Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s proposed budget of $3.1 billion has been passed without any changes made by the Legislature.
The Legislature’s budget working group originally put forward a $1.5 million dollar package of changes, which included the ability to provide drug counselors to combat opioid misuse, needed emergency 911 dispatchers, child protective service workers, and auditors to help save on the $450 million spent each year on employee health insurance.
But the package was stopped due to a 9-9 deadlock. The seven Republican caucus members and two Democrats voted no, and the rest of the Democrats voted yes. When a majority could not be reached, the budget passed untouched.
Newsday says Republicans said the package did not address what they called “overblown revenue estimates and understated expenses.” The two Democrats, Legislators William Lindsay Sarah Anker, had similar concerns.