1971-05-13

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VOL. 8 No. 38 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 1 1735 • Pu OBSKRVER, INC., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. Thursday, May 13, 1971
MATTERS OF HONOR
MATTERS OF HONOR were indeed dealt with at Farmingdale
Village Hall last Monday night. The upper picture shows village
attorney Joseph Stern ( second from right) receiving from mayor
Joseph Zureck his award for 25 years of faithful service as a
public official. This award is given by the New York State Con­ference
of Mayors. Looking on are, from left to right, trustees
Willis B. Carman Jr., Norman Krasnow and John Hallahan.
Some of the same faces show up in the two pictures below. In the
picture directly below this caption John Delaney ( second from
right) receives his commendation for outstanding public service,
with which he was named Fire Commissioner Emeritus for life,
from mayor Zureck. From left to right a r e Norman Krasnow, who
is now chairman ot the Board of Fire Commissioners, and com­missioners
John Taylor, August Becker, Rocco Posillico and
Heinz Riedrich.
This picture has mayor Zureck handing a commendation to
former Fire Chief Charles Karp, who holds his son Jamie, for his
and his men's quick and successful action during the recent fire at
Weldon E. Howitt JHS. Looking on are, from left to right, 1st
Deputy Chief Gus Schlinghoff, the present Chief Joseph Murphy
and 2nd Chief Wm. Kenny.
( Pictures by Jack Pokress)
Tighten Belts: Oyster Bay
Town Goes On Austerity
' 1.1 Million State Aid Lost- Job Freeze Is Instituted
Austerity is the word. Loss of state aid in the amount
of some $ 1.1 million is throwing the finances of the
Town of Oyster Bay so much out of whack that
Supervisor John W. Burke put the freeze on all spen­ding
and instituted a number of cutbacks to prevent
what he called a major budgetary crisis.
Last fall the Town Board
adopted a budget of slightly over
$ 11 million. The loss of $ 1.1
million, consisting of $ 870,000 less
per capita aid then originally
projected and approx $ 230,000
from the change in the revenue-sharing
formula, therefore
means a 10 per cent gap between
income and outgo. To close this
gap the outgo will now be
chopped by $ 1.1 million to bring it
in line with the lower income.
Burke outlined the areas where
he said the Town would tighten its
fiscal belt. He said Town beaches
would operate on the basis of a
reduced season. A job freeze has
been instituted with no new
personnel to be hired or existing
vacancies to be filled except
where absolutely necessary. A
, najor reduction in the budgeted
cost of seasonal personnel is
another step as well as a sharp
reduction in the previously
planned Town Security program
and curtailment of the Town
Beautification program. Finally
a freeze on unencumbered funds
has been instituted which will
eliminate planned equipment
purchases and all types of sup-
Library Budget
May Go Up
Over One Third
After years of holding the line
and living within it means the
Farmingdale Library Board of
Trustees may come in with a
record budget increase of
$ 120,000, or approximately 33 per
cent over last year's budget.
This was the figure mentioned
at Tuesday night's board meeting
by trustee Joseph Crocco. Up to
this point this is Mr. Crocco's
estimate and not an established
fact. But it may come to that,
primarily because of increased
wages and salaries for library
employees.
The current negotiations
between the employees union and
the board have not resulted in
any settlement. And they may not
even bring in a settlement by
June 2, the deadline for filing the
budget to be voted upon June 8
and 9 in conjunction with th « ?
school budget vote. In this case
the budget would have to be
anticipated and the figure of
$ 120,000 used.
Board President Warren
Altmann announced that the
board would meet in executive
session Monday and that a
special public meeting may be
called prior to the June 1
meeting.
The trustees decided to meet
one week earlier than usual in
June because their regular
second Tuesday date is the date
of the annual School District
Meeting. June 1 is the first
Tuesday.
plies including typewriters,
desks, etc.
The Supervisor said these
measures " would not reduce
essential services and would
enable us to minimize the effect
of the loss of state funds.
" We must move now," Burke
said, " to prevent a fiscal crisis in
the ensuing months of 1971. Some
of our plans were developed on
the fact that we would be in
receipt of substantial state aid.
