By Robert Remler
County revenue sharing would benefit village
The Democratic majority in the county legislature announced last week-as part of their proposed 2001 budget- that $250,000 should be allocated to incorporated villages. There are 64 such villages that would share in county sales tax revenues already were going to Nassau's towns and cities.
Valley Stream Mayor Edward Cahill said he has never agreed with the tax revenues being shared with the City of Glen Cove and the City of Long Beach but not incorporated villages. "I do think that the villages are definitely entitled to their portion of the sales tax."
The mayor also said that at one time County Executive Thomas Gulotta did put "some money into the budget for villages, but that was taken out by the Legislature at that time."
The Nassau County Village Association has been working on getting the county to share sales tax revenue for the past four years, according to Mayor Cahill. With the potential of a $155 increase in taxes for the average house and the cutting of staffs, the county budget might include a "portion" for villages, said Mayor Cahill. A budget proposal that cut staff was one Mayor Cahill said he could not support.
The village's 2000 budget "did not count on receiving a portion of sales-tax revenue from the county," the mayor said. "It would be a plus for us. We would probably utilize the money somewhere in the infrastructure of the village."
The village is undertaking a variety of construction projects in the spring, which involve local streets and parks and that is where money received from the county would be used, said Mayor Cahill. "It would be put to good use in that area."
The mayor wouldn't say if he thought the idea to share sales-tax revenue was politically motivated and timed to coincide with elections. "It hasn't affected me personally - I haven't heard or spoken to anyone who said that it will affect them. Everyone said it is due to us. It looks good and we should get it."
Village Clerk Vincent Ang said it was too soon to know how much money the village would receive if the Democratic proposal were adopted. "We have never gotten it before, so it's not something that we ever lost."
A press release issued by the majority Democratic legislators on Oct. 24 indicated that the "$250,000 will be divided among the villages based on population."
Money included in the village's budget is raised through taxes and income, said Mr. Ang. If sales-tax revenues are shared with the village, Mr. Ang described the prospect of those funds as "found money."
Valley Stream ranks in size only behind Hempstead Village and Freeport and that is why Mr. Ang said the village should receive a large portion of the sales-tax revenue. "By the standards of Glen Cove and Long Beach, Valley Stream and Freeport are big enough to be cities themselves," said Mr. Ang.
Gene Scarpato, Lynbrook mayor and First Vice President, Nassau County Villages Officials Association, had his own comments regarding the shared sales tax plan.
"Nassau County is one of the few counties in the state which does not share its sales tax revenue with incorporated villages. We have fought for some time to have the county begin sharing these revenues with villages and I am pleased to see that the Legislature has included some revenue in the proposed year 2001 county budget.
"We are cognizant of the county's precarious fiscal condition but we wanted to at least get a line into the budget so we could begin sharing some of that revenue, even if it is only a limited amount of money. Hopefully, when the county's fiscal condition improves, we will be in a position to receive a fairer share of sales tax revenues. At least, however, this is a start."
