In the wake of Governor George Pataki's announcement of his fiscal recovery plan dictating $270 million in cuts over the next four years, social service advocates staged a press conference earlier this week in protest of the plan and to present an opposing plan that they say would eliminate the need for future cuts.

On the steps of the Supreme Court Building in Mineola, Jack O'Connell, executive director of Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, called for the county legislature to reject the Pataki plan because it attempts to place the "burden of eliminating the county's debt on the backs of Nassau's poor and middle class children and families."

"If $120 million is removed from the budget [by November], services for children in childcare, services in mental health, substance abuse, youth and family services will be eliminated in the core and Nassau's quality of life will be changed irreparably," said O'Connell.

Citing the need for a source of recurring revenue to cure the county's fiscal crisis, the Fight for Families Coalition has offered a plan that would incorporate funds raised through either an increase in property taxes or the creation of a county income tax. According to the plan, the county would restructure its debt over six to seven years instead of the four years proposed in the Pataki plan. Additionally, the district would reduce expenditures equitably and institutionalize cost based accounting.

The culmination of these measures would be the restoration of half of the funding that has been cut from the county's discretionary funding, which provides for many social and human services.

"We are totally clear that making Nassau whole, financially, is going to require reductions on the expenditures side but it also will require increases on the revenue side," said O'Connell.

The probability that the county legislature will pursue or accept the coalition's plan is unlikely. The leaders of the Democratic and Republican delegations have each voiced their support for the Pataki plan.

According to Bob Lazaro, spokesperson for the Republican Caucus, Republicans on the county legislature are planning to fully support the "home rule" legislation necessary to enact the Pataki plan when it is introduced. He further stated that an income tax is a new tax, which is something they are trying to avoid.

Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs stated that while she sympathizes with their situation, any future cuts are not the fault of the Zarb/Pataki plan, but rather ten years of poor financial management in the county. She further stated that while the option of an income tax is a credible idea, the county does not have the time to do an adequate analysis of its impact. Wall Street credit rating agencies have set a deadline of June 30 for the county to address its poor fiscal situation.