Concerns About Admin Costs in North Hempstead Special Districts' Budgets
A Port Washington man questioned the administrative costs in some special district budgets.
During the Town of North Hempstead's budget public hearing on Thursday night, a Port Washington man, Barry Loeb, questioned the Town's administrative and attorney fees in some of the special districts.
For the Port Washington public parking district, Loeb said the administrative service charge and other administrative costs make up 20 percent of the budget. He wondered whether that much administration is needed.
In response to this, Supervisor Jon Kaiman said there is new construction going on in this district currently and Councilman Fred Pollack noted that there is now a day-to-day supervisor of this district.
This man also raised questions about the sidewalk, pollution control and fire protection district.
Editors note: This article was updated to include the name of the man, Barry Loeb, who spoke at the meeting.
Scott Model
2:11 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
Always amazing whether it is small town or on a national level thses issues come out right after an election. There needs to be some consolidation accross the board.
jba
9:34 am on Saturday, November 12, 2011
In our household, we often question the continued need for our special police district. Port Washington is not the same place today as it was when this district was created, which was prior to the establishment of the Nassau County Police. Perhaps if I saw more PW police enforcing the law in my neighborhood (illegal parking, speeding, failure to stop at stop signs, etc.) I would be more supportive. I would also like to see PW police walking beats on Main St. and the Blvd. so they can see what I see everyday and get to know the people of this community in a nonadversarial manner.
Barry Loeb
12:58 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Having been the "loyal opposition" at the PWPD for many years, I can assure you the 2 minute response time we now enjoy would be greatly lengthened under the auspices of the NCPD. While there is always room for improvement, we would be far worse off with the NCPD.
James Salerno
10:53 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
jba, feel free to contact me about concerns you have in your neighborhood.
883 0500 ext 309.
Jim Salerno
PWPD
Nassau Taxpayer
3:33 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Having seen both PWPD and NCPD work, we are far better and more efficiently served by and with PWPD.
fred
9:25 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
Hard to believe I agree with Nassau Taxpayer but we are better off to have PWPD. Way to keep them on their toes Barry!
Scott Model
6:46 am on Thursday, November 17, 2011
Same here with being inline with taxpayer. The PWPD do a great job and there response to an emergency is second to none. I know people whose lives were saved because of their action before the paramedics get on site. It is when one has a real emergency they will realize how important they are
Mike
7:11 am on Monday, November 14, 2011
You ever call the PWPD? They're there within seconds.
jba
7:20 am on Thursday, November 17, 2011
Its great that the PWPD has some readers coming to their defense. I hope that I never need them for an emergency. However, my concerns address less serious, quality of life issues that, on a daily basis, have a negative impact on the lives of my family and our neighbors. Also, judging from other comment threads on the Patch, we are not the only ones. We are concerned with the rampant speeding in a neighborhood full of children and elderly, failure to enforce parking laws, and the widespread failure of Port drivers to stop at stop signs. We live in a community where some individuals feel entitled and that the laws don't apply to them. Given the opportunity, they flout the law. This is discussed often on Patch by many, so I know we are not the only ones who see this as a problem. In a 10 minute period, I watched as 4 cars came to actual stops at a 4-way stop near our home while 25 cars rolled through or drove through at varying speeds. This is not acceptable. Also, we are affected by the filming going on in town. It wouldn't have taken much for the PWPD to give a heads up to the people who live in the area alerting them that the limited parking they enjoy on the street would be taken up by an enormous number of additonal vehicles. PWPD's lack of enforcement of the law and failure to communicate effectively with the community are not acceptable. See my suggestions in my first post.
Observer
8:25 am on Thursday, November 17, 2011
Attend the police commissioners meetings. They are open to the public and you will be given an opportunity to voice your concerns. Many people have gotten help with enforcement issues by attending these meetings. I agree that the police department should enforce quality of life issues, but, unfortunately, quality of life issues seem to be a low priority with the Port Police (especially the officers who do the actual enforcing) unless the residents of a particular neighborhood put enough pressure on the police dept. It doesn't seem fair that along with paying extra to have our own police dept. we have to spend our time and energy to get them to do this but, unfortunately, that is the way it is in Port Washington.
jba
9:31 pm on Friday, November 25, 2011
Just to update.... I had a very productive conversation with James Salerno of the PWPD and have been very pleased with the increased presence of the PWPD in our neighborhood enforcing the parking laws and speed limit. They have been very responsive to our concerns and it's good to know that they are interested in hearing from members of the community about specific areas that need attention. Keep up the good work!
Nassau Taxpayer
10:09 pm on Friday, November 25, 2011
There ya go! (No surprise, BTW.)