Sept 2007 Update: Gordon Heights Fire District Tax Crisis

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. 

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/june07/060607.htm

DiNapoli and Suozzi Propose Measures
to Reform Special Districts

Local Government Reform
State of the State Address, January 3, 2007

We must consolidate New York’s multiple layers of local government – those 4,200 taxing jurisdictions that cost taxpayers millions each year in duplicative services and stand as yet another impediment to change.  I will appoint a Commission on Local Government Efficiency to report back with a specific plan of action.  Together, we must summon the political will to face the reality that 4,200 taxing jurisdictions are simply too many, too expensive and too burdensome.  

Eliot Spitzer
Governor

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 Director
 

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. [Full Bio]

 

Executive Director

John Clarkson served at the State Comptroller’s Office from 1995-2006 as Assistant Comptroller and in various other capacities directing research on local government, state budget and education issues. He has also worked at the NYS Division of the Budget, the NYS School Boards Association and the Office of Real Property Services. [Full Bio]

Town of Brookhaven board members are Elected Officials.

  Our councilwoman is Connie Kepert. She can be reach at :www.netscape.com

One Independence Hill
Farmingville, NY 11738
(631) 451-6968, phone
(631) 451-6447, fax

Hours of operation:
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

www.brookhaven.org

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor is Brian X Foley.  He can be reached at :

One Independence Hill

Farmingville, NY 11738

(631) 451-6955, phone

(631) 451-6677, fax

Hours of operation:

Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Town Clerk, Pam Betheil.  She can be reached at :

One Independence Hill

Farmingville, NY 11738

(631) 451-9101, phone

(631) 451-9264, fax

Hours of operation:
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Ideas for fewer NY governments.  Newsday, 9/21/07

COLONIE - Villages would be dissolved, counties would share jails and Tioga County would be eliminated if the ideas released yesterday by a state commission become law.

The Commission on Local Government Efficiency, formed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has the goal of reducing the more than 4,200 local government entities in New York State to help curtail property tax bills, which are among the highest in the nation.

"Forty-two-hundred taxing entities, decision-making entities, just doesn't make sense," Spitzer said yesterday.

The panel released 150 new ideas gathered from local officials. Many of the initiatives, like dissolution of villages, would require local voter approval. The commission is expected to report its own recommendations by April 15.

One would consolidate town and county highway services in 13 counties, as well as water, sewer and storm water systems in nine counties.

The commission also is evaluating fire, library, sewer and other special districts, and sought to consolidate the sanitation and library special districts for Nassau County.

Many special districts levy taxes even though many New Yorkers don't know they exist.

In January 1995 the last new governor, Republican George Pataki, also argued for government consolidation as a commonsense approach to lower costs for taxpayers. But efforts to regionalize public services have often been stopped by political considerations.

Poll: LIers fed up with high taxes

BY ERIK GERMAN erik.german@newsday.com

8:03 AM EDT, September 19, 2007

The poll results were decisive but not surprising: Long Islanders continue to be fed up with high taxes and the inefficiencies resulting from the region's many layers of government.

In a survey to be released today, the Long Island Index reports that almost 90 percent of respondents want to see their annual tax bill reduced by $3,000 or more.

"People are trying to figure out potential ways to lower costs," said Ann Golob, project director for the Index, a non-profit group created in 2002 to increase awareness of issues such as the rising cost of living. "One of the ways is to look a places where you can consolidate."

The poll, conducted this summer by the Center for Survey Research at Stony Brook University, questioned a random sampling of 810 Long Islanders by phone.

An overwhelming majority -- 80 percent -- said they would like to consolidate days on which they vote on the budgets and boards of water, fire, ambulance, street lighting and other special taxing districts. Respondents said they want these votes -- currently held throughout the year -- held on the same May date as school elections, when turnout is high.

"They would like to be more informed and have the information at their fingertips so they can easily go on one day and make their decisions on members and budgets of these organizations," Golob said.

A North Babylon resident who took the survey said holding elections on the same day is just common sense. "We just need one solid place and time to do all the voting," said Cynthia Miller, 48, a retired police officer. "We're all busy people."

Although the poll did not seek opinions on consolidating fire or ambulance districts, it did find that 65 percent of respondents favored consolidating non-emergency special districts into centralized, county-wide organizations.

"Whenever you do centralized anything, you get better rates, you get centralized buying power and you have less employees," said Jerry Palmeiro, 56, of Oceanside, who took the survey in July.

"We can't afford these taxes anymore," Palmeiro said. "I have three children and they're all talking about moving out of New York State, especially Long Island, because they can't afford it."

In an interview, Palmeiro said he even favors combining Long Island's scores of school districts into just two. "There should just be a Nassau and a Suffolk," he said.

While school taxes represent 65 percent of Long Islanders' total property tax bill, Golob said, past surveys show that most of those polled want to keep their school districts separate. But the most recent results show that 63 percent of respondents are willing to consider centralizing some of their school district's administrative "back-office" functions such as payroll, financing, purchasing agreements and insurance.

"We have a lot of administrators in the background," said respondent Noel Ulrich, 40, of Dix Hills. "If they could consolidate and save the taxpayers money, I think that's a good idea."