Our fears have now become reality!

ALERT: THERE IS A BILL IN THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY (ASSEMBLY BILL # A08501) THAT WILL ELIMINATE YOUR RIGHT TO CONTROL YOUR OWN LOCAL GOVERNMENT! THIS BILL IMPACTS ALL VILLAGES AND DISTRICTS.

AS OF THIS DATE, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE OF THE STATE SENATE ADOPTED THE MEASURE. THE BILL IT IS EXPECTED TO BE PASSED IN THE ASSEMBLY WITHOUT SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT. YOUR RIGHTS FOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND LOCAL CONTROL (HAVING A VOICE IN GOVERNMENT) ARE BEING IMPACTED WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

UNDER THE EXISTING BILL:

• NON-RESIDENTS OF NEW HYDE PARK CAN COME INTO OUR COMMUNITY TO START A PETITION DRIVE CALLING FOR THE DISSOLUTION OR CONSOLIDATION OF OUR VILLAGE OR FIRE DISTRICT. THEY CAN EVEN BE PAID PETITION CIRCULATORS FUNDED BY OUTSIDE INTERESTS.

• AS A RESIDENT YOU WOULD NOT BE NOTIFIED OF SUCH A DRIVE DIRECTLY (NO MAILINGS OR DIRECT CONTACT TO THOSE AFFECTED WILL BE REQUIRED) BUT RATHER ONLY A LEGAL NOTICE IN THE PAPER WOULD BE NECESSARY.

• NASSAU COUNTY GOVERNMENT COULD CALL FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF CONSOLIDATION OF VILLAGES AND DISTRICTS WITHOUT ANY REFERENDUM OR INPUT FROM THOSE TAXPAYERS AFFECTED.
HAVING A MEANS BY WHICH TAXPAYERS CAN “RECALL” GOVERNMENT IS NOT A BAD THING, BUT NOT ALLOWING TAXPAYERS TO HAVE A SAY IN HOW THAT IS DONE IS UNCONSCIONABLE. AND YET, AT THE SAME TIME, THIS LEGISLATION DENIES TAXPAYERS THAT RIGHT WHEN IT COMES TO DISSOLVING COUNTY GOVERNMENT. IT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG!

IF YOU WANT TO PRESERVE YOUR VILLAGE AND DISTRICTS YOU MUST MAKE TWO PHONE CALLS AND THAT MUST BE DONE IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. JUST PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL NYS ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER AND NY STATE SENATE PRESIDENT MALCOM SMITH AND TELL THEM YOU OPPOSE PASSAGE OF ASSEMBLY BILL #A08501 WITHOUT REVIEW AND REVISION. YOU ARE OPPOSED TO BEING DENIED YOUR RIGHT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT!

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER - (518) 455- 3791
NEW YORK STATE SENATE PRESIDENT MALCOLM SMITH - (518) 455-2701

YOU SHOULD ALSO CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND ASSEMBLY PERSON AS WELL. THEIR TELEPHONE NUMBERS CAN BE FOUND IN THE LEFT SIDEBAR.

FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION, PLEASE REFER TO THE NEW HYDE PARK VILLAGE WEBSITE AT www.vnhp.org

FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT BACK!

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stcons2912817919may28,0,3536713.story

Volunteer firefighters blast Cuomo consolidation bill

BY JAMES T. MADORE

james.madore@newsday.com

8:53 PM EDT, May 28, 2009

ALBANY - Volunteer firefighters are barraging lawmakers with e-mails critical of a bill from state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to streamline consolidation of fire districts and other local governments.

Firefighters want fire districts excluded from the measure, which eases the process for petitioning for referenda to abolish governments. Cuomo has said the bill would lower property taxes.

Firefighters Thursday questioned how much would be saved from districts run by volunteers. They also said consolidation could undermine service because volunteers may not want to protect communities outside their own.

Lawmakers traditionally have been loath to anger firefighters. The criticism comes as the State Senate and Assembly prepare to take up Cuomo's bill next week.

"There's no groundswell of taxpayers complaining about the fire service," said Thomas J. Cuff Jr., president of the 130,000-member Firemen's Association and Levittown volunteer. "Fire districts represent about 1 percent of the typical homeowner's real-estate taxes while about 70 percent is school districts ... We aren't the problem."