The legislature voted a cut in aid
and this has set off a chain
reaction. We also have con­tractual
obligations based on
agreements with the Civil Ser­vice
Employees Association
which have a direct bearing on
budgetary requirements and the
state aid loss.
" The alternative," Burke said,
" is deficit financing of the
operating budget and that would
lead us to eventual fiscal
disaster."
The lone minority member of
the Town Board, Councilman
Lewis Yevoli ( D- C), who is an
announced candidate for the
office of Supervisor, saw this
action as a vindication of the
position he took when the Town
budget was adopted last fall. At
that time he contended that there
was close to $ 1 million fat in the
budget. This was disputed by the
Republican majority. As Yevoli
sees it, the fact that the budget is
reduced now by over $ 1 million
shows that it is possible to
operate the town with that much
less money and proves him right.
An Evening of Giving
At Village Hall
It was give- honor- unto- those- who- deserve- it as well as Emil
Gerngras Park night at Farmingdale village hall last Monday.
Honor was bestowed upon
village attorney Joseph Stern
who received an award for 25
years of faithful service to the
community from the New York
State Conference of Mayors.
Honor was also bestowed upon
John J. Delaney, a former trustee
of the village and chairman of the
Board of Fire Commissioners of
the Village of Farmingdale. For
the services he has rendered to
the residents he was appointed
Fire Commissioner Emeritus for
life.
Jack Delaney joined the fire
department in 1935 as member of
the Hook, Ladder & Hose Co.,
rose subsequently to member of
the Board of Fire Commissioners
and eventually became its
chairman. In recognition of his
long and faithful service mayor
Joseph Zureck and the Board of
Trustees created with the title
Fire Commissioner Emeritus
this " first."
And honor was eventually
bestowed upon past Fire Chief
Charles Karp and the fire
department for their com­mendable
action at the time of
the fire at Weldon E. Howitt
Junior High.
Which, after amending the
parking ordinance, led the
meeting to a discussion of the
present situation in regard to the
newly opened Emil Gerngras
Park at Staples and Hudson Sts.
The park is, as resident Owen
Schell commented, a distinct
asset to the community. The
board joined him in praising the
work performed by the em­ployees
of the village park
department.
One problem, though, bothered
the board: Who would open ami
close the gate to the park? And it
was here that the spirit of
cooperation and civic pride really
came through: Owen Schell
volunteered to become the
Keeper of the Key to Emil
Gerngras Park and to guarantee,
together with his neighbors
George Martin, Eddie Keck and
Larry Greco, that the park would
be properly opened in the mor­ning
and closed at night.
The board then set the hours for
the use of the park as being 8a. m.
- 8 p. m. until Memorial Day, 8
a m - - 9 p. m. until Labor Day and
back to 8 p. m. again after Labor
Day, with yet to be determined
earlier closing times in winter.
St Kilian Concert
Coming Next Week
In only a week, the concert
which wins critical acclaim each
year because of its superior
quality and performance, will be
presented at St. Kilian
Auditorium, Cherry St., Far­mingdale.
This year Malcolm
Williamson's children's opera,
" The Happy Prince"' will be the
Boychoir feature.
How the bejewelled statue of
the Happy Prince overlooking the
public square, and seeing the
poverty about him, brings
happiness to those less fortunate,
will be sung and staged by the
Boychoir. Mr. Williamson,
presently at Princeton, N. J , will
come to Farmingdale to per­sonally
assist Theodore Grud-zinski,
Boychoir director.
The second half of the program
brings the traditional classic and
folk tunes as well as the St. Kilian
Chorale medley from a Broad­way
show: " Summertime" and
" It Ain't Necessarily So" are
only two from Gershwin's
" Porgy and Bess" which will be
performed.
Tickets are only $ 2.00, Adults
and $ i. oo, students. Concert
dates are May 21. and 22, 8: 30
p. m., and May 23. 7: 30 p. m For
further information call St.
Kilian Kectorv. CH 9^) 127 or Mrs.
Broyles, CH 9- 5547.