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Mostly Cloudy Residents for Efficient Special Districts collect 5,000 signatures
Delivery of petition gives heft to challenge against Sani2, may force referendum
In the same week that Baldwin residents were set to vote in a Sanitary District 2 commissioner’s election, a large contingent of residents filed
a petition to dissolve the sanitary district entirely. The group, Residents for Efficient Special Districts, which is affiliated with the Long Island Progressive Coalition, secured the 5,000 signatures it needed to compel a referendum on the dissolution of Sani2 and delivered the petition to the Nassau County clerk’s office on Monday.
According to David Segal, communications coordinator for the LIPC, the motion to dissolve the district was based on both economics and a focus on efficiency. A release from the group last week stated that Nassau County residents in Sani2’s service area “pay nearly double what their neighbors in the Town of Hempstead pay for the same services” and charged that the county’s more than 200 special taxing districts “have the ability to tax and spend without answering to any other government body,” which gives them “the unfair ability to inflate tax bills and spend money irresponsibly.”
The special taxing districts were set up decades ago by the town of Hempstead to collect refuse. A 2005 audit by the county comptroller showed that Sani2 was among the most expensive special districts — a finding that resulted in pledges from district officials to cut costs. As evidenced by this week’s petition, the Residents for Efficient Special Districts feel that Sani2 has not done enough to rein in spending.
The town has been listening to complaints about Sani2 for the past several months, and said it would be willing to entertain the idea of dissolving the district if enough residents supported the move. The New York Citizens Empowerment Act, a law detailing how a special taxing district may be challenged, allows for a referendum if 5,000 residents, or 10 percent of a population — whichever number is smaller — sign a petition to that effect. If the referendum on Sani2 passes, it will be the first time that a special district on Long Island has been abolished by this means.
