Village News 1977-02

              Budget Brings Smallest Tax Increase In Years
Following a public hearing
early last month at which few
residents expressed dissatisfac-tion
with a tentative 1977-78
municipal budget which would
have raised the Village tax rate by
16<t per $100 of assessed valua-tion,
the Board of Trustees adop-ted
a final budget which brought
the increase down tor!3t. The
sale of valuable .undeveloped
Village-owned land adjacent to .
the existing Freepbrt/Town of
Hempstead Industrial Park and
the cutting of $529,681 from
requests by Village department
heads, resulted in the smallest
tax increase in several years.
The total 1977-78 budget is
$12,531,200. With estimated
revenues of $3,425,855 and an
estimated $200,000 in cash on
hand, $8,905,345 remains to be
raised through property taxation.
The Village's total assessed val-uation
is presently $87,247,543, a
hike of $248,651 since 1976-77.
Total Village "tax, a separate
entity from the School District
and County taxes, is therefore
$10.21 per $100 of assessed val-uation:
The 13<f increase will cost
the owner of the average' house
assessed at $7,000 only an addit-ional
76<t per month.
In announcing the approved
budget, Mayor William White .
said, "I'm very pleased to be able
to bring only a small increase to
my fellow residents. It was a long
process beginning when the
Board of Trustees, in recognition
of the fact that, unlike a city, town
or county .government, we cannot
levy sales taxes and other taxes,
but must rely only on the property
tax to meet the ever-rising cost of -
government. Ameliorating the
unfair burden on the homeowner
could not be done overnight, but
as the economic picture in the
nation began to emerge as'contin-uing
the inflationary trend, we
not only sharpened our pencils,
but took steps towards lifting
some of that burden by other
means. Our 'ace in the hole' was
land, land that had once been a
garbage dump but now generates
over $9 million in tax ratables
from business properties. There "
was more Village land to be had
and it could be used." • _ "
According to the Mayor, pur-chase
agreements are .well along
the way, mostly with, firms al-ready
located in the Industrial
Park and wishing to expand, so as
to allow a figure of $440,000, to be
added to the revenue line of the
municipal budget, saving 50<f on
the tax rate. The actual figure
could be much" higher; but as in
the area of electrical costs, where
we may enjoy considerable
savings under our hydroelectri-city
contract with the Power-
Authority of the State of 'New
York, the Mayor has chosen" to
take a conservative stance in the
event we do not realize the full
saving.
"Our brightening financial
picture," the Mayor.said, "can
also be attributed to our diminish-ing
of capital projects, and resul-tant
lower indebtness, and our
dedication to repayment when-ever
possible through cash flow.
Our good management prompted
'the Chase Manhattan Bank to
pick up $6 million of our
municipal bonds recently at a low
interest rate of 6.375%. This
issuance consolidates several
debts for past capital improve-ments
and demonstrates the
financial community's belief in
the soundness of the Village."
Freeport's bonded indebtness has
gone down from a high to
$25,473,404 in 1974, to today's
low of $21,663,500. The Village is
legally authorized to borrow up to
$32 million.
Mayor White, who under Vil-lage
law might have prepared the
municipal budget for presentation
under his sole authority, has
issued his expressions of grati-tude
to the Board of Trustees
"and most expecially to the vol-unteers
of Freeport's first all-citizen
Budget Committee who
devoted so many, many hours to
learning from us^as we learned
from them."
Code Enforcement
Report Issued
In a year-end report to the
Mayor and Board of Trustees, the
Village's Code Enforcement
office reported that in 1976 the
office's part-time attorney,
Raymond Lavallee, had been in-.
volved in 159 trials and arraign-ments
in Village Court on code
violations resulting in 104 con-victions.
Fines levied by the Court
ran from $5 to maximum of
$250 for a total of $2,930 and un-conditional"
discharges were
handed "down - in 17 instances.
Twenty-six cases are still pend-
4
ing, 27- were withdrawn or dis-missed
and two were referred to
the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Investigations of possible over-occupancies
totalled 235. With no
violations found, or the condition
corrected before legal action was
taken, 15 cases heard in Village
Court led to 10 convictions with
the judge levying fines totalling
$355. Two others are pending,
one.was referred to the Zoning
Board of Appeals by the Court
and two others were withdrawn.
The Code Enforcement office
maintains an on-going relation-ship
with the Nassau office of the
Department of State regarding
questionable real estate prac-tices.
