Faced with the tough task of balancing a budget in austere times, officials in New York's Suffolk County say they have no choice: they had to fire Santa Claus.
The county executive said he could not justify using $660 from his $2.7 billion budget to pay David McKell, 83, a World War 2 veteran and former homicide detective, to don his Santa suit for the 10th year and greet children on Long Island.
"How do you justify that expenditure when a health centre is losing money?" Steve Levy, the Suffolk County executive, said in an interview.
Some 750 county employees are facing layoffs as a result of budget restraints, including what he described as a $20 million cut in state aid to the county's health system.
"Let either the private sector come forward with a donation or, better yet, let's tap the volunteers in the community," he said.
Levy was quickly called a Grinch by his opponents.
"Do we really have to hold Santa Claus hostage to balance the budget?" said Bill Lindsay, a Democrat and the presiding officer of the county legislature.
County officials said dozens of people had come forward offering to pay for Santa's services and Levy himself volunteered to don a Santa suit for a shift or two.
In the end, Steve Bellone, the current town supervisor of nearby Babylon, who is running as the Democratic candidate to succeed Levy, said he would pay for Santa.
McKell, the Santa at the center of the storm, said Bellone's check -- part of which would cover gas and other Santa expenses -- had resolved the matter.
"I wish him (Levy) a very merry Christmas and a happy new year," McKell said.
