' V" f '
I * BEAUTY SCHOOL OPENS ON GUY LOMBARDO AVE.
"this has been my dream since-1 came to this country from "
-Mexico ten years ago," explained Marlene McMullan; proprietor •
-6f;Escuela De Belleza D'Marlene.-Mrs. McMullarvand her hus-
- , ' ' * " . . " - . " v ... , -
.band,.'John-McMullan; described how they have been planning'/
;-(or years to open a beauty, school :that would, provide' an accred-.
riedprbgram for students interested in-becoming licensed beau-•;
ticians. The school offers both day and evening classes in English
and.Spanish. "My wife operated three beauty schools in Mexico
before coming to the United State),".said Mr.JVIcMullan, "she
always wanted to'open a school here. We live in Freeport, and.
we thought it was the perfect location for the school, because it
is close to public transportation and an easy drive from most
areas in Nassau County."
. Escuela De Belleza D'Marlene is accredited with New York,
State and individuals who qualify for financial aid may use the
assistance to pay their tuition. For further information call the
school at 378-2810 or visit the establishment at 58A Guy
Lombardo Avenue.
Pictured in the photo: (L'.to R) Alexander Madrigal, Director of the School; Freeport
Renaire Frierson-bavis; Mayor Bill Glacken, Marlene McMullan, Proprietor; John
Deputy Mayor
McMullan.
FREEPORT
RECREATION CENTER
HOSTS MARTIN
LUTHER KING
CELEBRATION
Freeport Trustee Don Miller was on hand to greet the youngsters
who perform in the special Martin Luther King Celebration
. at the Freeport Recreation Center recently. Trustee Miller
commended the children on their dedication and hard work
Pictured (Lto R) Front row: Autumn Samuels, Erica Groover, Anthonio Hassel, Corey Hardy, Tyshamel Sumpter. Back in putting together the excellent singing and dancing
row: Shalima Hutchinson, Dina Higgs, Laneisha Munoz, Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Angie Cullin, Nasheema performances
Hoist, Freeport Trustee Don Miller, TyasiaToole.JohnathanHoggan, Adrian Coleman. • • " • . '
HISPANIC
ASSOCIATION
PLAYS HOST
TO CHILDREN'S
PARTY
Santa Claus found time in his busy pre-holiday
scheduled to. drop in on the Hispanic Associations
Christmas Party and visit with the organization's young-sters.
The party was held at Trudy B's in Freeport and
was attended by approximately 50 children and their
parents.
. Pictured in the photo are: L to R, Luis Vasquez; George Martinez;
Angle Cullin, Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes; Anna Marie Hurtado; Freeport Trustee Don Miller.
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR STAR APPLICATIONS TO MARCH 1,1999
The Nassau County Chairman of the Board of Assessors, Charles O'Shea, and the Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes, Angie Cullin, want to remind
home owners that there is still time to file an application for the STAR program. The program provides a partial exemption on school property taxes
for owner occupied co-ops, condominiums, and houses in Nassau County. There are two separate plans, BASIC STAR and Enhanced STAR. The
BASIC program is available to homeowners with no income or age restrictions. The Enhanced STAR program applies to senior citizens who have
an annual income of less than $60,000. To receive an application or more information call 571-1500.
The Home
of Champions
JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1999 www.Fr.eeportNY.com
FREEPORT BEGINS NAUTICAL MILE PROJECT
Standing along side the sign that indicates the difference-in-the.grade on Woodcleft Ave. before'the road work is done and the projected height after the
grade is raised are: (L to R) Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson-Davis, Trustee Bill White, Jr., Trustee Don Miller, krieeling; Mayor Bill Glackeh;and.Senator
rjCharles Fuschillo. Standing: Angie Cullin, Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes, and Assemblywoman Kathleen Murray;: ; ." •. ~
"This is a day we have been anticipating
for years," exclaimed Mayor William F.
Glacken who was joined by Senator Charles
J. Fuschillo, Jr., at the Woodcleft Avenue
groundbreaking ceremony. Mayor Glacken
detailed the scope of the work scheduled for
Woodcleft Avenue over the next nine
months, "This project will raise the elevation
of the roadway, add a brick promenade on
the eastern side of Woodcleft Avenue
providing public access to the water, end the
frequent flooding, and ultimately, change
the entire appearance of the . famous
Freeport'Nautical Mile'." '-•.•-.''• ... t
Senator Fuschillo presented Mayor-,
Glacken with a $1,050,750 Senate check
secured through the Clean: Air/Clean
Water Bond Act and Transpbrtation-
Multi-Modal funds. The funds will be
used to replace the storm water drainage
system, raise the elevation, of the
roadway, and provide additional flood con-trol
by raising the bulkheads along the
Woodcleft Canal.
