By Dana Williams
The announcement was in response to a report released on Dec. 5 by Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman, which called for the Cathedral Gardens Water District to be absorbed by the larger West Hempstead district, because, the comptroller said, Cathedral Gardens merely moves water that is provided by West Hempstead to its own district. Weitzman said that the Cathedral Gardens district “basically serves no purpose” and should be eliminated to “save taxpayers money and streamline government.” The West Hempstead Water District also provides all billing services for Cathedral Gardens.
“A water district that doesn’t provide water, but costs taxpayers [money], is an expensive dinosaur that Nassau County residents can no longer afford,” Weitzman said in a statement.
According to the report, Cathedral Gardens “does not drill, pump or treat water, read water meters, bill water users or take payments for water,” but the average homeowner is still charged almost the same fees for water as a homeowners living in the West Hempstead Water District. In 2006, the average homeowner in the Cathedral Gardens district paid $258 for water, while a homeowner in the West Hempstead district paid $260, the report said.
Weitzman said that the expenses for taxpayers in both districts could be reduced if they consolidated. The report also concluded that expenses such as liability insurance and accountant fees for Cathedral Gardens would be eliminated in such a consolidation, because they would be covered in the West Hempstead district’s budget.
The Cathedral Gardens district has often been criticized because it is one of the smaller special districts in the county. Weitzman’s report noted that the district serves only 342 properties, 297 of which are homes. The district has three paid commissioners and operates out of one of their homes. If the district had been eliminated in 2007, the report stated, the annual savings would have been $32,502, which would have been shared among taxpayers in Cathedral Gardens and West Hempstead.
“While the savings are not large when divided by each home in the potential combined districts, in these times of extreme fiscal pressure on Nassau County taxpayers, all savings are worth pursuing,” Weitzman said. “The outdated, patchwork quilt of special districts is no longer viable in this day and age when they cost residents money without providing any benefit.”
Cathedral Gardens Water District officials said they work diligently to cut wasteful spending and provide residents with efficient service, but would agree to merge with the West Hempstead district if it would help taxpayers save money. “Consolidating with the West Hempstead Water District has never been an objection of ours, and that’s something that we have always discussed on a casual basis with officials at the West Hempstead District,” said Glenn Barnett, a commissioner at Cathedral Gardens. “The commissioners in our district live here, too, so we take this very seriously. We’re always looking to keep the tax rate as low as possible while providing the best service that we can. If we can save a lot more money by consolidating, then of course we will support that.”
Scott Jablow, president of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association, shared similar sentiments, saying he would support merging with the West Hempstead district if it would help to save taxpayer dollars. “I think it would be a good idea to become one district with West Hempstead if the taxpayers are able to save money, because that’s important,” Jablow said. “The commissioners in our district and in West Hempstead’s are great, and both districts are managed very responsibly, so I would support becoming one district.”
If the consolidation takes place, both Barnett and Jablow said they would push for a commissioner from their district to be a member of the West Hempstead district’s Board of Commissioners. “We know the commissioners at the West Hempstead Water District would do a good job of representing the Cathedral Gardens community,” Barnett said. “But, it would be nice to have someone from our district on the board so the people here will feel represented.”
Frederick L. Kurz, secretary to the West Hempstead district’s Board of Commissioners, said the board would have to discuss whether to consolidate, but he would not provide any further information.
Robert York, the district’s superintendent, did not return calls requesting comment.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
