After a public tug-of-war over funding, the Suffolk County Legislature overrode County Executive Steve Levy’s 727 line-item vetoes in the $2.6 billion 2009 budget on Nov. 18.

The budget, which originally passed the legislature on Nov. 5, was substantially trimmed down by Levy on Monday, Nov. 17. He objected to what he said was more than $40 million in new spending over the next two years, citing funding difficulties in the wake of the global financial crisis. His cuts would have amounted to about $7 million.

The “recession budget,” as lawmakers called it, maintains funding to the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility, the hiring of 80 replacement police officers and sustains funding for health clinics, day care and food pantries, while maintaining a freeze on general fund property taxes.

The Legislature notes that the finalized budget was also trimmed $15.1 from the Levy’s proposed budget, while they approved $9.1 million in new revenues, including a 1.57 percent increase in Police District Property taxes.

The news comes as Gov. David Paterson and leaders from the New York State Legislature continue to negotiate how best to implement his proposed two-year $5.2 billion deficit reduction plan. The proposed cuts to school, higher education, Medicaid, municipal aid, workforce assistance and other areas have received resistance from state lawmakers. A revised spending package that was expected to be released on Nov. 18 has yet to materialize.