Staff for the association and Cuomo met Thursday but no breakthrough was reported.

Absent a compromise, Assemb. Philip Boyle (R- East Islip) said he would introduce an amendment exempting fire districts from the bill, which he supports.

However, other backers of the legislation, which was inspired by Newsday articles, wondered why the alarm was being raised.

"The fire districts should not be in fear ... because consolidation would be voluntary, not mandatory," said Rosalie Hanson, a Gordon Heights resident who is trying to dissolve the district there because of the very high tax rate. "If you are happy with your district, you're not going to sign a petition."

Cuomo has pointed to Gordon Heights as exemplifying the difficulty in collapsing governments, which total 10,521 statewide. Gordon Heights residents are now making a second attempt to abolish the fire district.

Cuomo also has said school districts were excluded from the bill because there already is a consolidation mechanism for them and since the 1930s thousands have been dissolved.

Firefighters have created a Facebook page with more than 1,500 members and are telephoning lawmakers.

Craig Craft, immediate past president of the Association of Fire Districts of Nassau County, said, "We will take every step to combat this bill. We see it as an attack."

Cuomo aide John Milgrim shot back that "numerous productive meetings" had been held since late 2008 with affected groups who helped "shape" the bill, "and the office continues to meet with interested groups as the legislation heads to a vote."

Commentary

If you wish to join this effort, please visit

http://www.afdnc.com/

YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IS NEEDED!

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-stcons2712806224may26,0,1576439.story

Newsday.com

Bill to merge local governments clears a hurdle

BY JAMES T. MADORE

james.madore@newsday.com

10:03 PM EDT, May 26, 2009

ALBANY - A bill being pushed by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to consolidate local governments cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday but not before some lawmakers raised objections.

Five members of the 20-member Assembly Local Governments Committee urged caution, saying the proposed petition process to abolish governments could be perverted by nonresidents.

They also called for a larger number of signatures to make petitions valid, for referendums to coincide with general elections and for the financial consequences of consolidation to be known before balloting.

The bill, unveiled last week in Melville, seeks to streamline the process whereby voters can collapse towns, villages and special districts. Supporters said it's a way to reduce property taxes.

Last night, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told Newsday some of the objections had been addressed, and others he pledged to discuss with Cuomo.

The committee adopted the measure in a 16-4 vote and sent it to the Ways & Means Committee. The bill also was introduced Tuesday in the State Senate, where the main sponsors are Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) and Betty Little (R-Queensbury).

In the Assembly committee, the five members from Long Island were split. Robert Barra (R-Lynbrook), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) and Phil Ramos (D-Central Islip) backed the bill, and Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham) and Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck) opposed it.

Alessi questioned why the bill didn't cover school districts and said committee members were given insufficient time for review.

Still, committee Chairman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo) noted Cuomo worked closely with Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith to write the bill, which was inspired by a Newsday series.

The measure is expected to pass because of the leaders' support.

Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc.

DO YOUR PART!
All citizens are encouraged to read this bill in its entirety: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A08501
Use the links in the left sidebar to let your legislators know
how you feel RIGHT NOW.
Also, if you value your local fire department, please refer to
http://www.afdnc.com/
and let your voice be heard!

IMPORTANT UPDATE: MTA Bailout has some benefits...

The MTA bailout proposal has an extremely important provision that will include a full forensic audit of the MTA, as well as unprecedented transparency requirements, which include:

• An outside audit of MTA operations and finances.
• The addition of two new MTA board members appointed by the Assembly speaker and the Senate President Pro Tem.
• Granting the Legislature the right to veto individual items in the MTA’s five-year plan. The comptroller and the Legislature would also be granted additional oversight powers.
• Consolidation of the authority’s chair and CEO into a single position.
• A requirement that the MTA post on its Web site all “perks” for executives, and the hiring of any outside consultants and professionals.
• The Web site would also include a quarterly accounting to whether or not the MTA had met its financial targets, and if not the reasons why.

According to Senator Johnson's representative, "Our mistrust in the MTA has not abated, though we have to deal with the reality that a strong, and responsible, mass transit system is needed for Long Island and the region."