"I'm honored to be
part of this important
step, for Freeport and
deliver this vital fund-ing,"
said Senator
Fuschillo. "This Village ;is
one of the major mar-itime
centers on Long
Island and is an authentic
working waterfront," he
added pledging his con-tinued
support for the
waterfront area. "This
revitalization of the
Nautical Mile will
enhance the economy of
the Village by supporting
the fishing industry,
boosting the tourism
business, and improving
the environment."
The construction
will raise the roadway up
to two (21) feet in certain
.sections of Woodcleft
Avenue. The project
includes the installation
of brick sidewalks,
antique street lighting,
benches, and flower
v . ; ; v ; ^ ' ; - " planters. The overhead
wires will be relocated to underground
cohduitsJn addition to the funding from
Senator Fuschillo, the Village has approved a
bond resolution and received an ISTEA grant,
:-and: a; grant from the NY State Parks and
Recreation Commission to cover part of
the cosrbf the promenade. If the weather
cooperates and all goes according to
schedule," Freeporters will be able to ring
in the year 2000 with a completely
revitalized waterfront.
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
Dear-Neighbor, ' .. .. ...-
.; Vyith this adopted budget for the fiscal
ye~ar. ^commencing March 1, 1999.,and
>riding February 29, 2000, the Glacken
Administration enters the second year of its
seven-year plan to return our Village to
sound; financial health.
.' . Shortly after being sworn into office in
1997,- we began an extensive process of
examining the'Village's financial records.
What we found confirmed our-worst fears:
Freeport was facing a .$10 million deficit.
.•With a total overall budget of $33:1 million,
t'riat deficit represented close to a thirdof the
money needed to run the Village on an annu-al'basis.
• • .
%x, A financial crisis'of this magnitude could
easily cause the dpwnfall of the Village. We
were-determined to solve the immediate
financial shortfall, continue to provide essen-tial,
services, and begin a long-term financial
recovery program that both reduced the $10
million deficit and put the Village, back .on
the road to fiscal stability,
..; ,We.hired a team of financial experts and
began the process of putting our financial
house in order. The first step was to balance
the books arid reconcile the' Village's
accounts, which had not been done for eigh-teen
months prior to'this Administration's
taking/office".' '• - ' ; •'
Every: department was. examined arid
each expenditure scrutinized ;td save money.
By doing a current official statement and fil-ing
it with the State Comptroller's office, we
were able to re-enter the municipal bond
market to bond already completed capital
projects and reimburse the general fund. It
also permitted us to undertake long-overdue
capital projects such as flood prevention,
road reconstruction and park improvements.
As a result of our efforts, we were able
to cut the deficit in half, reducing it from $10
million to $5 million. The remaining $5 mil-lion
was structural in nature, which means
that it would recur, in future budget years'
and would continue-to grow in size unless,
dealt with.in a straightforward manner., "'
Our financial team developed a;recovery.
plan.-that included special state'legislation/
authorizing the .sale.of a-,$5.million deficit-"
bond to be repaid in,seven-years..Moody's
Investment Services recogriized our willing-;
ness to accept the,difficult steps needed to.
return to sound fiscal health,-: arid rated the
Village's bonds Baal; a good rating for any
municipality, and especially one emergirig
from a financial crisis. . . •"•
During the past year, along with elimi-nating
non-essential jobs, we implemented a
' hiring freeze and restructured several village
departments, that .restructuring is;ongoing;.,
and additional changes will be made-during
the. new fiscal year. We also implemented, an
early retirement incentive for both municipal
and police employees, which reduced the:
full-time work force by 50, from 287 employ- -.
ees to 237 employees. ..••',-'
We are now on the road''to financial
recovery, but there are still hurdles to over-.*
come. This fiscal crisis did not develop in just-one
year, nor can it be cured in.just one year.:
Our 1999-2000 budget includes an $862,000
payment in interest and principal on the $5
million deficit bond: Last year's budget pro-vided
for, $287,000 in interest only to cover
the debt service on this bond. Repayment of
this deficit bond will be a factor in each year's
budget for the next six years, similar to a
family's mortgage payment on its house,
until, as is the: case with a mortgage, it' is paid
off. ' ' : ' ' • ' '
When the Glacken Administration took
office in 1997, it inherited the financial oblig-ations
of two employee contracts that had
been negotiated by the previous administra-tion.
