Nassau Notebook: State of the County, Officer Breitkopf Remembered

Mangano Delivers 'State of the County' Address

On Wednesday, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano delivered his "State of the County" address.

The speech focused on Nassau's slow "recovery" from what Mangano described as "a decade of poor fiscal policies."

"The legislature and I inherited a decade's worth of problems, along with several years of projected deficits," Mangano said.

Mangano said that cuts to the Nassau budget, under the watchful eye of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, began by reducing the workforce within his own administration.

"We are now operating with over 110 fewer appointed positions – often referred to as patronage," Mangano said. "This alone has saved our taxpayers 14 million dollars a year."

After Mangano's speech, the Democratic side of the legislature, led by Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, D-Freeport, quickly disagreed with the county executive and the way he is running the county [see video].

Click here to read Mangano's entire address.

Anniversary of Massapequa Park Police Shooting

One year later, it remains one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the Nassau County police department.

Monday marked the first anniversary of the "friendly fire" death of Officer Geoffrey Breitkopf, in Massapequa Park. The line of duty death outside of a suspect's home, left the area shaken and a family without a husband and father.

Click here to read more on the one-year anniversary remembering Officer Breitkopf.

County Announces Private-Sector Job Fair

Nassau County has partnered with Healthplex to sponsor a private-sector job fair on Wednesday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building Ceremonial Chamber -- the chamber is located on the second floor of 1550 Franklin Ave., Mineola.

Healthplex, the leading dental insurance company located in Uniondale, will be seeking candidates for all positions, both entry and management level, including customer service representatives, dental consultants, outreach representatives, computer operators, report analysts and administrative staff. Salaries range from $25,000 to $125,000. There is no charge for admission and parking is free.

Nassau Girl Scouts Celebrate 100th Anniversary

Mangano was joined by his wife Linda, Nassau County Legislators, Donna Ceravolo, CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County and additional members of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County on Monday to light the Dome of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building to celebrate "100 Years of Girl Scouting." The Girl Scouts of Nassau County Chorus held a Cookie Booth Sale at the Dome Lighting to raise money to offset the cost of their trip to Washington DC, where they will be performing at the 100th Anniversary Event called "Rock the Mall."

BOCES Announce Millions in Savings Through Cooperative Bidding Initiative

Mangano and Deputy BOCES Superintendent Bob Hanna announced that their partnership – the 21st Century Demonstration Grant School and the Municipal Savings Initiative – has so far saved $9.5 million through cooperative bidding.

The bulk of that savings, according to the county, about $8 million over the last two years, was derived from buying energy products such as natural gas and vehicle fuel, in bulk at a lower price. The rest was saved in the areas of transportation, auditing and telecommunications. The initiative includes Nassau County, BOCES and dozens of school districts and has served as a prototype for similar multi-jurisdictional collaborations in New York state and nationally.  It began with a $1 million 21st Century Performance Grant.

To learn more about the initiative, please visit the Nassau Shared Service Grant website.