The Code Enforcement
attorney also acts as counsel to
the Zoning Board of Appeals with
his office assisting in the gather-ing
of evidence and other acti-vities
prior to fact-finding hear-ings
concerning non-conforming
two-family houses.
Water Service
And Pipe Freeze-Ups
Due to the extended cold
weather there have been an un-usual
number of frozen water ser-vices,
water meters and water
pipes inside the buildings.
The frost line has continued to
go deeper and was 40" below the
surface at the end of January. It
will go deeper. The lowering of
thermostats, to meet the energy
crisis, will increase the danger of
freeze-ups.
Superintendent Edward Voel-ker
of the Freeport Water Depart-ment
suggests a few precautions.
Discolored water from a faucet
is an indication that a freeze-up is
taking place. Open the faucet and
keep the water running until the
discoloration disappears.
A small amount of water should
be kept running from one cold
faucet during the night or when
little or no water is normally
used, to prevent freeze-up, the
cost of water is minor compared
to the cost of repairs.
Keep the area around the water
meter free so warm air circulates
around the meter and pipes.
Keep some water flowing at all
times if your water enters through
an unheated garage.
If-you are going on a vacation,
do not turn the thermostat below •
60 degrees F. and keep some
. water flowing from one faucet.
Have a neighbor check your home
daily to be sure heat is working.
P Village
FEBRUARY 1977
News
A PUBLIC INFORMATION BULLETIN OF THE VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
46 NORTH OCEAN AVENUE TELEPHONE FReeport 8-4000 WILLIAM H. WHITE. MAYOR
Public Meetings On The 1st and 3rd Mondays Of The Month. At 9.00 P.M.
Affirmative Housing
Programs Meet
With Success
Last month the Village's
Stablization and Affirmative
Housing Task Force was busy
matching families who wished to
move to Freeport to the houses
made available for sale through
the Committee's Homefinders
Service. Meanwhile, a year-long
battle to combat illegal
real estate practices came to the
beginning of an end.
The Task Force, set up by
Mayor William White, is com-prised
of Village employees
from the Code Enforcement
and .Human Relations depart-ments
as well as the Village Clerk
and- private citizens. By adver-tising
its Homefinders Ser-vice
in selected periodicals,
providing promotional kits to
area universities and placing
posters in Freeport restaurants,
the Committee sold three homes
last month alone.
Homefinders Service
Buyers and sellers alike use
the Committee's Homefinders
Service at no cost. In addition
to matching one to another,
those using the Service have the
advantage-of being able to draw
on . a large group of volunteers
organized by the Committee.
They work with the seller in
bringing forth the advantages
of .the property- while making •
recommendations as to a reason-able
market price based on their
knowledge of the present real-estate
picture.. The same volun-teers
introduce prospective
Cast Picture
The Drama Workshop of the Freeport Recreation Department, com-posed
of fourth and fifth graders, presented the play "Timblewit" to
first and second graders at a recent assembly program in Giblyn School.
buyers to the advantages of
moving to Fioeport on a person-to-
person basis and under circum-stances
where the volunteer
cannot realize any monetary
gain from any statement made
to either seller or purchaser.
Further, through approaches
made by the Village to banks,
the Committee is able to help
both parties through ' financial
arrangements. AH information
obtained by the Service is treated
in a confidential manner.
At present, the Committee
has heard from residents who
wish, to dispose of properties
at prices which range from
$25,000 to over $100,000. As the
list of prospective buyers in-
' creases however, the Committee
would welcome hearing of other
houses so a wider variety can be
offered. Such information is
channeled through the Village
Clerk's office at FR 8-4000.
When a match of home-buyer and
property cannot be made, the
parties are referred to area real
estate brokers.
The Homefinders Service was
originally created in response
to the suspicion that Freeport
had joined numerous communi-ties
across the nation which,
because of their proximity to
major cities and histories as
homes to people of many races
and ethnic backgrounds, had be-come
a target of illegal real
estate practices by a minority of
that profession.
(Cont. on Page 3)
Trustees: Thomas, J. Lovelidge; Ralph P. Franco, Dorothy Storm, Wayne Jordan
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzb-Treasurer: James J. Lyons - Counsel: Oakley Gentry Jr.
Under the newly enacted Open
Meetings Law, the public may at-tend,
but not participate in, the
sessions held by the various
Boards and Commissions of the
Village government. All meet-ings,
unless otherwise noted, are
held on the second floor of the Vil-lage
Hall, 46 North Ocean Ave-nue.