The Village's CSEA and PBA contracts
each include salary increases due in fiscal.year
1999. We .did not have jnput jn incurring
these obligations, however, we must provide
the funding in the I999 - 2000 budget to
cover this additional $450,000 expense.
On the positive side, on December 7th,
we awarded the contract for the long await-ed
Wooddeft Ave. project, which includes
upgrading the roadway, along with the con-struction
of the Promenade and the
Esplanade. Work on these projects began in
early January, and must be completed by May
of 2000. When this construction is completed,
Freeport will again offer visitors a view of an
authentic working waterfront with restau-rants,
shops, and fish .markets. The restora-tion
of.;the Nautical Mile will provide
increased income to the merchants, while
presenting a positive perception of Freeport
-.as an economically healthy, thriving coastal
community. - . -..., : •- . - .- -
;,/-'In.September',1997, we began work on
• the complete overhaul of the 500,000-gallon
Northeast water tank. This project was com-pleted
in May of 1998. . .'••••
-.;•.• the, exterior of the tank now proudly,
proclaims -our Village is .the "Home of
Champions", as well as the address of our
new website, www.FreeportNY.com. • .
We have embarked on our "Five Worst
Streets" program, which selects the five
streets most, in need of repair and improves
them'.; Contracting work began in September
on Commercial St. and Lakeview Ave. from
Rutland .Road .to Grand Ave., arid was com-pleted
in December. Colonial Avenue from
North Main Street to Babylon Turnpike will
be completed by early spring. Last summer
we elevated a majorportion of. Millej Avenue
'to['eliminate persistent flooding,problems in
. that area. In November, we began the work,
which will be completed by'the ;spring of
, 1999, to elevate the streets in'the.Meister
Beach area! Lester and Stirling Avenues are
• scheduled to be elevated in June. :
; Freeport is a community which.depends
heavilyon its parks and playgrounds; arid the
Glacken'Administration has pledged tojmake
our parks system the best in the state. In the
past year, we have moved closer to reaching
that goal. In Northeast Park, we replaced the
light poles and fixtures. The basketball court,
picnic area, tennis courts, and the playground
all have new, modern lighting, making them
accessible to our young people for evening
athletic'activities. In addition, the baseball
field is being completely reconstructed, with
a new diamond;'outfield, dugouts, grand-stands,
fencing> sprinkler system and eventu-ally,.
lighting.. ,; .. ..... ... - ... •,.,
At Martin Luther King Park, a local com-munity
organization sponsored an evening
basketball tournament last summer after
new lights were installed there. Randall and
Waterfront parks have also benefited from
recent improvements. New playground
equipment has been installed at both parks;
and there are new benches for visitors at
Waterfront Park to use when viewing Little
Swift Creek. This past year, William J. Martin
Park was refurbished with new lighting,
benches, planters, and trees. This spring, we
will resurface the basketball courts at
Glacken, Northeast and Martin Luther King
parks, and install a sprinkler, system at
Randall Park. . ', . .
. O u r curb tree'planting and replacement
program began.in 1997; continued this past
.•year, arid wil| b& carried "forward into-the
"corning budget year.?.Sp fa'r, we have planted
' or. replaced nearly 2,000 curb trees of several
different varieties/ In July -of .1998;'. as.
promised, we adopted the toughest Site Plan
Review law on Long island.'"- . ,
• Freeport has entered, cyberspace with its.
own.state-of-the-a'rt website that has,been.,
attrarting comments/from current ahd'for-mer
residents. Since its inception in April of
1997, the website has had over 8,000 viewers."
Our Village website provides, current news,
updated/local information'" and coming'
events to residents, while inviting visitors to
Freeport. The website address was. purchased
from local businessman Mike Raab. It was
developed "into a full-scale website by
Startech Systems, Inc. at no charge to, the
Village. Advertising space is being sold on the
website; and the income, is used partially to
offset the cost of new computer-equipment.
Freeport is well on its way to meeting
Y2K compliance on al| our computer equip-ment.
We have developed an aggressive
response plan to the year 2000 problem.
.During the rpast year, .we reviewed each
department to establish the particular needs
for;meeting-thevear'20do-technical.prpblem,-
arid upgraded or replaced hardware, soft-w.
are'6r both to meet .the compiiance
requirements. We.bave also notified'our ven-dors
;artd/ contractors..of these efforts, arid
plan jto- be ready well iri advance/of January' -,
'i/2popV;;:..,',/; \? . - . - . .*...&•• ,'""'"
• ; : Our Village police department has:;
been:.restructured from. the*, top down;
and the:work schedule has,been re-arranged
to_ eliminate a substantial amount of
overtime, while- still providing the.best,
response time to calls for assistance of .any
police force on . Long -Island. Six new
cadets have just been added to the force,.;
bringing the total number of police officers
to 88. A grant from the U.S. Justice
Department is paying a portion of the
.salaries of three of these new cadets for the
next three years.
