The-Leader_1982-12-23

              *'
^
Oiiiciai ]
UetHipapti
Village ol
Freepoft •
^ • F/eepofi
School Oittrict
•
Baldwin
School Ornrict
"5
a
•
u
^
s• -•
7
?
a
< a
•
o
lU
Mi
" •
MEMOWAiluBR^
• ^
FEEEF03T L'ESOHIAL LIBHARI
a «£RRICK-RD
FHEEfOST U r 11520 6
FREEPORT. NEW YORK. DECEMBER 23.1982
47UiYEAR,No.3S
PRICE 2 5 * PER COPT
Freeport Budget Increase Is 99
LIRR Freeport Public Hearing Jan. 3"',
Escalator Out -
WISHtNQ YOU A MEHRY, MERRY CHRtSTMAS-.-The volunteer
liremen oi Freeport'* Truck Company f 1 hang the gUnt-elzed wreath
and Santa ateve lh« doors o> their Church Street headquarte;;*. _
Helping to apread lome Chrittmas Joy are (lop to bottom on left ladder)
Paul Haahagen, Jeff .Steven*, Capt. Joe FAIco, ex-Chlef Donald
MaOeraberger and'John Maueraberger; (top to bottom, right ladder)'
Stan Klatela, Hank Molle and Bob Splnoccia; and (In center)Xi. Rick
Holdener.
Baldwin Reorganizaiion
Facts Presented
byJoanOe/aney
BALDWIN - Although scheduled in tlie midst of holiday prcfiaratioiu
and annoanced as a meeting without audience paitictpatioii, the
December 14 Baldwn Board of Education meeting, in which the
Superintendent's Comtmttee on ReorganizatioQ (SCORE) presented
the "ratioiule and facts" of the proposed reorganization plan, was well
attended. An aadience of several
hundred people listened, quietly School Board member Dr. Arnold
as each member of the committee _ Lurie stressed their desire that all
presented information on such aspects of the plan should be
- For Repairs,
JAMAICA - According to a
Long Island Railroad . spokes- .
person, vandalism to the escala­tor
rtthe Freeport tlRR Sutton
may-mean'that commuters mil
be forced to use the adjacent
staircase to reach platform level
for the next couple of weeks.
Rvc of the escalator's steps
were tuinA), . apparently by
vandals . and the contractor,
Westiogbouse Electric Corp. of
Valley Stream, has been able tpt
replace only three of tbem at this
time. Weatinghnuse has always-'
mtiauiaed • supply-, of these .
spcdfie steps but. because of the;'
amoont of svch vandalism, has
hotbeenable tokeepup with the
dematid. The search for the two
reroaii^ng steps is continuing,
explaiits URR spokesnun Don
Malone. .
In the m^nttme, Malone
suggests that URR commuters
wishing to reach station platform
level via escalator will have to use
either the Baldwin station, which'
is 1.5 miles to the west, or the
Merrick station, 1.4 miles to the
east, until the repairs can be
made.
While Malone's information
-seemed to indicate that the
escalator had been out-of-service
for about two weeks, complaints
from commuters, last week, to
THE LEADER described the
situTAiorTthen as "more than one
month old." This week, contacted
again by this newspaper the LIRR
promised to keep in touch with
Copies Ready On Monday
FREEFORT -The tenutivehy proposed 1983-84 ViDage of Freeport
raunicipa) budget would cany a tax increase of 9S* per SlOO of assess­ed
valuation, according.to the preliminary figures rel^sed the week
before Christinas by village officials.
The Une-by-Iioe budget, whidi will be the subject of a public hearing
on Monday evening, January 3 ,.
win be available to the pnbGc
beginning at 3 pm on Monday,
December 27, in the Village
Oetk's office in Village Hal) and
at the Freeport Memorial Libcaiy.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: THE
..LEADER wid alsb.obuin the line-
' by-Tine budg^ ' and -win' bitalg"
more' specific figures to its
readers lh~ jwit • week's issue.
dated Thursday. December 30). •
According to Jean Peters, the
village's Public Information Offi­cer,
the 8.8% tax increase raises
the total village .tax rate to
$13.06 per SlOO assessed valua­tion.
The adopted tax rate for
fiscal year I982-S3 was $12.08. ••
Mrs. Peters says the village's
proposed new budget calls for
ex[x:nditures of S16.5 million.' an
increase of $1,029,817 over last
•year's. Estimated revenues for
the fiscal year, she says, stand at
$4.3 million and funds on haoJ
at $848,000. According to these
•figures, she notes. $11.2 million
must be raised by taxation on real
property in the village. The vil­lage's
total "current assessed
valuation is $86.7 million.
items as finance, racial isolation,
the fiin day kindergarten, the
condition of the schools slated to
close, and pc«sible other options.
