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CIVIL WAR re-enactors dressed up Baldwin's ceremonies.
FREEPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT passes tlie reviewing stand.
¥¥fiy y©or tames are tGm high
by Laura Schofer
^ Death and taxes, the two things in ii| life that are inevitable. ji| But ever-increasing taxes have jy brought many Long Islanders to a iVs breaking point - or beyond. "This just jif might be the time to throw the tea in VH the harbor," one disgruntled home-yl owner told this reporter, saying the Ti relentless threat of rising taxes will K| drive him from his home unless some-f$ thing radical is done. H At a meeting held at Mepham High ^ School recently, a small but con-J cerned group of residents met with ^ Nassau County Legislator David ••^ Denenberg to look for just those ^ answers to the problem of a burden-2^ some tax bill.
II "I go.up and down Meadowbrook ^ Road [in Merrick] and I see more and jl| more houses with 'for sale' signs," 13 said John Pinto. "My taxes are up
$2,000 but my salary hasn't increased. If'this keeps up who will be left to pay our school bills? The young can't stay and our parents, who have lived here for 60 years^ can't stay either."
"I'm selling my house. I can't afford the increases," said one man.
"What will it take?" asked another man who lives in Freeport. "I don't know what to do anymore. I come here and scream at you, but I'm beyond the breaking point. I'm broke. There's nothing left in my pockets."
Mr. Denenberg expressed his frustration at the high taxes in the county. and added that "it is time to put our politicians' feet to the fire in order to make some real changes for the mid^ die class."
In a study done by the county comptroller's office,, it found that more than half of Nassau families plan to leave in the next five years in
part because of "crushing property taxes," the study reads.
But why do we pay such high taxes and, beyond the'rhetoric, how can res-. idents effect change?
There are five main reasons for high property taxes, according to Mr. Denenberg. They are: too much government; the cost of government; federal and state policy on taxation and obligations; the amount of taxes paid by Long Island versus the federal and -state obligations for Long Island and the state school-aid formula and cost of education.
Too much government at too great a cost
In Nassau and Suffolk counties there is a total of 124 school districts in addition to "about 900 taxing jurisdictions," explained Mr. Denenberg, which includes villages with special districts, water, sewer, parks and
libraries "All these different agen-, cies are costly. Just look at their oper-k; ation costs and their budgets," heK said. "I believe there is a lot of dupli-H cation of services, lots of waste andS' we've seen that in some cases there:, has been abuse and fraud. Look ati what happened in Roslyn [school dis-jv trict]." ['
Mr. Denenberg 'asked, "How many^j^ times haye you heard that you need toi know somebody to get a permit? Lookj.^ what happened in 1999 with regard to;-the health insurance policy for the*; county." i
County Comptroller Howardj?; Weitzman, in his inaugural .addressi this year said, "The county's specialfi taxing districts collect a shocking^ amount of property taxes, yet operate};^ with virtually no public participation|| or oversight. Our audits found|S; astounding amounts of waste andl^ almost no financial controls." H
(continued on page S]'i%
,Ci
Ftveport sdiools* food prices to rise?
In This Issue
Townhouses in Baldwin
FPU gets Homeland Security grant
www.tliefFeep0rtljaldwmleader.cofo'
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | The-Leader_2006-06-01 |
| Subject | Newspaper |
| Description | This is a Newspaper distributed locally within the Village of Freeport and Baldwin. |
| Creator | Linda Toscano |
| Publisher | L & M Publications, Inc. |
| Contributors | Scanned by Imaging & Microfilm Access, Inc. (Bohemia, NY 11716) |
| Date | 2006 |
| Type | Periodical |
| Format | PDF; TIFF |
| Source | Freeport Memorial Library |
| Language | English |
| Coverage | United States |
| Rights | This digital image may be freely used for educational uses, as long as it is not altered in any way. No commercial reproduction or distribution of this image is permitted without written permission of the Freeport Memorial Library, 144 W. Merrick Road, Freeport, NY 11520 or email: frreference@freeportlibrary.info |
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