By Esther Davis Mckenna
Although there were a number of issues facing residents, dissolution of the district became the crux of this year's election. The platform of challenger Laura Mallay, a South Hempstead resident, focused primarily on dissolving the very board she was campaigning for, saying residents were being taxed out of their homes.
"I'm not taking my bat and ball and going home just yet," said Mallay after her loss to Brown on Thursday. "We're still moving forward with our plans to cut taxpayers' burdens."
Plans to file a petition to dissolve the district have been put in motion by Mallay and her supporters. According to state law, more than 50 percent of residential homeowners within a special district must sign a petition stating they approve of disbanding the district. The request then goes before the Town of Hempstead, which can approve or disapprove it. If the town vetoes the request to disband, the petitioner can then appeal the decision at the state level.
"We'll take [the issue of dissolving the district] to every level that we have to," said Mallay.
Concerns about job security and quality of service were also key issues in the election. County Assessor Harvey Levinson, who is making a play for Kate Murray's job as town supervisor, has been a strong proponent of dissolving, or combining, special districts. Levinson has tried to soothe the nerves of sanitation workers afraid of losing their jobs as well as residents convinced that the quality of service would suffer at the hands of the town.
Levinson personally guaranteed that no sanitation worker, with the exception of election commissioners, would lose their job if he were elected supervisor. "The Town of Hempstead will do it cheaper and do it better," has been his mantra at press conferences throughout the town's sanitary districts.
Murray said that Levinson was walking on dangerous ground when he made promises about what the town can and will do if he's elected. She described Levinson's promises to pick up the employment of every sanitation worker of every disbanded district as "an incredibly irresponsible statement from someone who is not familiar with all of the ramifications of his promises.
"I can absolutely tell you that the town could not absorb all of those jobs," Murray said. Aside from the extra salaries and benefits the town would have to assume, there is also the consideration of thousands of additional homes to be serviced. According to Murray, that could mean an increase in town taxes, leaving residents with the same high tax bill with a different name on it.
On the issue of disbanding districts for any reason, Murray said, "The idea of sanitary districts was borne from the community's desire to have localized, home-grown service, and I would never presume to impose my will upon the residents of any special district. If residents have determined that having their own district is what best suits them, I would not be so arrogant to presume I know better."
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