by Jerry Burke
The plan, which passed the state Assembly only to reach an impasse in the Senate, will create a modified version of the authority and save taxpayers an estimated $6 million next year by consolidating the county's three sewage and 27 stormwater-collection districts into one entity.
The original plan, in which Suozzi projected a $25 million savings for the upcoming year, was shot down by the state Senate in June amid concerns that parts of the package included what Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Republican county legislators said amounted to "gimmicks" -- specifically, plans to transfer the payroll responsibility of hundreds of current sewer and stormwater employees from the county's general fund to the authority and to rent out county-owned facilities to the new entity. Neither option was included in the new deal.
Instead, the $6 million in savings will come from consolidating and refinancing $277 million in debt from the current districts at a lower interest rate. The compromise then calls for a $19 million package from the state, with revenues generated from new fees, the collection of unreturned commercial tax refunds from landlords and the direct channeling of revenue from the new Off-Track Betting teletheater in Plainview.
"Did I get everything I wanted here?" Suozzi asked rhetorically after the deal was reached early last Wednesday morning. "Absolutely not." But the county executive conceded that he was pleased that the county's budget would be reached without severe cuts in social programs. "This agreement fulfills three important objectives: the creation of the authority, $25 million in recurring benefit to Nassau County and the protection of important county services," he said.
Skelos, facing questions over the rejection of the original deal, was satisfied that services would not be affected in closing the budget gap. "I am very pleased that we have successfully reached a compromise that will both preserve important public services and protect taxpayers," he said. He was also satisfied that the plan alleviates the concerns critics of the original concept had as to possible double taxation on sewer rates. "This package captures the best that the Sewer and Storm Water Authority had to offer local taxpayers," he said.
The Senate will convene on Tuesday, Sept. 16, to vote on the plan, with its approval virtually guaranteed. Although the vote will come one day after Suozzi is to present his budget for 2004 and cannot be approved by the Assembly until it meets next January, representatives from the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) said the Suozzi will be allowed to include the $25 million in its budget as it awaits promised legislative approval.
The modified Nassau County Sewer and Storm Water Finance Authority (NCSSWFA) will consolidate the districts using a five-part plan that Suozzi says will also prepare the county for the expected increase in federal stormwater regulations. Under the plan, rates for sewer taxes will be frozen through 2007.
Residents, however, will be affected by the plans to recoup the remaining $19 million. The plan allows for the county to increase surcharges on car registrations to $15 on passenger vehicles, up from $5 or $10 (depending on a vehicle's weight). Commercial vehicles will see a $30 increase to $40 a vehicle. Projected revenues on these increases range from $9 million to $10 million next year.
Also on the rise will be the cost of reassessment on commercial property. A new $250 filling fee will be enacted on the approximately 20,000 certiorari petitions the county faces each year, which will mean about $5 million in revenue. Residents will not be charged the fee on home reassessment.
The county will also be allow to collect and spend commercial tax refunds that, although given to the property owners, were not passed on to tenants. Should owners not be able to locate former tenants who are owed the refund, the county will claim it for itself while retaining the tenants' right to claim the money at a later time. The plan expects that revenue to be about $2 million a year.
Finally, an additional $3 million is expected to come from the legislature's passage of a new law to allow the OTB Teletheater in Plainview to operate in Nassau.
The compromise calls for the oversight and safeguards that Republican leaders were looking for in creating the authority. NIFA chairman Frank Zarb, who had supported the original plan, commended all sides for working together to solve the problem. "It was not easy to reach this compromise," he said. "It is now time to look ahead and finish the work of fiscal recovery."
