Bethpage-Tribune_1989-04-28

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Island Trees Plainedge
also serving
Seaford Old Bethpage
VOL. 22 NO. 24 April 28-May 4,1989
Plainview
20 CENTS
Gulotta Submits Budget -
No County-wide Increase
Nassau County Executive Thomas
S. Gulotta today announced he will
be submitting a 1990 County budget
to the Board of Supervisors for their
approval this FAU that will hold the
line on all police and countywide
taxes. As as a result, there will be no
county-wide property tax increase in
1990.
While indicating that the County
budget only accounts for 22% of the
real property tax burden sustained by
residents, with the remaining 78%
falling within the jurisdiction of school
districts, towns, villages and special
districts over which the County has
no control, Gulotta proclaimed that
the County must provide leadership
in controlling real property tax levies
by other taxing jurisdicitons as well.
to the services they provide. Conse­quently,
school district budgets ~ the
only budget directly voted upon by
our residents — are being voted down
in increasing numbers."
"We must reverse the trend of
increasing property taxes. All munic­ipalities
and school districts must take
a leadership role in living within our
budgets, just as every homeowner
must. If we, as local municipalities and
school districts, pledge to hold the line
on our budgets to protect our property
\ taxpayers, then if the state and federal
governments are sincere in holding the
line on property taxes, they must not
reduce their level of support or
incjrease inandatedeQ;&(^ on those
same taxpayers."
Nassau County will do its part in
u^, AU property taxes comhimed are reaching the
cmtfiseaimy lepel and are he^nning t» dimimdf the potue
€»/ &mr h&mes whieh eonstit^e the single largest im^es^ment
@f msr residents. ** GutoUa said, ''If ^ ^railing increase
in properly taxes by att taxing jmrisdieti&ns is permitted
t& conMnne, it miil drive emr senior dUzewm frmn ti^eir
hmneSf prevent y&ang e&^ies frmn ieeating bere^ and
resattin an intaierahle burden upmt onr midMe income
taa^ayers,^
"Nassau County has been rated in
national surveys as being one of the
finest places in the country in which
to live. The County has consistently
been ranked among the 10 areas of
the country in the quality of educa­tion,
safety, health services, environ­ment,
and economic strength. Never­theless,
if property taxes continue to
increase, that high quality of life will
be available for fewer and fewer
people. School districts are a perfect
example," Gulotta pointed out.
"School taxes account for 55% to 60%
of he real property tax burden in
Nassau County ~ the largest percen­tage
by far of all taxing jurisdicitons.
The increase in school property taxes
acts as a major detterent to young
couples with children establishing
themselves in our communities. The
ironic result is tht an ever increasingly
expensive educational system is edu­cating
fewer and fewer children. The
same scenario is beingplay out by
other taxing jurisdictions with regard
providing a leadership role in real
property tax reduction. In 1988, we
cut our costs and underspent our
budget by $37 million. We will
continue our efforts to cut costs,
institute greater efficiences, and turn
non-environmentally sensitive surplus
county land into productive property
for our taxpayers. We will seek to
stimulate the economy and, if neces­sary,
as a last resort limit services -
- but we will live within our budget,
and 1 shall present a no tax increase
budget to our Board of Supervisors
this Fall. Our objective is to reduce
costs while maintaining the quality of
our services."
Similarly, 1 am issuing a friendly
challenge to our school districts and
other municipalities to do the same
~ HOLD THE LINE ON PROP­ERTY
TAXES. I firmly believe we
can achieve that objective by working
together to find a common solution.
Simply stated, there will be no increase
in the 1990 County tax!
Home Repair Frauds 'Bloom' in Spring
For homeowners, that first nice
spring day signals the time to think
about making home repairs. But don't
let your enthusiasm make you an easy
mark for the thousands of con-artist
who sell home repair deals that often
turn into disasters.
When it comes to home repair, an
ounce of prevention is worth more
than a pound of cure. Once a home
repair fraud has been perpetrated
against you, it may be difficult to get
back money you have lost. The best
solution is to prevent a potential
problem.
It is important to know what you
want done before you begin contact­ing
potential contractors; otherwise,
you may end up with less than you
need, or more than you can afford.
Once you know what is to be done,
there; are several sources of informa­tion
to help you choose a contractor.
Talk to friends and relatives, check
the newspaper or the yellow pages, call
your local utility company, check with
your local material suppliers or call
the Chamber of Commerce. In any
event, contact more than one firm -
at least three is recommended.
Consumers should be sure they are
dealing with reputable people before
handing over any money, and then
continue to safeguard their own
interests until the repairs have been
satisfactorily completed. Before sign­ing
a contract, check the reputation
of the person or company by calling
the Nassau County Department of
Consumer Affairs. Call 535-3871 to
find out if they are licensed in Nassau
County or call 535-2600 to find out
if any complaints have been lodged
against hi or her recently.
For additional information send a
self-addressed, stamped legal-size
envelope to: "Home Repair Frauds
Bloom In The Spring," Cornell
Cooperative Extension, 1425 Old
Country Road, Plainview, NY 11803.
BETHPAGE RESIDENT RAISES $4,800
FOR CANCER SOCIETY
Ed Miller of Bethpage delivers the official "^flowers of hope" to fellow Long
Island Lighting Company employee Phyllis Aversa. Through the sale of
daffodils to over 1,000 LILCO employees, Miller doubled his previous record
this year by raising $4,800 for the Long Island Chapter of the American
Cancer Society. Miller has received the Cancer Society's Appreciation Award
for support of "Daffodil Days" for the past three years.