Freeport Village Hall, which was mod-eled
after Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
has a proud history; and the building should
reflect its heritage. It is the closest thing
Freeport has to a genuine landmark. Last
summer, .we replaced the roof over the
Village Court. The plaster walls and ceiling of
the.courtroom were badly damaged by water
, through years of neglect-. The walls and ceil-ings
in'the Main Conference .Room and
Village Court have been painted in authentic
colors in keeping- with' the' federal architec-ture
of.the building. We have sanded; stained
and polished the benches in both rooms and
new drapes will be installed, .finally,, the
Grand Rotunda has been painted, restoring
' the main entrance to its originalI grandeur.
-^ • Increases, in fees and licensing costs, in
.the 98-99-budget brought in approximately
$190,000 in new revenue; the. amnesty
program for unpaid parking tickets produced
$70;000 in revenues onia'non-recurring basis,
and-we -benefited, from a reduction of,
$2T4;QuO in money payabje-to the New York/
• State'Retirement fund.'We expect to collect,
approximately $1 million in fines and forfei-,
'tures through the Village Court by the end of
the current fiscal year, and close to the same
amount in FY 1999-2000. - .
We suffered a serious setback with the
plan to share iri the county's sales tax revr
enue. The.budget for the fiscal year ending
on February 28, 1999 contains a conservative
estimate of $150,000 in anticipated sales tax .
revenues, intended to cover January and
February of 1999. The Glacken administra-tion,
working closely with the leadership of
the Nassau 'County Village Officials
Association, -obtained .bi-partisan special
state legislation in 1997 authorizing the
County of Nassau to share with the 64
villages, on a per capita basis, a.maximum of
$13.5 million per year as estimated by the
.,County. Based on this maximum, Freeport' s
-.-share would have been $1.2 million per year
in recurring income. The County did not
authorize funding any portion of this
. amount in its FY1998 budget.
, County Executive Torn Gulptta included
• in his..FY1999 budget the sum of $9 million-to
be shared by the villages. Again, of
this amount, Freeport's share would have
been approximately $850,000.00 per year.
That translates into 4.5% on the Village's
tax rate. While not ideal, most of the mayors
felt that this was a good start down the
road to permanent revenue sharing of sales
tax with the County.
Unfortunately, the County Legislature
reneged on its commitment to provide the
villages a fair share of the sales tax revenue,
and eliminated the entire $9 million appro-priation
from the County's 1999 budget,
•adopted on October 31st. Unless the
Legislature transfers the funds from other
ijnes of its adopted,budget, there will.be no
sales tax revenue for. villages in 19.99. In any
case, we cannot count on" these revenues
being available to Freeport for purposes of
budget-making. •• .- '
.. - ' -•.:.fhev proposed budget for .FY1999
(March 1/1999 - February.29, 2000) contains
.no anticipated revenues- from sales tax.
It cpntains no anticipated revenues from-riorweclJrririg'"
sources~(6rie-shots)r sucrT~as~
sales,of-real property. The proposed budget
calls for.$34.2 million in'appropriations. As
noted above/.the principal ?reas of pressure
on appropriations are: (1) debt service on the
deficit-bond; (2) contractual increases in labor
contracts; (3) associated fringe benefit costs;
(4) the hiring'of six new police officers; .(5) an
.increase in reserves; and (6) debt-service on
capital improvements. ,
In order to balance the budget and. meet
these obligations,-;it will be necessary to
increase real property taxes eleven percent
(11.0%), based upon .a total assessed valua-'
tiori of $79,790,000.00 and an- assessment
rate of $24.84 per $100.00 of assessed.valua-..
tion. For the average one-family residential
property assessed at $5,700.00, this repre-sents
an increase of approximately eleven
dollars and sixty cents ($11.60) a month.
Twenty-two months ago, I knocked on
your door to ask for your support and
pledged to you that, .if elected; the Glacken
Team would end the fiscal crisis and restore
financial health to the Village. I told you then
•that the road w.buld be-difficult, but that if
we stuck together,, we; would get the job
done. We did, and we are almost home; but
we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
Sound, financial management requires
us to make the difficult choices now to put
the fiscal crisis behind us and move forward.
Freeport has a proud history and a glorious
future ahead. This budget will ensure that
promise.
