Residents, civic leaders demand transparency

Following a call for greater transparency by several South Shore civic and elected leaders over a proposal by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano to sell or lease three of the county’s sewage treatment plants to a private company, a presentation focusing on the treatment plants and the concerns of residents was held at the Long Beach Public Library on March 8.

Mangano’s plan calls for the sale of the Glen Cove Sewage Plant, the Cedar Creek Sewage Plant in Wantagh and the Bay Park Sewage Plant for roughly $1 billion. The plants could also be leased.

The Herald reported in February that County Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) is calling on state officials to investigate the legality of the proposed privatization proposal, and civic associations have joined together to form the Nassau County Coalition of Civic Associations to combat the plan.

Claudia Borecky, president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, spearheaded formation of the coalition. She said the sewer plan would net $1.3 billion to balance the 2012 and 2013 county budgets. But the proposal, described by some as a “one-time budget fix,” has drawn sharp criticism from residents and elected leaders who argue that county officials have not been transparent about privatization plans, and they say the plan could wind up costing residents more in sewage fees than they’re paying now.

On Dec. 14, Denenberg sent a letter to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli calling for an investigation of the proposed sale or lease of the sewage plants. The letter came shortly after the Legislature’s Rules Committee voted 4-3 along party lines to hire Morgan Stanley –– at a cost of $100,000 per quarter –– to consult on the county’s bids to privatize the plants. Borecky said that Morgan Stanley would receive an additional fee of no less than $5 million if a deal was reached.

Denenberg said in the letter that Morgan Stanley was hired by the county in March 2010 to analyze privatization of the county’s treatment plants, without the public’s knowledge, 22 months before Morgan Stanley’s contract was approved in December.