|
March 2026
As New York State prepares its budget, Nassau County taxpayers should be aware of the impact the NYS budget has on our wallets. Under NYS’s progressive budgeting, wealthier counties subsidize the State’s operations, with Nassau sending billions more dollars to Albany than we get back in funding. Nassau residents help make it possible for NYS to balance its budget and Albany owes it to our taxpayers to respect that contribution by maintaining fiscal discipline. The proposed NYS budget continues to feature increased spending that will cause Nassau’s role in subsidizing the State to grow even larger.
Every year, Nassau County residents send billions of dollars to the State through income taxes, MTA taxes, State taxes on gasoline, your driver’s license fees, vehicle registrations, beer, wine and liquor, tobacco products, estate and real estate transfers, and more. In 2025, Nassau sent a total of $9.6 billion to Albany while receiving $4.8 billion in State funding.
To analyze the Governor’s proposed budget for 2026-27, we looked at some of the State’s spending, starting with Medicaid, New York’s largest expense. Last year, we reported that NYS spends more in Medicaid than Florida and Texas combined, despite having a population smaller than either.
In terms of per capita spending, New York far exceeds every other state in the entire country in Medicaid spending. The NYS budget proposal includes a five percent increase in Medicaid spending, which has already increased 33 percent over the past five years.
 New York State also leads the nation in education spending – more than $33,000 per-pupil, 91 percent above the national K-12 average. Yet New York State posts barely average academic outcomes. The state’s fourth- and eighth-graders are of average proficiency in reading and are slightly below average in math. Only 31 percent of New York eighth-graders were proficient in reading; 26 percent were proficient in math. The State’s education spending has increased by 28 percent over the past five years and will go up another four percent under the terms of the proposed budget.
The problem is that the State’s spending is out of control. Affordability is the new buzz word, but New York State’s two highest expense categories continue to increase exponentially while revenues remain virtually flat.
NYS Comptroller DiNapoli said the State has “a structural imbalance where spending projections far outpace receipts projections.” According to experts, including NYS Comptroller DiNapoli, the imbalances are at levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis of 2009.
Each of us is expected to manage our family’s budget despite rising costs and somehow we make it work. How? We control our spending and work within a budget.
But the State continues to rely on the wealthier counties funding its unchecked spending through taxes and fees on virtually everything we do and buy. We understand the principle of wealthier counties subsidizing a larger share of the budget, but as a net contributor, Nassau’s burden is growing.
We give disproportionately, and at a rate much higher than what we get back in State funding. The gap between what Nassau sends to the State vs. what we receive is $4.8 billion and has increased 46 percent over the past five years.
 Suffolk County also pays more than they receive. Suffolk’s gap increased 55 percent over the past five years to a gap of $3.8 billion.
Over the last 15 years Nassau’s funding gap has increased a staggering 250 percent.
While residents and businesses continue to tighten their belts in order to balance their own budgets amid rising costs, NYS just continues to spend.
Nassau County has not raised taxes on our residents or businesses for the past four years, yet we continue to subsidize the State.
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli had this to say in his Report on the State Fiscal Year [2026-]2027 Executive Budget: “The trajectory of State spending has been steep, and is projected to continue to increase faster than inflation and projected revenues. As a result, the [NYS] Division of the Budget projects cumulative budget gaps of $27.5 billion between State Fiscal Years 2028 and 2030.”
The New York State budget is due to be finalized by April 1. Our State elected officials must consider the implications of excessive spending included in the Governor’s proposed financial plan which Nassau County taxpayers subsidize.
March is Women's History Month
As a female trailblazer, Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips is proud to recognize Women’s History Month. Comptroller Phillips was the first woman to be elected Nassau County Comptroller in 2021, the first female Senator to represent Long Island’s 7th Senate District, and the first woman to be elected Mayor of the Village of Flower Hill in Manhasset. Here she is pictured with fellow pioneer, Town of Hempstead Deputy Supervisor Dorothy L. Goosby, who made history when she was elected to the Hempstead Town Board on November 2, 1999. Deputy Supervisor Goosby was the first African American woman to serve on the Town Board and was the first Councilperson to be elected to six consecutive terms. Deputy Supervisor Goosby is also a civil rights icon, whose advocacy led to the establishment of the Town Council’s councilmanic districting for better voter representation.
|
Senior Discount Program
The Comptroller’s Senior Discount Program continues to expand. There are now more than 430 local businesses that offer senior discounts. These can be accessed on our Senior Discount portal, and sorted by town or business name, or filtered by business category. The Comptroller’s Office also prints a booklet listing all of the businesses and their discounts for distribution at senior centers and community events County-wide. If you would like a copy of the booklet, call (516) 571-2386 or email nccomptroller@nassaucountyny.gov.
If you have a business and would like to add your company's Senior Discount to our list, call or email for instructions: (516) 571-2386 or NCcomptroller@nassaucountyny.gov
|
|
