By ANGELA MARSHALL
Residents want to see services restored, county on its feet
The idea of raising taxes did not raise eyebrows at the town meeting held by Oceanside's legislators last week to get residents' feedback about Nassau County's problems and discuss its future.
"I think all of us would be willing to accept a reasonable tax increase with the understanding that we are moving in the right direction," said one of about 50 residents who attended the meeting, almost all of whom agreed that a tax rise would be preferable to losing more services.
Legislators Michael Zapson, Jeff Toback and Joseph Scannell, all Democrats, said the meeting was just one step in the fulfillment of a promise to open up government. "None of us are up for election," Mr. Zapson said. "We're doing this because we think it's the right thing to do."
What residents don't want, according to those present, is the continuation of Nassau's problems. Estimates put the county's deficit anywhere between $100 million and 400 million. They questioned how the mess was created and what the legislators were doing to fix it.
One key to their battle plan, the legislators said, is passage of a referendum to limit the county executive's power. If passed, the referendum that will appear on the November ballot will restrict Thomas Gulotta's ability to hire without the legislature's approval. "It's going to be a real stranglehold," Mr. Toback said.
Some residents worried that Mr. Gulotta's proposed budget would cut too many programs, such as those in the parks, and social services. "There's not enough park rangers as is," one resident said.
Others worried that cutbacks in personnel might lower overall quality of life and safety of the county's water supply. Key positions in these areas have been slated for elimination, they said.
To save these services, residents, by a show of hands, said they would be willing to accept a $100 tax increase to help pay off the deficit and get the county back on its feet. Such a tax increase would raise approximately $50 million.
However, residents also wanted to see an end to short-term, quick-fix planning. A county worker from Oceanside at the meeting said she has witnessed countless waste in Nassau because of poor and patchwork planning. She said the mentality has always been: "'Let's just patch it up.' I've seen so much ill-spent money just in facilities alone."
Although the legislators told residents it was unreasonable to expect the problem to be solved overnight, Mr. Zapson said, "We're not going to throw money at the problem. We're going to fix the problem."
The legislators praised the Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA), a board set up by the state, for placing requirements on Mr. Gulotta, including the creation of a four-year plan. "It forces him to look outward," Mr. Scannell said.
He went over some items the legislature has addressed this year to help create a more fiscally solvent county, such as a vehicle control act that removed all non-emergency vehicles from county workers; $11 million in cuts to the police department included in Mr. Gulotta's budget; a budget request of the elimination of 70 "patronage" jobs; a $2.1 million hiring freeze, and $5.4 million in expected savings from the removal of meal money and beepers from county workers. "I think things are starting to move the way we want," Mr. Scannell said.
