The Nassau County Government Efficiency Project’s goal is to reduce Nassau County’s enormous tax burden by eliminating or consolidating wasteful and dysfunctional Special Taxing Districts countywide.
Nassau county residents have the dubious distinction of having the second highest property taxes in the nation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We could easily save millions of dollars every year if we consolidated special taxing districts’ administrative “back office” functions such as insurance, payroll and purchasing. We could save millions more if public services, like water and sanitation were integrated into county or town-wide entities.
It is in efforts to bring some of these horrific abuses to light that we have compiled “20 Horrors of Special Taxing Districts,” which is aimed to best illustrate many of the corrupt practices of these districts, which influence nearly ever taxpayer in Nassau County.
Un-Democratic Elections As of now, the Board of Elections does not regulate Special District Elections- meaning they can be held anytime, anywhere- and never when it’s convenient for ordinary voters
Taxation without representation Special fire, sewer, sanitation, library, park and other districts have the ability to tax and spend without answering to any other government entity, giving them the ability to unfairly inflate your tax bill.
Health Benefits to the deceased One Hempstead Sanitation District employee received healthcare premiums until three years after his death…..and he’s not the only one.
More vehicles than employees While many districts use a fleet of cars to help provide services to constituents, many of Nassau’s special districts actually have more cars in their fleet than they have employees on staff.
Kitchen caucuses- One of the more popular places for Special Districts to hold their elections is in someone’s kitchen- another popular location is the basement of one of the District commissioners- either way, they are hardly ever held at a place that ensures fair, balanced elections.
Free dental work The wife of a Plainview Water district commissioner recently received free dental work and braces- completely paid for with taxpayer dollars.
DVDs and Stereos A common perk for automobiles in special district fleets is a DVD player and a state- of-the-art stereo system, paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Plenty in the bank Recent reports from Comptroller Howard Weitzman’s office show that the Cathedral Gardens water district has enough money in the bank to provide services to constituents free of charge for the next seven and a half years!
Exorbitant Pay “Unskilled” workers for the Oyster Bay sewer district make $101,000 annually, while many district commissioners make more money than the Governor of New York.
Free housing Some Nassau Water commissioners get their own home, paid for in full, for as long as they are the commissioner of their own Special District.
Annual salary increases While the rest of Long Island enjoys negative wage growth, dozens of special district employees have seen 10-20% wage increases from 2002-present.
10,500 fiefdoms Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is disgusted with this practice- and has called for an end to the wasteful spending associated with these districts- and is pushing a bill to ensure oversight and accountability.
Zero oversight Until recently, these districts were not even required to turn over their books to the proper authorities. Even now, it’s difficult to track exactly how these taxpayer dollars are spent.
Nepotism The best way to get one of these comfortable positions? Be related to someone who does. According to published reports, patronage plays a huge role in how these positions are allocated.
No public notice How do you find out where your polling place is for these Special Elections? In many cases, you don’t- as these districts make it almost impossible for your average voter to find out when and where these elections take place. On average, 1-3% of registered voters turn out for these elections.
Vacation Pay A South Farmingdale Water commissioner received $100 of taxpayer money for every day that he attended a conference in Toronto- including the days the conference wasn’t taking place.
Free Road Trips Published reports indicated that dozens of Special District board members use their complimentary vehicles to travel on out of state vacations while using taxpayer dollars to pay for gas.
Paid to play golf In addition to full-time health benefits, many part-time commissioners receive $80-$100 “per diem” for services- which, according to published records, include playing 18 holes of golf on a weekday.
Civil Service? Special District employees swear that they have earned their sky-high salaries by being products of the civil service system- but do not be fooled. Civil Service positions were never intended to provide exorbitant benefits, patronage jobs, and a long list of absurd perks.
No consolidation The vast majority of the services provided by Special Districts could be easily provided by the towns- and in many cases, these districts could easily be merged together, and provide taxpayers huge property tax savings. However, the commissioners of these districts enjoy having the power to spend YOUR money on luxuries that they do not deserve, and services they don’t really provide- and more often than not, they abuse that power.
Do these abuses of power sound unfair to you? Then contact us and find out how you can help. Jeff Guillot, the Project Coordinator for the Government Efficiency Project, can be reached at 516-541-1006 x13. Related Website: http://www.fixmypropertytaxes.com
The Nassau County Government Efficiency Project’s goal is to reduce Nassau County’s enormous tax burden by eliminating or consolidating wasteful and dysfunctional Special Taxing Districts countywide. 
