Nassau Exec Bruce Blakeman submits $4.2B county budget — featuring no tax hike and more cops

Nassau’s top elected official unveiled his spending plan for 2026 on Monday — touting a “fiscally sound” blueprint that continues to hold the line on taxes.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s $4.2 billion budget wouldn’t raise property taxes for the fourth year in a row, even though it adds over 50 new cops and 15 other county employees to the payroll. 

“I am pleased to submit my fourth consecutive no tax increase, fiscally sound budget that takes into account our additional investments in law enforcement and keeping the quality of services at the most cost efficient amount,” Blakeman told The Post. 

The Republican’s proposal also funds two new police academy classes, 100 recruits each, along with two 30-person correction officer classes — echoing Blakeman’s mantra of keeping Nassau safe. 

Since taking office in 2022, Blakeman said he has hired over 600 law enforcement officers, and vetoed over $150 million in tax hikes approved by his Democratic predecessor Laura Curran. 

“As a result, major crimes have declined year after year and are now down by over 13% in 2025,” Blakeman said in his budget message to the county Legislature, obtained by The Post. 

“These efforts have been crucial to keeping Nassau the safest county in America and the best place to live in all of New York,” Blakeman said. 

The budget is expected to pass Nassau’s GOP-controlled Legislature when it is brought to a vote this fall. 

“The measures laid out in this proposal reflect our ongoing commitment to ensuring Nassau remains a safe, affordable, and prosperous place for our residents to live, work, and raise their families,” Blakeman’s letter read. 

But not every lawmaker seems hyped over Blakeman’s big, beautiful budget. 

“Bruce Blakeman is peddling fiction — pretending he’s adding cops while we’re bleeding detectives, and bragging about ‘stopping’ a tax hike that never existed in the first place,” said Seth Koslow, a Nassau legislator who is facing off against Blakeman in November. 

“Anyone living on Long Island knows the truth: under Blakeman, taxes and the cost of living have only gone up,” Koslow said.