By Mike Russo
The consolidation would include Sanitary District 2, which serves Baldwin. The proposal, one of 76 reform recommendations for local governments made by former and current public officials on the commission board, has the support of Gov. David Paterson and was endorsed on Monday by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who commissioned his own report on the potential consolidation of sanitation services.
The commission's proposal suggests that sanitation services could be provided by town-run sanitation districts rather than multiple commissioner-run independent sanitation districts. Advocates of the proposal, including county Comptroller Howard Weitzman, who served on the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness board, say that taxpayers could save millions of dollars if the town took over operations of sanitary districts.
District 2, which has served Baldwin, Roosevelt and South Hempstead for more than 75 years, is one of many districts that would be consolidated if the proposed legislation becomes law. Robert Noble, secretary to the Board of Sanitation Commissioners for District 2, said he is concerned about the security of his workers' jobs and the service to their customers. Noble said that Weitzman is entitled to his opinion, but should be responsible and not distort facts or make "outlandish and unsubstantiated generalizations about special districts to grab headlines and further his agenda."
Noble added, "[Weitzman's] claims of millions of dollars of savings are both misleading and manipulative. Whatever savings that may result from consolidation come with a cost. Loss of jobs, loss of service and local control are sure byproducts of his proposal. He has repeatedly stated that employees of special districts would not lose their jobs. He has neither the authority nor the insight to make such a guarantee."
In a 2005 press release on his audit of Sanitary District 2, Weitzman claimed that residents were "grossly overpaying" for their services compared with those in other areas of Nassau County. According to Weitzman, District 2 residents spent $734 annually per property owner for curbside garbage pickup and disposal. In areas where the Town of Hempstead provides pickup, the cost was $603. Weitzman added that the savings would probably be greater in 2008 tax dollars.
"The towns manage the business of government better than the districts, and keep costs tighter, probably because their budgets and elections are more transparent," said Weitzman. He added that the proposal would allow residents of each district to vote by referendum on what level of service they want.
Noble said that District 2 currently provides services to its communities on a level that the Town of Hempstead would not, including running a tighter schedule and picking up more refuse. For example, he said that residents would have to wait two weeks at the most for a special pickup. Anywhere else, he said, they would have to wait close to four weeks.
Weitzman also addressed the issue of employees' job security. He said that he has always proposed that the labor force move to the town, which would determine whether to reduce the number of jobs over time through attrition. "I would be happy to work with the commissioners to make sure this happens," said Weitzman. "The legislation provides that the towns would take over the jobs as laid out in the state Civil Service law. It would be up to the town supervisor to decide whether non-Civil Service employees should be picked up."
According to "Consolidation Analysis and Implementation Plan: Solid Waste," a 57-page independent report commissioned by Suozzi, the Town of Hempstead collection cost per household is $442 a year, while costs in surrounding commissioner-run special sanitation districts are up to $229 more.
Weitzman said that the finding of the report reinforced what his office has been reporting for the past several years. "At least $16 million in tax savings would be available to Nassau County taxpayers right now if lawmakers in Albany would move the governor's special district reforms forward," he said, "and savings could reach as high as $38 million with no loss of taxpayer services."
The legislation will now need to pass the state Legislature, most likely by way of the Senate and Assembly committees on local government.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
