2007 Archives
NYS STANDS BEHIND THE TAXPAYERS OF THE GORDON HEIGHTS FIRE DISTRICT. Read attached letter below.
The New York State Commisssion on Local Government Efficiency &
Competitiveness has offered their assistance to the Town of Brookhaven to help resolve this problem. August 2007, this commission sent a letter to the Town of Brookhaven asking them to reconsider accepting the petition to dissolve the Gordon Heights Fire District.
About the Commission
New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness
30 South Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12245
E-mail Address: localgov@empire.state.ny.us
Telephone Number: 518-292-5139
Stan Lundine, Chair
John Clarkson, Executive Dire
Commission Chair
Stan Lundine is former Lieutenant Governor of New York, serving under Governor Mario Cuomo. He has also served as the Mayor of Jamestown, New York and as a United States Representative. He currently serves on the board of Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua County, New York.
................ $ 23,528.00 ................
(For approximately 900 low-to-median income families to pay for).
Status
The Current Situation
In August 2006, The petition containing more than 700 notarized signatures was submitted to the Town of Brookhaven in favor of dissolving the Gordon Heights fire district.
October 2006, it was rejected by the law department at the Town of Brookhaven on minor technicalities.
Our elected officials have advised the petitioners to obtain legal council.
According to the 2000 Census, 1 out of 11 residents in the Gordon Heights community are at the poverty level. It would be a tremendous burden for the already struggling residents in the Gordon Heights Fire District to pay for legal council.
July 2007, the Gordon Heights Fire District has recently been audited by the NY State Comptrollers’ office.
It is our opinion that their findings will prove that the Gordon Heights fire tax district is too small to support its’ own fire district.
In August 2007, the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, a task force set up by Governor Spitzer, speaks on behalf of the Gordon Heights fire district taxpayers. www.nyslocalgov.org