Those attending other than
the meetings of the Board of
Trustees and the Zoning Board of
Appeals, must enter Village Hall
through the Freeport Police Stat-ion
where they will be required to
sign in and out as the meetings
are held after normal business
hours and the building is officially
closed.
The normal schedule of the
Board and Commissions is:
Plumbing Board, third Monday of
the month, 8 pm; Planning Board,
second and fourth Tuesdays, 8:15
pm; Environmental Commission,
first Wednesday, 8 pm; Sewer
and Sanitation Commission, first
and third Thursdays, 8:30 pm;
Human Relations Commission,
third Thursday, 8:15 pm; High-way
Commission, second and
fourth Thursdays, 8 pm; Park
Commission, first and third
Thursday, 7:30 pm, Freeport Rec-reation
Center; Water and Light
Commission, second Thursday,
8 pm, Power Plant #1 on Sunrise
Highway; and the Electrical
Board, first Wednesday, 8:30 pm,
Power Plant #1.
The Board of Trustees meets
every Monday at 7:30 pm in open
voting session. Public meetings,
in which residents may bring up
any matter, are held at 9 pm on
the first and third Mondays. Pub-lic
hearings on specific matters
are held as legally advertised.
The Board does not meet on a
holiday or the eve of a holiday.
Public meetings therefore cancel-led
are held the following Mon-day.
The Zoning Board of Ap-peals
usually holds public hear-ings
the fourth Wednesday of
each month beginning at 8 pm.
All Zoning Board hearings are
separately advertised in a local,
newspaper.
The local media will be notified
in advance when there is any
change from the normal schedule.
It should be "noted that the
Open Meetings Law allows' for
executive sessions when sensitive
matters, specifically mentioned in
the law, are to be discussed.
The federal Commerce Depart-ment
has approved a $544,000
grant to the Village under the
1976 Public Works Employment
Act. Freeport's application was
among the over 200 received by
the federal government from
Long Island municipalities and
school districts which totalled
over $288 million, more than the
$233 million granted to all of New
York State. In its grouping, Free-port
had one of the only 76 appli-cations
accepted from the State.
The federal monies will be used
for roadwork, such as center
stripping, drainage, grading and
gutters, in the northeastern
section of the Village. The project
will create public works jobs
through the contractor selected
which is the purpose of the
federal Act. It was deemed that
an application based on a project
to be carried out in the northeast
would have the best chance at
acceptability due to the extensive
work already in progress in the
area through the Village's federal
Community Development Act
grant. That work includes Home-steading,
the property improve-ment
loan and grant programs
and public improvements.
Voter registration for the
March 15 Village election will be
held on Saturday, February 26,
noon to 9 pm, in Village Hall, 46
North Ocean Avenue. It will be
the registration site for all
election districts.--'- -
Those who have voted in a
General Election (November)
during the past two years need
not register. Residents who parti-cipated
in the School District
budget vote are not necessarily
registered to vote in the Village
election. Those who are not sure
of their status should come to the
Village Hall on registration day.
To qualify, a prospective voter
must be: (1) a citizen of the
United States, (2) over 18 years oi
age, and (3) a resident of the
State and of the Village for at
least, .thirty, days nreceding_ the_
election.
Applications for absentee
ballots will be accepted at the
Office of the Village Clerk, Vil-lage
Hall, beginning on February
15 and every business day there-after
until March 1. Absentee
ballots will be mailed to out-of-town
residents and medically
certified incapacitated individuals
in the Village on March 1. They
must be returned to the Office of
the Village Clerk no later than
Monday, March 14.
The March 15 voting is to fill
the office of the Mayor, currently
held by William White, two seats
on the Board of Trustees now held
by Dorothy Storm and Ralph
Franco and the judgeship of the
Village Court now under the juris-diction
of Edwin Freedman. All
terms are for four years.
Voters should go the the same
polling places as for a November
election. The polls will be open
from 7 am to 9 pm.
Icing conditions on the Great
Lakes during the severe cold
weather last month reduced the
water flow over the Niagara
Falls causing the Power Auth-ority
of the State of New York to
temporarily cancel delivery of
hydroelecrricity to Freeport and
other communities. The Village,
therefore, was forced to generate
its own energy through the muni-cipal
power plants.
