By MIKE RUSSO
Officially titled the New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act, the legislation, now under review in the Senate and Assembly, states that "local government is too expensive, confusing, inefficient and susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse." School districts, towns and counties would be exempt from the proposed law, villages would not be.
While the issue of consolidating or eliminating special districts is well-known to many Long Islanders, the provisions of the bill would significantly ease the requirements for doing so. Under the proposed law, an individual or group wishing to push for consolidation or elimination of a special district does not have to live in that district. Further, the new law would significantly lower the percentage of voters required to approve such a measure.
Sanitation and fire district officials say the bill is too general, and does not take into account the level of service they provide residents and the potential for dire consequences should the districts be eliminated. Fire District Commissioner Doug Wiedmann said the local department, which is made up of Baldwin residents, provides a better service to the community than would an outside entity such as the town or county. The bill, Wiedmann said, was pushed through with little concern for the people it would ultimately affect. He said he was particularly concerned about district employees, whose jobs are not guaranteed should consolidation or dissolution take place.
Ironically, Wiedmann said, a bill designed to lower the cost of services to residents essentially takes away the rights of voters due to the reduced representation needed to push for a district's elimination. "It's taking away the homeowner's right to vote," he said. "It's a knee-jerk reaction to something that is not broken."
Mike McDermott, general supervisor at Sanitary District 2, said he felt that people move to communities like Baldwin because of their
reputation for great fire and sanitation service, among other factors. Since all employees are residents of the district -—living in Baldwin, Freeport, Roosevelt, South Hempstead and small portions of other area villages — McDermott said, they care about the community they serve, and many are actively involved in local organizations and schools.
"They're taking away our passion," said McDermott, adding that the commissioners do not get paid for their work. "They're trying to take our pride away."
Acknowledging that sanitation service could be offered less expensively by the Town of Hempstead or Nassau County, McDermott said that that service would be less effective, and that the district has lobbied the state on a number of issues that would enable it to operate less expensively. Pointing to a fire hydrant on Grand Avenue, McDermott said the district pays $625 for the use of each hydrant in Baldwin. Villages, he said, pay nothing, and he and other officials have attempted to secure an agreement from the state to help lower the fire district’s costs.
According to Paul Yanantuono, a Baldwin Fire District commissioner, the bill would make it easier to eliminate districts such as Baldwin's, but does not address what would happen afterward. The district has a 20-year bond on the department headquarters, assorted leases for programs and other long-term obligations, Yanantuono explained. And though he said he was frustrated with the provisions of the bill, he added that it will be residents who will lose in the end, with emergency crews being dispatched from other towns, increasing response time. A minimum response time is one of several state mandates the district must meet.
Yanantuono said that the districts have complied with state regulations, audits and requests to analyze their efficiency over the years, and fire and sanitation officials believe it is counterproductive for the state to entertain such a bill. "We have to have all this transparency ... Where's [the state's] transparency?" he said. "We don't mind the vote, but let people who pay the taxes make the decision."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