School Board president
Lorraine Deller announced that
the board's regular monthly
meeting on January S, at Steele
School, would include time for
the aadience to ask questions.
In addition, another metting is
scheduled for Wednesday.
January 12, at 8 pm, at District
Offices on Hastings Street, and
audietice input as well .as Ijoar^.
discussion of tJie plan .win tlkrf
place. Both Mrs. Deller and
clearly and thoroughly presented
and discussed in open session.
Deller reaffirmed that a decision
is not expected to be made until
late January and that it was
within the province of the board
lo accept all, some, or part of the— „ J^
plan. Lutie said thai-the Adminis­tration
had "done what it was
asked to do...in a professional
_manner...." according ta the
'guidelines and constraints
esUblished by the Board. He
noted that any decision would
now be the board's.
•'•Gene' LiiRzaro, chairman of
(Conl.oo?aoe12)
the situation. __ l "-^ The 98< tax increase would
_ • »» t • ftf mean an additional cost of $68.60
County Selects'NuM^T'^»""""' ""»8'«"« '° •*«
"average" homeowner. Whose
. FHS Students
FREEPORT - Nine Freeport
High School students are among
the 45 recently selected mem­bers
of the 1982-83 Nassau
County Youth Board's YoutJt Par­ticipation
Project (YPP).
The youngsters, who were
chosen on the basis of personal
interviews, are John Apostoli-dess.
Jeff Bunch. Deidre Gaither,
Tracy Gillespie. Tina "Hutch-inson,
Tanya McDonald, Gary
Poacher, Eric Smith and David
property is assessed at -$7.(X)0. a
figure, often used as an example.
That same homeowner's total vil-lagc-
tax-should be $914.20 for
19a3-S4U~ as opposed to the
$845.60 he or she would have
paid this year.
Now in its' fourth year of
operation, the Youth Panici-pation
Project is a model lead­ership
training program, which
has recesrvesd national recog­nition.
The students' invohreineat
provides them with an oppor-^
-(UBity'to develop effective lead,-
• (Cont.'onPage^
According to Mayor William
White, the tax increase "reflects
unavoidable increases in operat­ing
costs such as salary increases
lo police and other municipal em­ployees
granted in the current
fiscal year and amounting to
$400,000." Village, employees
recently receded an 6% salary
increase retroactive to March 31
and are currently in negotiations
for next year's salary package.
According to Mrs. Peters, the
contingeiKy fund figure of
$675,000 in the 1983-84 budget
had been set to take into account,
among other things, both th?.
Civil Ser\-ict Empd^rees AssOcia-'
tion and Freeport Police Benevo­lent
Assodation contracts' in
negotiation. The $675,000 '
figure is up SJTSJXX) from last
year's budgets
Health insurance costs for
einployres is' another figure
released. this. week by the vil­lage's
representative; Budgeted
last year for $420,000. Mi^.
Peters says the costs are set at
$530,000 in the next fiscal year in
recognition of an already siate
approved rate increase. Earlier
this year, the village administra­tion
proposed that village empl>5y-ees
begin to absorb such rate
increases and even suggested a
graduated scale based on^salar)-.
—This is currently a matiVr. ihc
village says, of contractual and
legal dispute.
The proposed )983'!i4_b,udgci
also reflects the fact ihai this
current year's municipal budget
aiiticipated. receiung $100,000.
more from the siale-ihan the
village actually did receive in a
special one-time "windfall"
grant.
Mayor While points out ihat
all these incrcgjed costs original­ly
added up to a possible >ax
h'lke in excess of $1, but "honing
down in other areas resulted'in
the proposed 98C" increase.
The annual municipal budge: is
not the subject of a public vote
or referendum, but the Village
Board 'holds a public hearing
before it votes on the isuic.
The Monday nighi. Januar)' Jrd
public hearing will begin at 8 pr.i
in the main conference nwm ai
Village Hall. 46 North Ocean
Avenue. Freeport. Those desiring
to speak at the meeting, will be
asked to sign in when ihey come.
Holiday Schedule
FREEPORT — AH Vilbge cf
Freeport offices will be closed the
day before Christmas and Ibe day
before Ne:w Years, Fridays.-'
December 24 and 31.
The Freeport K«vreatioo
Center win tiose at 5 pm on bnih
Christinas and New "Tear's Eves
and remain dosed -^B both
Chrixtmaa and New Ycxr'a tVa)-*.