Consumers, who have been en-joying
reduced bills since Sep-tember
when the Village first
began receiving low-cost hydro-electricity
through a contract with
PASNY, will notice that their
February electric bill is higher,
reflecting the cost of the fuel
oil consumed in January for the
generation of power by the
Village. Freeport. is ,one. of .only.
three Long Island communities
eligible to receive low-cost hydro-electricity
due to the fact that it
owns its own facilities to not
only receive the power, but also to
generate in emergencies.
Warmer weather will see the
return of hydroelectricity and
substantial savings to electric
consumers.
In the event of snow, please
place garbage cans in front of.
•your-house on regular collection
days rather than in backyards
because it is difficult for the sani-tation
men to make collections
and retain their footing on snow
or ice covered backyard areas.
(Cont. from Page 1)
Racial Steering Uncovered
Word received from New York
Secretary of State Mario Cuomo
by the Village government last
month signalled Freeport's
continued success in endeavors
to remain a well-balanced com-munity.
Legal proceedings,
held under the auspices of the
Secretary's offices, had found
five area real estate operations
guilty of racial steering or other,
sections of the State's Real
Property Law pertaining to racial
discrimination in dealing with
prospective home-buyers.
The Secretary of State issues the
licenses under which all real
estate brokers and salespersons
operate and legal proceedings
jeopardize those licenses.
Racial steering is a practice
whereby members of an ethnic
minority are shown only a cer-tain
community while prospective
white home-buyers of the same
economic level requesting the
same type of housing in an iden-tical
price range are steered
away to other locations.
The legal proceedings and
results concerning Freeport
were: Dorothy Foreman Enter-prises,
492 Merrick Road, Rock-ville
Centre, suspension of
broker's license for two months
or $250 fine for discriminatory
remarks and reprimand of sales-person
for the same cause.
Silverlake Associates, 884
Merrick Road, Baldwin, sus-pension
of broker's license
for one month or $100 fine for
allowing an unlicensed sales-person
to operate in his firm
and ••^"•similar- penalty - for the
salesperson for relating discrim-inatory
remarks about Freeport
to white testers. David Pike Asso-ciates,
650 Merrick Road, Bald-win,
suspension of salesperson's
license for one month for racial
steering. Sundale Realty, Inc.,
580 Sunrise Highway, Baldwin,
suspension of salesperson's
license for one month for racial
steering. Claire Sobel Associates,
Inc., 12 Merrick Avenue, Mer-rick,
suspension of salesperson's
license for one month for relating
inaccurate information that
tended,to encourage racial bias.....
The success of the five, legal
proceedings hinged on the testi-mony
of some of the Freeport
testers, a group of some 40
residents representative of the
Getting Ready For Moving
Mayor William White (right) and Freeport Community Development
Director James Dunne (center) go over the plans for the work to be
done on one of several Homesteading houses prior to the move-in of a
family which must occupy the structure for at least five years to acquire
ownership at the cost of the repairs undertaken by the Village. Three
families are expected to move from Freeport apartments into their new
homes in Housing Improvement Area #1 during this month. The
Homesteading of once boarded-up houses is being accomplished
through the Village's Community Development grant and other
federal funds.
ethnic makeup of the Village.
Organized from a nucleus formed
by the Village-wide civic organ-ization
known as the Freeport
Association, Stablization Com-mittee
member and Human
Relations Director ' 'Michael'
Kirwan directs the volunteers
who pose as prospective home-buyers
in order to ascertain the
adherence to law by real estate
firms.
"The release of this informa-tion
by Secretary Cuomo,"
Mayor White stated, "allows me,
after over a year of close coopera-tion,
to publically thank the
Secretary, his very able staff and
the other officials who were of
every possible assistance to the
Village government and the
interested citizens working with
.us „.".'..' ..-^ia.-. .... =„...._..,. .
"It is those citizens, those in-volved
in showing homes to
prospective Freeporters week-end
after weekend, and those
involved in testing on an equally
3
hectic schedule, that deserve
the gratitude of their neighbors.
The success of both programs
thus far was determined by their
own personal commitment.
"Because the testing program
in particular necessitates confi-dentiality,
it is impossible for
me to thank these Freeporters
publically. However, I do pledge
the continuing support of the
Village government. To that end,
a mailing has gone out over my
name to all real estate firms in
Nassau County as well as Queens
in which I pointed out that while
it was felt that responsible real
estate dealers 'are concerned
as we that such practices must be
halted for they tend to give a bad
name to the entire industry' and
that our testing program.!will be.
vigorously maintained and any
apparent violators will be im-mediately
referred to the Secre-tary
of State.with a request for
"prosecution."