Village government help is just a call, or text, away

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote from President Ronald Reagan: “The most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Nearly four decades later, residents and taxpayers are still terrorized by those words.

My take is that Reagan was concerned that government is extraordinarily inefficient, sometimes to such a degree that its best attempts to help end up doing more harm than good. The view that Reagan was expressing tended to be a precursor to calls for smaller government, where an individual or private organization could do something more effectively than the government.

Here in Valley Stream, I like to believe that our government, the government closest to the people, has perfected providing the best possible services at the best possible cost. I’ve said many times that the village isn’t responsible for state and federal issues. We can help residents navigate bureaucratic complexities when dealing with other levels of government, but our role is to maintain local services.

Your village taxes are the smallest part of your tax bill and provide your quality of life on day-to-day issues. Sanitation, lighting, street maintenance, parks and environmental preservation, library services — and fire protection from the village’s volunteer Fire Department, are just a sampling of what we do every day. We also provide outstanding recreational programming to suit every age and interest: youth camp, a state-of-the-art pool complex, concerts, movies, fitness programs, senior enrichment, and seasonal events. Residents can visit us in person at Village Hall, or access our services online. As long as they are provided properly and efficiently, our quality of life remains high.

We try to respond to complaints and suggestions as quickly as we can, because we know that even little problems can grow into big ones if not properly addressed. But we can’t be everywhere at once. We count on our residents to be the eyes and ears of their local government.

People often approach me with complaints. It almost always starts with, “You’re not going to like what I have to say…” I usually reply that it’s OK to complain if you feel there’s something amiss. That’s why your elected officials are here. No one likes problems, but if it’s within our ability to correct the problem, rest assured that we will.

Recently, a resident angrily approached me and exclaimed, “I’ve lived here for 35 years, and I pay taxes.” I smiled and said, “I’ve lived here for 60 years, and I pay my taxes, too.” That broke the ice, and she smiled, too.

I said, “How can I help?” (I resisted Reagan’s variation.) Her very valid complaint was about a pothole near her home, which she claimed has been ignored by the village. When I asked who she had reported it to, she replied, “No one. You should know where the potholes are without me calling. It’s been there for months, and no one fixed it.”

The moral of the story is, don’t be so sure that we’re aware. I’d rather get multiple reports about a problem than have it go unchecked, get worse and potentially even damage property or hurt people in the area. Please don’t assume that every pothole or broken light is on our radar, or take it for granted that someone else has called about it. Call, email or, better yet, use our new TextMyGov smartphone service to report the issue.

This great new program can be used to easily report issues by texting the problem to (516) 518-3332. You can also “opt in” to receive village alerts, notifications or text messages by texting 91896 to the same number.

TextMyGov is a fully automated service for our residents to easily find information and report problems. The village is utilizing this technology to provide exceptional communication, convenience, and attention to detail in the services we provide.

Short, concise prompts are best.  Here are a few examples to get you started:

Text “Report” to alert us to an issue with potholes, streetlights, signage, parking meters, flooding or similar issues.

Text “Contact” for a directory of phone numbers and addresses.

Text “Recreation” for information about the programs we offer.

Text “Silver Threads” for information about our popular senior program.

Send us a text at (516) 518-3332 to see what it’s all about! (But please note: As the system is used, automated keywords and responses will be improved. If your first attempt doesn’t get you the information you’re looking for, try another keyword.)

We’re always happy to receive mailed correspondence, personal visits, emails, and now text messages to be of better service to residents. Whichever way of communicating works best for you is OK with us.

So, yes, I’m from the government and I’m here to help!

Edwin Fare has been mayor of Valley Stream since 2011.