The-Leader_1987-01-07

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i^KWrORT MEV.or.UI. UBHAH-X
Ollicial
Newspaper
Village o(
Freeport
t
Fieeport
Sctiool Distrlcl
Bajfiwin
Schoct Dislrici
THE
FREEPORT
BALDWIN LEAMR
54th YEAR, NO. 1 FREEPORT, NEW YORK January 7,1987 PRICE 2 5 * PER COPY
y Village Board reveals.'88 budget V
A 60 percent increase in the
cost of premiums for the Empire •
Ran,-the^heajthiaie planoffered
"to Village employees, retirees and
dependents, has forced the Vil­lage
of Freeport to scrap plans to
rcduct^pending in its operating
budget and instead raise taxes
SI.25 per $100 of assessed valua­tion.
The tax increase means
$87.50 per year for the typical
, owner of property assessed at
$7,000 or about $7.30 per month
in additional Nillage' tax.
"-'The tenutive Village budget
will be the subject of a public
hearing on Monday, January I),
at 8 p.m. at the Village Hall.
While the unprecedented 60
percent increase in insurance
premiums is being contested in
the courts. Village Treasurer
Michael Haran explained that,
"Freeporfs next fiscal budget
must by law be adopted by Feb­ruary
I, and Fiscal prudence dic­tates,
we deal with the problem
now rather than wait on the out­come
of what may prove to'be a
long judicial process.*
ilie magnitude of the Einpire
Plan premium hike is easily illus­trated.
In the current l987-£8 Fis­cal
year, the cost of premiums for
medical and dental insurance was
_ _. increased by $672;200:
Tlie Village is bound by nego-tiatejljeentracts
topro^'ide health
insurance for its employees and
their families, most of whom are
Village residents. Village otricials
haw maintained that while every
means is being taken to combat
this increase, its effect on the
1988-89 budget is unavoidable.
Other factors also contributed
to the tax hike cuntntly pending
before the Board. "The Village is
still trying to recover from the
loss ot $400,000 in federal
rennue sharing which had been
used to support the police
departttient,"M:. ffetan noted. "In
addition, the budget for the com­ing
fiscal year must anticipate
new wage agretmenft'*}th the
Police Benevolent Association
and the Civil Senice Employees
Association, while federally ;
mandated increases in employer
social security contributions will
cost the Village another
$133,000."
Revenues to the Village during
1988-S9 ate expected to be fairly
constant. However, it is expected
that revenue from recreation
sources will top SI millionfotthe
first time, whileSl.l million from
the sale of the municipal stadium
has been btidgeled for the coming
fiscal year, with the remainder of
,lhe$3millionsaleprjceslatedfor
tax stabilization in future
budgets^' _ ^ .
—Vaiage officials said the impact
of the Empire Plan premium hike
was minimized by a number of
cost saving measures instituted
by the Village, including the shift-
.lo.iuibiidc-gaibagccollectlon;
Curbside collection, which will be
instituted this March or April as
part of a recycling program man­dated
by the Town of Hemp­stead,
will trim approximately
$400,000 from the contract price
paid to the Village's pris-ate waste
carter. In addition, by accelerat­ing
the institution of the recycling
program, the Village will be eli^-
ble fo.r an additional state reim­bursement
of $75,000, which will
be used to fund the purchase of
specialized recyling equipment.
"The 1988-89 Village budget I
required a number of tough deci­sions,"
Mayor Dorothy Storm
noted. "No one likes a tax
increase, and every effort was
made by the Board to limit its
effect on the average homeowner.
"However, Freeporters vrant
and expect the same level of serr
vices as they have ei^oyed in the
past. The budget currently under
consideratioD ensures that the
. quality of life that Freeport resi­dents
have come to know."
