type diversity, a list will be printed and made available at senior centers, senior events and County offices. An online, mobile friendly list will also be published.
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Last week I went to Kings Market in Garden City to kick-off our new Nassau County Senior Discount Program. Joining me were Anissa Moore, Deputy County Executive, Health & Human Services; Marlin Stephenson; Comptroller Phillips; Frank Camarano, president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce; Demetrious Blunt; Lionel Chitty, Executive Director, Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs; Leo Rodriguez, Kings store manager; and Debbie Pugliese, Deputy Commissioner, Nassau County Office for the Aging. |
Nassau County Earns a Perfect Score from NYS Comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System
Nassau County has earned a score of zero – a perfect score – from the New York State Comptroller's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. This indicates the County is currently under no fiscal stress and not susceptible to fiscal stress at this time. The Office of the State Comptroller measures fiscal health using a point system graded from 0 to 100. The chart above highlights how the County’s fiscal stress score has significantly improved over the last two years, from 45.0 to 0.0, which is the best score that can be given. This is a result of continuing operating surpluses due to increased sales tax revenue and improvements in financial management and cash position. Consistent with the County’s high scores from the major credit rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s & Fitch), the NYS Fiscal Stress Score is another objective measure indicating the County’s fiscal condition is strong and we should no longer be under a NIFA control period. Read more about the County’s outstanding fiscal health here.
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Preventing Fraud & Cybercrime
Among the initiatives under way in the Comptroller’s Office is the County-wide implementation of an e-claims payment processing system. This new way of handling vendor invoices is greatly improving efficiency at the County by reducing or eliminating paper claims and checks, and giving our business partners the ability to submit invoices and manage their accounts online. To keep fraudsters and scammers at bay, my office has been working closely with the County’s Departments of Information Technology and Procurement & Compliance to implement state-of-the-art security features including:
- Multi-Factor Authentication, a two-step vendor account verification process,
- Account Validation Service, which verifies vendors’ profiles and bank accounts,
- a quality control process known as Infodex for Automatic Clearing House (ACH) electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments, and
- an online vendor W-9 verification process.
The online e-claims process improves efficiency and speeds up payment time, and these security enhancements – together with a vigilant staff in our Claims Division – will help to keep County and vendor transactions safe. Learn more about our Vendor Claims Division here.
Hot Off the Press: The Comptroller’s Scorecard
Financial transparency is an essential component of my mission as Nassau County Comptroller. I’m pleased to announce the latest addition to our Open Nassau Transparency Portal: an updated Comptroller's Scorecard, which displays financial and economic performance metrics to give you a snapshot of Nassau’s fiscal health. Visit the Comptroller’s Scorecard for a high-level view of the County’s operating funds, Fiscal Stress Score, Sales Tax performance, debt, ratings, and economic data. To see more detailed information, dive into Open Nassau where you can view the County’s Open Checkbook, Open Payroll, Open Budget and more.
This data-driven transparency dashboard is designed to give Nassau County taxpayers unfettered access to the County’s fiscal operations.
For ongoing updates from me and the Office of the Comptroller, follow me on Facebook or Instagram. In addition to news and reports from my office, I post important information about the economy, trends in employment and things such as the Consumer Price Index, and more.
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