The new leadership of the Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees says its benefit fund has suffered steep financial losses, with reserves falling from more than $30 million to possibly $18 million into next year.
According to board of trustees Chairman Terry Maccarrane, the new administration discovered that “the benefit fund was hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of dollars more per month than the fund was receiving through the county’s contributions.” He said the findings were reinforced through an examination of publicly available financial documents filed by the fund.
In a letter to nearly 12,000 beneficiaries, Maccarrane stated that “the only reason why the benefit fund has remained solvent was due to the use of funds from the county’s repaid loan by the prior administration for ‘operating’ expenses, rather than restoring those funds to the investment reserves.” He added that the fund liquidated additional reserves to cover monthly shortages, including $4 million soon after the election of new union officials and before they took over July 1.
“Upon taking office, we took immediate action by terminating certain staff due to actions we deemed not to be in the best interest of the fund,” Maccarrane wrote. “Thereafter, we reappointed the former fund administrator, Scott Mirabella, to manage the benefit fund.”
The trustees chairman said their review showed a “marked contrast” between the utilization and costs of traditional benefits and newer ones, prompting them to discontinue several programs to save hundreds of thousands of dollars for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.
“Our fiduciary responsibility—our mandate—is to safeguard your benefit fund,” Maccarrane wrote. “Things may be difficult in the near term, but the trustees are confident that we can preserve the benefit fund and ensure its long-term viability.”
The letter moved some beneficiaries to call for an investigation of the fund managers.