Since 2022, Nassau County has paid out over $7.58 million to outside consultants. To make matters worse, the County has authorized a total $23.29 million in contracts since 2023, leaving a lot more to be spent. This is a total that was readily obvious, there is likely much more.
The direction this is headed is crystal clear:
➡ $7.58 million already gone
➡ $15 million+ locked in and ready to be spent
➡ Two firms alone are sitting on contracts worth $8.9 million
None of the dollars are being spent locally and are being shipped out of town.
At this rate, the problem isn’t going away — it’s about to get worse.
With that kind of money, the county could’ve built its own Ivy League engineering school. Instead, we’re left wondering…
Who’s Doing the Work?
If consultants are doing all the planning, engineering and execution, then:
- What are all the county staff doing?
- Why do we have so many employees on payroll while also hiring out this much work?
Taxpayers have a right to ask:
If we’re going to outsource everything, do we still need this many in-house staff?
A Growing Tab, A Shrinking Explanation
Here’s what we know:
- $7.58 million has already been paid out in just under four years
- $15million+ new consulting contracts have been signed since 2023
- $8.9 million in contracts have gone to just two out of town firms
That’s a massive chunk of taxpayer money. And so far, we haven’t even seen all the deliverables.
Real Questions the County Must Answer
- Why are taxpayer-funded staff hiring outside firms to do their jobs?
- If we need that much outside expertise, why not hire those experts full-time?
- Are these contracts being competitively bid — or just handed out to the usual suspects?
- Are there personal or professional connections between any consultants and county officials?
- Are we complicating some of these projects so much where only very large out of town firms are qualified?
- What’s the oversight process? Who’s keeping track?
And here’s the kicker:
How long before the county hires a consultant… to figure out how to cut down on consultants?
(Spoiler: Other governments have actually done that.)
DOGE Is Watching
This level of spending deserves serious transparency. Consultants have their place — in small, strategic doses. But $30 million in contracts is not a small dose.
That’s a full-blown consulting addiction — and it’s about to hit taxpayers harder than ever.
Nassau County either needs to justify this spending — line by line — or seriously rethink its approach to hiring and staffing.
Because if we’re just going to pay someone else to do the work…
maybe we don’t need so many people on staff.
