Inside Freeport 2010-SPRING

              Inside Freeport
A Publication of the Incorporated Village of Freeport, N.Y.
Volume I, Issue 2
VILLAGE DIRECTORY
Building
377-2242
Electric
377-2262
Fire
377-2190
Human Resources
377-2267
Public Relations
377-2246
Public Works ',, <
377,^2289r *
i , 1
Purchasing
377-2192
Registrar
377-2250
Village Clerk
377-2300
Spring 2010
Mayor Andrew Hardwick Answers His Most
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there a signed agree-ment
with any entity to
provide a waste to energy
plant in Freeport?
A: No, there is not.
Q: Is the administration
looking at a waste to energy
project for Freeport?
A: No. To quote from my
colleague New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
"it is not currently being
pursued, not because of the
technology, which has ad-vanced,
but because of the
.issue in selecting sites to
build incinerators....it's a not
in my backyard issue. It
would take years of hearings
and reviews." / can therefore
assure the residents that
Freeport will not have a
waste to energy facility in the
foreseeable future... .... .. ,_
Even though a project is not
currently scheduled, I still
have a responsibility to look
at any type of technology that
could stabilize the Village's
tax base and provide environ-mentally
friendly green,
clean and non-toxic energy
alternatives for Freeport.
However, it is you, the resi-dents,
that have the final say
and will be part of any deci-sion
making process. When
projects of this nature are
presented to the Village, I
will report them to you, and
prior to any decision being
made, the residents, through
a community organization
.sponsored vote, will make
the decision.
As promised, I will report to
the community on my activi-ties
so far. •
I would like to thank the
entire Village of Freeport for
their input the past few
weeks, and I would ask for
your continued involvement
in our government.
Q: Did the Mayor travel to
China and Germany to
review various waste to
energy designs?
A: Yes I did. The State of
New York has agreed to pay
over sixty thousand dollars
($60,000.00) for the associ-ated
costs, not including
travel and lodging. The Vil-lage
paid seven thousand
four hundred sixty dollars
($7,460.00) for travel and
lodging.
Each trip was for the ex-press
purpose of looking at
the various technologies that
currently exist and which
are on the way from housing
to other technological ad-vances.
The trip to China
was part of a New York
State sponsored trade dele-gation
to bring businesses
and jobs to the State of New
York.
Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick
hard at work in his office in Village Hall.
Q: Has there been a change
within the command struc-ture
of the Freeport Police
Department?
A: Yes, like all departments
within the Village, a top to
bottom review of the Freeport
Police Department was con-ducted.
Upon the conclusion
of the review, I determined
that a command staff that
reflects my views of moving
Freeport' forward was re-quired.
Also, the Village
could not afford to continue
paying a million dollars a
year in salaries and benefits
to the Chief and his two
Deputies.
Q: What changes have oc-curred
within the Freeport
Police Department?
A: With the Chief and Assis-tant
Chief indicating their
intentions to retire, I was
presented with an
(Continued on reverse)
4
Inside Freeport
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• •••••••••• !•••••
f
Mayor's FAQ
(continued from front page)
opportunity to restructure the command
staff of the Police Department. I am
pleased to announce that I appointed
Lieutenant Miguel Bermudez to the
position of Deputy Chief of Police. Not
only is Deputy Chief Bermudez well
qualified for the position, but he is a life
-long resident of the Village and an ac-tive
member of the Freeport Fire De-partment.
He is someone that I have
known and worked with for close to
twenty-five (25) years. I admire his in-tegrity
and service.
Q: Was there proposed legislation in
Albany changing the way a Police Chief
would be chosen?
A: Yes. The proposed law was de-signed
to expand the pool of qualified
candidates for Chief of Police and to
insure that the best candidate was
hired for Freeport.
Q: Is that proposed law still pending?
A: No, it has been withdrawn. The
Village is working together with the
Nassau County Civil Service Commis-sion
to resolve the issues surrounding
the selection process for Chief of Police.
Therefore, the proposed law is no longer
needed.
Q: Why was the Nautical Festival
shortened?
A: It was anticipated that the festival
would cost the Village of Freeport close
to $200,000.00. When people are strug-gling
to pay their electric bills, buy food
and prescriptions, it would be irrespon-sible
to have Village taxpayers pay for a
festival on Woodcleft Canal. In the fu-ture,
it is hoped that the merchants who
gain from the festival will work with
sponsors to alleviate financial and
other liabilities from the Village of
Freeport, allowing the festival to be
restored to its prior length. The Vil-lage
of Freeport cannot afford the
magnitude of this great event.
Q: What is your number one prior-ity?
A: Reducing the cost of government
for taxpayers.
Q: Have you appointed a new Dep-uty
Mayor?
A: Yes, I have. In keeping with the
promise I made at my swearing in
that I would rotate the Deputy
Mayor's position, I recently appointed
Carmen Pineyro the first Latino, Dep-uty
Mayor in Freeport's history.
Q: What is the state of the Village's
roads and electric infrastructure?
A: There are many roads in the Vil-lage
that require major repairs, along
with the water and sewer lines. It is
estimated that between the roads and
piping (piping, in some instances,
that is wrapped with asbestos and
ending its useful life), Freeport needs
one hundred million dollars
($100,000,000.00) to fully repair the
roads and piping.
The Village's electrical infrastructure
is also in serious need of repair. As an
example, the main circuit outside of
the Bayview Avenue Firehouse is cur-rently
being cooled by a garden hose
and the wiring is old and decaying.
This is just one of many examples of
the issues affecting the infrastructure
of the Electric Utility.
Government cannot continue to raise
taxes and borrow money to make
these repairs. As Freeport's debt is
one of the highest in the State, I will
continue to bring this message to our
representatives in Washington, New
York State, and Nassau County, and
I will not stop until Freeport gets its
share of the funding..
Q: You've been in office for a year
now. What financial accomplish-ments
can you tell us about?
A: I am very proud that the Village's
Department Heads and employees
came together to cut over three mil-lion
dollars from the 2010/2011
budget. It is the dedication and hard
work of our employees that will main-tain
the level of services that our resi-dents
deserve, while guaranteeing
financial stability to the Village; Fur-ther,
within the past twelve months
Freeport has received over fifteen mil-lion
dollars ($15,000,000.00) from
Federal, State and local sources, and
is scheduled to receive more.
In keeping with my promise to reduce
the cost of government spending, I
readjusted salaries so that when a
vacancy occurs, the successor em-ployee
is paid a lower starting salary.
Also, I am pleased to announce that
the Village has paid over six million
dollars ($6,000,000.00) of its debt,
and the total is now one hundred
forty-nine million dollars
($149,000,000.00).
When I took office, Freeport's debt
was close to one-hundred sixty mil-lion
dollars ($160,000,000.00). A
debt, I must add, that was inherited
from the prior administration, and
one of the highest in the State. I am
very proud that Freeport has been
able to reduce its debt, and produce a
fiscally responsible budget.
Within the next few weeks, the New
York State Comptroller, who is still
conducting its audit of the Village's
fiscal policies going back five years,
will be issuing its report. The ad-ministration
welcomes their review
and comment.
Remember, I am only a phone call
away at 516-359-8099.
Sincerely,
Andrew Hardwick
Mayor
Inside Freeport, the print edition, is produced
quarterly by the Village of Freeport's
Public Relations Department
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Inc. Village of Freeport
46 N. Ocean Avenue
Freeport, NY 11520
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