COMPTROLLER WEITZMAN SPEAKS BEFORE VOA
From the December 2007.
Calls for reduction in government and need for Smart Growth in Nassau County ....
In a recent speech before the Nassau County Village Officials Association at the La Marmite restaurant in Williston Park, County Comptroller Howard Weitzman called for a reduction in government and the need for “Smart Growth” initiatives to reduce the tax burden on our residents and ensure future prosperity. Comptroller Weitzman, a former village official, held the position of mayor of Great Neck Estates for six years before being elected County Comptroller.
In his remarks, Comptroller Weitzman also discussed the strides that Nassau County has made in recent years, through conservative budgeting, smart management, reducing county payroll and negotiating better labor contracts.
“Nassau’s financial turnaround since 2002 has been historic,” Comptroller Weitzman said. “We have reduced the crushing backlog of property tax refunds and we achieved 12 bond upgrades in five years, a record for any municipality in the U.S. What makes these results even more remarkable is that Nassau did it while not raising the county share of property tax for five consecutive years.
So if Nassau is doing everything it can to contain costs, why are our total taxes so high? According to Weitzman, there are several contributing factors. “The main ones are school taxes; too many taxing entities; state-mandated spending; government waste; and little economic development to grow the tax base, a phenomenon common to all mature suburbs."
“A major contributor to high property taxes is that we simply have too much government in Nassau," Comptroller Weitzman said. “The county is only one of hundreds of governments in Nassau County. In addition to villages, towns, and two cities, we have 200-plus special tax districts in Nassau, many of which operate with little accountability, oversight and transparency.There are too many special taxing districts. That is why I have been leading the effort to find ways to eliminate waste and lower the costs of these districts. My office has conducted a series of audits of these districts, issued a report on how they can cut their costs, and called for town officials to increase their oversight of districts within their borders.”
In addition, I am proposing State legislation to give the towns the responsibility for garbage collection in all the unincorporated areas-a proposal that can save taxpayers $18 million.”
In 2007 Weitzman was named to the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency created by Governor Spitzer. Its mandate is to develop a plan to streamline local governments and end the cycle of continually skyrocketing property tax increases.Comptroller Weitzman also stressed the vital importance of smart growth for Nassau County’s future. Smart growth is a new vision for planned growth that creates high-paying jobs, strengthens our tax base, reduces traffic congestion and provides housing for the next generation of young people and our seniors.
“Nassau County residents all need to become visionaries and embrace Smart Growth for Nassau County, because without it, we cannot continue to grow our tax base and relieve the pressure on residential taxpayers, Weitzman said. "This doesn’t mean growth just for the sake of growth, but planned growth in and around existing downtowns, train stations, transportation centers and the Nassau County HUB. This kind of vision can help our young people, seniors and lower income families afford to live and work here.”
The Comptroller’s reports on the Nassau Budget, state aid and many other issues affecting Nassau taxpayers may be found at the Comptroller’s Web site, http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/index.html or by calling 516-571-2677.