The cooperation of the various
department.heads was particu­larly
commendable, >Mayor
Storm observed. "Each of the
initial departmental budget
-requests was returned with orders
that it be pared down to the grea­test
extent possible without
impairing services. Faced with
tconlinued on page 2)
Looking for 88's first baby
"VVRo'will be^Freeport or Balilwin's first baby of 19887
The Leeder and your local merchants want to know the
newcomer's Identity so they can honor the tiny newborn
(and hit or her parents) with a shower of gifts.
Parents o,r anyone else knowing of a baby bom early In
1988 can just fill out the coupon to be. found in this
week's Leader end mail or deliver it to The Leeder at 294
West Merrick Road, Freeport. New York. The coupon
must be accompanied by a statement from the attending
physician including the date and tiirie of birth. No infor­mation
will be taken by phone.
The first baby bom In Freeport 6; Baldwin in 1988 will
receive the following gifts: a floral arrangement from
Freeport House of Flowers, a $26 gift certificate~from
Gouz Dairy, a tZB gift certificate from Bafasch'a Kids
Store, a gift from Wafter'a Footwear, a shampoo,
blowdry and manicure from Osvaldo, and a one-year sub­scription
to The Leader. Of course, the young celebrity
will be featured in The Leader's pages.
Qlfts must be picked up by the winning baby's family
within two weeks of the date of the announcement.
Dr. King's birthday celebrated
The Freeport Human Rela-tioni
Commission has invited
civic and teligiaus orgaiuzations
to join in the planning of the Vil­lage's
atmual tribute on Martin
Luther King's birthday. The
committee is chaired by Reve­rend
Simon Bouie of Bethel
AME Church. '
The tribute will take place at
J Bon Voyagef Freeport fiftii graders prepare for trip to l\/!e/un, France
A lot of French is being heard
in the halls and classrooms of the
Caroline G. Atkinson School this
semester as 17 Fifth grade stu­dents
prepare to participate in an
exciting exchange program ,with
students from France.
Tlie 17 fifth graders are sche­duled
to be in Ftince Febi^ty
27 to March 19. Most of the i i it
dents involved in the exchange
were together for a special-'
summer program coniisting of
French History, Geography, Oil-ture,
and Language; They still
n6et on Wednesday afternoons
as part of the Atkinson Sch6ol
Enrichment Program, where they
are working on a project gather­ing
and creating representative
items for a package to be sent to
the host community in
November. Tbey continue to
develop their French language
skills on Wednesdays, with help
from Freeport High School
French language teachers and
• students.
The group, which will be
accompanied by two faculty
members. Ms. Vicki Fuller and
Mrs. Lorraine Barry, »ill be stay­ing
in Melun, about 50 miles sou­theast
of Paris.
In addition, eight fifth grade
students and their families will
serve as Freeport hosts for
French students who will be here
April 14 to May 5.1988.
Exchange students and their
parents.learned on October 22
that Melun would be the host
community. The Atkinson stu­dents
will now begin correspond-ing
with their French
counterparts.
Going to France in February,
1988 are Suzanne Barry: Mat­thew
Cacciatore, James Combs,
Nicole Coward, Julian 'Fox,
Jacob Gerrie, Marina Harrison,
Summer Huggard, Rachell Jos-loff,
Elizabeth Manio, Maggie
Meszaros, Pamela Mole, Xenia
Morrell, Ray Pomerico, Nancy
Ross, Pamela Simonson, and
Erich Sperber. ,
Sening.as.Freepon hosts for
French student) in April and
May are Wanda Bicloszabski,
Ellise Flj-nn, Myles Karr, Jesica
Lehr, Fionna Nelson, Mlchele
PoUucci, Elizabeth Stuenel, and
Nancy Weinberg. • •
the Freeport High School audit­orium
on January 17,3:30 to 5:30
p.m.
Congressman Floyd Flake of
Queens will speak and there will
be a special mtuical presentation
by Freeport composer Hale
Smith. Refreshmenl.s will be
served.
photo by Ira J. Sehildkraui
CAROLINE Q. ATKINSON partldpanta and host* In French exchange program with Principal
Georga Coupe and teachera VicU Fuller and Lorraine Berry. . -