By JOSEPH KELLARD
Sieban and Tom McKevitt, deputy town attorney, sat down with the Herald last week to address the proposal by Nassau County Legislators Jeff Toback, Michael Zapson and Joe Scannell to make Oceanside an incorporated village. The legislators recently hosted two town meetings at which they promoted incorporation. Among their main arguments were that incorporation would offer residents lower taxes, smaller government and greater accessibility to that government. The interview with Sieban and McKevitt came after the Herald's request to speak to Councilman Anthony Santino about the matter. Santino has not released a statement on the issue, but instead arranged for Sieban and McKevitt to answer any questions.
While Seiben told the Herald that the town has no official position on the legislators' proposal, he said the town believes it provides excellent services to Oceanside residents for a good tax value.
To back his claim that incorporation would not bring lower taxes for villagers, Sieban drew a comparison between Oceanside and the village of Valley Stream, which are similar in size and population. "Valley Stream's present budget is about $23 per $100," Sieban said. "The Town of Hempstead presently is about $16 and change per $100. Any new village is going to have huge start-up costs. They'll need a village hall, a court, staff, plus all the services. Valley Stream is paying more than the town is paying, and they did their start-up costs 80 years ago."
He argued that back when Valley Steam and Rockville Centre became villages, land was plentiful and cheap, but the opposite is true today.
McKevitt said the start-up costs to establish the village's infrastructure, such as a highway department, would be "enormous," particularly since a village must start out with no credit history. "The town gets the best interest ratings you can possibly get when going to issue the bonds for those types of projects," McKevitt explained. "If a new village wants to redo just a couple of streets, you're having a substantially minimal tax base in order to pay for regular maintenance."
The town currently receives bonds at two to three percent interest, "because we have an excellent bond rating," Sieban said. "A newly incorporated village is going to have to deal with eight, nine and 10 percent interest on bonds, which will double or triple their interest expense alone."
In arguing for incorporation, Toback contended that government would be smaller for Oceanside because it would eliminate the fire and sanitation districts and 90 percent of town bureaucracy. Town involvement in Oceanside would be reduced by 90 percent, Seiben conceded. Stressing that taxes are the main issue in this debate, however, he asked what the costs to the residents of Oceanside would be if town government were substantially reduced.
"You're looking at a major increase in your taxes," he answered. "And right now, everyone is screaming about the new assessments coming in, county taxes going up, and state aid to schools being cut. The impact of higher taxes on the property owner could be devastating right now."
McKevitt had his own question about the proposal to essentially wipe out what he called Oceanside's "superb" fire district and "one of the best" sanitary districts in Nassau County. "If they have these things that work very well, why are they going to tinker with it?" he asked.
In addressing the legislators' contention that village government is more accessible, responsive and efficient, Seiben pointed to Councilman Anthony Santino's record in recent years, and specifically to the town hall meetings he hosts on at least a biannual basis in Oceanside. "He addresses issues raised by the residents who attend these meetings, and he resolves them to the best of the town's ability," Sieban said.
Said McKevitt, "We get virtually all of our complaints over the phone, and we respond promptly. No matter if they're in Inwood or Wantagh, we're there."
One issue Toback raised during his recent meetings is that five town board members themselves live in incorporated villages, implying that their preferences for where they live are perhaps endorsements for incorporation. Sieban himself lives in the village of East Rockaway and is one of its trustees.
People buy their homes where they can get them," Sieban said. "I just happened to wind up in East Rockaway village, and I got involved in the government and ran for office. Councilman Santino has lived in East Rockaway virtually his whole life. The question is not really where the councilmen presently live and their thoughts on villages based on where they live. The question is what's going to happen when Oceanside raises taxes to form a village now?"
