The county executives of Nassau and Suffolk counties held a joint press conference on Feb.14, appropriately Valentine's Day. Newly installed Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi introduced Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney as "our friend from the East who made the first phone call I received after I was elected." Mr. Gaffney lauded "the improvement since January 8 in the cooperation of the county executive." Although Gaffney is a Republican and Suozzi a Democrat, both men referred to mutual regional concerns. "An inability to deal with them is detrimental to both of us," Gaffney said. "We may not be able to work together on every issue but we can on a lot of them." Both men stressed the fact that the two counties have a combined population of 2.6 million, "significant enough to get attention from New York State and the federal government." Suozzi said that the fact that he and Gaffney were from different political parties could be an asset. "The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts," he said.

Aside from mutual congratulations, the two leaders had a specific agenda on which they hope to work together. An urgent priority is that the New York State Legislature pass a bill on early retirement by April 15. This bill will enable senior, higher-paid county employees to retire and be replaced by entry level, lower-paid people. Suozzi said that this could result in significant financial savings. "August or September will be too late," he said. "We need the benefits this year."

A second area on which the two hope to work together is that of shared facilities. Suffolk County has a new state-of-the-art police academy while Nassau spends $250,000 a year to send trailers to its police academy, according to Suozzi. Suffolk needs a juvenile detention facility while Nassau has one. "The juvenile detention facility could use an update," Suozzi said. "With Suffolk's cooperation we could see both facilities improved."

Both men agreed that there must be bi-county emergency preparedness so that there can be a regional response to possible terrorism. "Terrorism will not stop at the Nassau-Suffolk line," said Suozzi. Gaffney added that both counties have plans in place but said that there should be total integration.

The two county executives agree that the state government should reimburse Nassau and Suffolk for patrols that county police do on New York State roads, such as the Long Island Expressway. "Other parts of the state, including Westchester, are reimbursed," said Gaffney, "but we've never been able to get it done. Working together we should."

The Taylor law should be modified, Gaffney said, especially when it comes to binding arbitration. "Binding arbitration has had a result that was not intended when it was drafted. The arbitrator does not consider a municipality's ability to pay." Suozzi added that when negotiations over police contracts begin, "the police union should take into account the enormous disparity in pay between Nassau and Suffolk and New York City." The suburban law enforcement agencies are paid significantly more than their city counterparts.

"This is just the beginning," Suozzi said and Gaffney added, "We will both go to Albany together sometime in March. Later we will go to Washington." In an aside to the press the irrepressible Suozzi said, "This will last for as long as he can stand me." After a brief question and answer session, the press conference was concluded. Asked when the last time was that the two counties worked together at this level, Gaffney replied tersely, "never."