Nassau legislators have unanimously approved a request to offer buyouts to county employees with over 10 consecutive years of full-time service. The Voluntary Separation Agreement between the county and its six public employee unions will be available to eligible employees from Feb. 1 to March 5. Participating employees would receive a lump-sum payment of $2,000 for each year of their service.
The buyout program, which aims to save $27 million this year, is pending the approval of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, which regulates the county’s budget.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman included the buyout program in his proposed $4.4 billion budget for 2026. Blakeman’s stated goal to “accelerate the number of retirements” to yield savings could come to fruition as over 1,300 of the 3,400 eligible employees are over 55 years of age, according to the county’s Office of Legislative Budget Review.
Bipartisan concerns about the program, however, have surfaced, on issues of understaffing and loss of veteran employees in law enforcement, social services, and 911 operators.
Nassau County Legislator Scott Davis has stressed the need for establishing an effective employee replacement plan to avoid hindering crucial social services.
Nassau County’s largest employee union, CSEA Local 830, estimates that about 300 eligible employees are interested in taking the buyout, based on their internal polling after the bill was announced.
“Our agreement to the incentive was driven by the need to protect what our longest-serving members have earned through years of service,” CSEA Local’s President Kris Kalender said in a phone interview. “We will hold the county to its commitment to maintain its budgeted headcount so our members are not put at risk,” he added.