MTA Bailout Gains Momentum...

Although the final wording in the rescue plan is still not complete, it seems the MTA will ultimately get the bailout it wants from the NYS Senate and Assembly via a proposed “payroll tax.”

Although it seems likely that school districts will be exempt from this tax which helps to keep LI school taxes in check, it still hits nonprofits, hospitals, local municipalities and small businesses. Despite the fact that Senators Foley and Johnson were promised by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (from Queens) that “the payroll tax will be addressed,” and that additional adjustments to this proposal (and other funds) will be made down the road, imposing this tax on Long Island's small businesses, etc. when the job market is so fragile seems to be a huge concern to many citizens on Long Island who are finding it tough to keep their doors open and workers employed.

The rescue is intended to keep MTA fares and toll increases to about 8 percent and stop most or all cuts in service. Senate leaders also said that their plan would include money to pay for at least a portion of the authority’s capital spending needs, which include the costs of maintaining and modernizing the transit system.

The payroll tax would generate nearly $1.5 billion a year. The Senate's version of the rescue seems to include: a series of charges on motor vehicles and drivers, a 50-cent surcharge on yellow cab rides and increases in motor vehicle registration charges, drivers license fees and the tax on rental vehicles. All together, those charges would raise about $270 million a year.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Malcom Smith said that a quarter of the money raised through the plan, or about $440 million a year, would be set aside for debt payments needed to support the authority’s long-term capital spending program, which pays for things like station renovations and the purchase of new buses and train cars.

Commentary:

When the news of a possible bailout agreement broke late last evening, The Sentinel11040's e-mail box was jammed with responses! The feedback is mixed...while some homeowners and taxpayers are somewhat relieved that their school taxes will be seemingly unaffected by the payroll tax, it was noted by many that this tax will negatively impact small businesses, non-profits, hospitals, etc. on Long Island.

The "devil" is in the details, and until the final version of the bailout has been accepted by the Assembly and Senate, some hold out hope that the best interests of the suburbs...Long Island, in particular, will be duly recognized and finally addressed.

And, once again, the overwhelming majority of The Sentinel's readership continues to be frustrated that the MTA's coffers will be padded by the tax dollars of hardworking citizens....and yet, nothing seems to be done to finally address the real issue. When will discussions about a permanent funding plan for the MTA begin - discussions that FINALLY address the MTA's mismanaged use of taxpayers' money which result in last minute measures, like this bailout package, so that middle class Americans can finally be protected from the abuses of this Authority? When...???

MTA Bailout still pending....

On Friday, May 1^st, in an effort to broker a bailout plan for the MTA, Governor Paterson proposed reimbursing school districts for the payroll tax being imposed on them as part of the plan. Although he acknowledged that he was unaware of how this projected $60 million reimbursement could be found in NY State’s 2010-2011 budget (which is already in the hole with a $2.2 billion deficit), Paterson tried to win the support of those senators who continue to remain opposed to this plan.

This “payroll tax” would raise approximately $1.5 billion from employers in all counties served by MTA transit – including Nassau and Suffolk. It is important to note that many of the 30 Republican senators are opposed to a payroll tax as well as Long Island's Democratic Senators Craig Johnson (7th Senate District) and Brian Foley (3rd Senate District). Senators Johnson and Foley have balked from the beginning stating that a payroll tax would only result in high school taxes for Long Island.

Commentary

With NY State’s long-running history of unfulfilled state commitments, the overwhelming majority of The Sentinel 11040’s readership supports Long Island Senators in opposition to the proposed payroll tax. Not only will this hurt school districts, that would have to cut personnel and services to pay the tax, but it would also hurt average homeowners whose school taxes would, no doubt, rise appreciably. This payroll tax would also hurt the small business owners across Long Island who are already struggling in the present economy to keep their doors open and their workers employed.

Kudos to the Long Island senators who remain staunchly opposed to a plan that could potentially inflict serious damage to Long Island’s economy - homeowners, taxpayers, small businesses, and school districts. Many of our readers feel that the MTA’s “bottomless pit” in deficit spending must finally be addressed so that the Long Island community, in general, and the Long Island commuter, in particular, does not become a virtual ATM machine for the MTA.