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Friday, March 23, 2018
Vol. 78, No. 12
RECYCLING FOR THE FUTURE
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino (second from left), Town Councilman Louis B. Imbroto (third from right), and Town Councilman Thomas P. Hand (right) recently joined with Massapequa Park Mayor Jeffrey P. Pravato (left), Schechter School of Long Island Principal Sandra Swerdloff (second from right) and Schechter students in welcoming the Town of Oyster Bay’s Single Stream Recycling Program to the Schechter School of Long Island. The Schechter School of Long Island, located in Jericho, has welcomed the Town of Oyster Bay’s Single Stream Recycling effort. This program will reduce the costs in recycling and will help increase revenue in the Town of Oyster Bay. The Single Stream Recycling Program, which
began last fall, allows residents to place all recyclable materials, including cardboard, into one container and is estimated to generate up to $2 million over the next five years. To learn more about the Town’s Single Stream Recycling Program, visit http://oysterbaytown.com/
Town bond rating rises from junk to investment grade Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings has upgraded the Town’s long-term credit rating from junk bond status to investment grade. S&P has assigned a BBB- rating to much of Oyster Bay’s bonds and has affirmed its stable outlook. The Town is credited by S&P for its strong budgetary performance in 2017 and 2018. The agency reported, “The general fund surplus is the first positive result the town has produced in the last 12 fiscal years.” Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “This upgrade is the best financial news Oyster Bay has had in years. We are being recognized by Wall Street after independent reviews and this great news clearly proves the bold steps we have taken to fix Oyster Bay’s finances. My administration put a stop to the past practice of endlessly borrowing against the future, and paid off $84 million in 2017. We will continue to improve our finances and pay down another $50 million in debt this year.” S&P highlighted the Town’s commitment to “reducing its debt load and indeed has retired roughly $84 million of debt in 2017 alone.” The Town historically borrowed up to $100 mil-
lion a year for capital projects. However, the Saladino administration reversed this trend in 2017 by not borrowing for capital projects. In cooperation with the Town Board, the administration accelerated debt service payments. Debt service payments in the 2018 budget are estimated to help decrease the Town’s total debt by an additional $50 million. “The stable outlook recognizes a structurally balanced budget underpinned by improved management practices and budgetary assumptions,” the agency said. Supervisor Saladino added, “We are very proud to be recognized for our responsible budgeting and financial stewardship of this Town. I am committed to bringing us back to where we belong and Wall Street agrees we are headed in the right direction.” S&P highlighted the Town’s stronger budgetary performance in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, which do not rely on one-time revenues. The agency recognized the Town for restoring structural balance to its budget with more realistic assumptions, and acknowledged the multi-million dollar forecasted surpluses for 2017 and 2018.
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